Topeka ? Former Kansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Kay McFarland, the first woman ever to hold that position and the first female district court judge in Kansas, died Tuesday. She was 80.

McFarland served on the Kansas Supreme Court for nearly 32 years, making her one of the longest-serving justices in state history.

She was appointed to the court Sept. 19, 1977, by then-Gov. Robert Bennett, a Republican, and rose to become chief justice in 1995. She continued as chief justice until her retirement in January 2009, after she had reached the state’s mandatory retirement age for judges.

According to a biographical page on the Supreme Court’s website, McFarland was born July 20, 1935, in Topeka. She graduated magna cum laude from Washburn University in 1957 with dual majors in English and history-political science.

She graduated from Washburn University School of Law in 1964 and worked in private practice until January 1971.

In 1970, she ran for a seat on the Shawnee County bench, defeating an incumbent to become judge of the probate and juvenile courts. Two years later, she became judge of a newly created division in the Shawnee County District Court, making her the first woman to become a district court judge in Kansas.

Current Shawnee County Judge Frank Theis, who joined that bench the same year McFarland joined the Supreme Court, said he was saddened at her death.

“Bennett put her on because he wanted to diversify the court,” he said. “I didn’t have too much contact with her after that. She was pretty well thought of on the bench here. She was always nice, had a good sense of humor.”

Kansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Lawton R. Nuss called McFarland’s death regrettable and said she served the people of Kansas and the state’s court system well through her landmark election and long career.

“Chief McFarland was a pioneer of the Kansas Court system,” Nuss said in a statement.