Justice David Hackett Souter, United States Supreme Court (Retired)

David Hackett Souter, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (Retired), died at his home in Hopkinton, New Hampshire on May 8, 2025. David was born in Melrose, Massachusetts on September 17, 1939. The many friends who knew of David’s deep love for New Hampshire might be surprised at the place of his birth, but perhaps not the date, for he was born on the day the United States Constitution was signed, 152 years earlier.

David was a 1957 graduate of Concord High School. He attended Harvard College, graduating in 1961. He was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to study at Magdalen College at Oxford University. After attending Harvard Law School, David returned to New Hampshire in 1966, beginning his legal career at Orr & Reno in Concord. He joined the Office of the New Hampshire Attorney General and served as Deputy Attorney General under then Attorney General Warren B. Rudman and as Attorney General from 1976 to 1978. He was appointed to the Superior Court in 1978, and the New Hampshire Supreme Court in 1983, where he served until being nominated by George H.W. Bush to the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in May 1990. Just a few months later, President Bush nominated him to the Supreme Court of the United States. David was confirmed by a vote of 90-9. He began serving on the Court in October 1990. David retired at the relatively young age of 69, and returned to New Hampshire in 2009, but continued to sit on the First Circuit Court in Boston for another 11 years.

For the many people who live in Concord, and throughout the State, and who knew him, he will never be thought of as “Justice Souter.” To them, he was a neighbor, a high school friend, a colleague, someone they saw shopping at Shaw’s or the Cracker Barrel, and just “David.” That is what he wanted. He served on many charitable boards, including as Chair of the Board of Trustees of Concord Hospital, where he supported the growth and development of the Hospital into the significant regional health care facility it has become. He was a long-time member of the Board of the New Hampshire Historical Society.

As remarkable as they were, David Souter's life and career cannot and should not be defined solely by his extraordinary professional and public service. The true measure of his life can be found in the many lives he touched, the many friends he made and kept, and his decency and character that were so manifest, simple, and grounded. He loved the law, his books, his hikes and his friends, and their families. And they all loved him back. For those who knew and loved him, every conversation with David ended with you feeling better about yourself. He will be missed by so many.

He would not willingly nor comfortably receive all the praise and kind words that his passing has engendered. But he can no longer rule them out of order. His life, his legacy, his decency and his honor will long serve as reminders to us all, even in troubling times, that we are the angels of our better nature.

Without objection, it is so ordered.

At David’s request, there will be no public memorial service. To honor and celebrate his legacy, consider making a donation in his name to the Concord Coalition to End Homelessness in Concord, New Hampshire, https://concordhomeless.org/ or Mayhew, Inc. for the Mayhew Program on Newfound Lake in Bristol, NH. https://www.mayhew.org/