Justice Lori S. Wilbur was born in Madison, South Dakota, in 1952, the daughter of a farmer and a homemaker. She attended the University of South Dakota receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1974 and then attended the University of South Dakota, School of Law, graduating in 1977. Wilbur says that her law career has come full circle because her first job out of law school was serving as law clerk for South Dakota Supreme Court Justice Zastrow. Next, she served as an assistant Attorney General; General Counsel, South Dakota Board of Regents; Staff Attorney, South Dakota Legislative Research Council; and Legal Counsel, South Dakota Bureau of Personnel. Wilbur served in a number of judicial capacities prior to her appointment to the Bench: as a Law-Trained Magistrate Judge, Sixth Circuit 1992-1999; Circuit Court Judge, Sixth Circuit, 1999-2011; and Presiding Judge, Sixth Circuit, 2007 – 2011. On August 16, 2011, Wilbur was appointed by Governor Daugaard to be the second woman to serve on the South Dakota Supreme Court, replacing the first woman, Justice Judith Meierhenry. Former Governor Bill Janklow took credit for introducing Wilbur to husband as they both worked for him in the past. Wilbur has two daughters and one grandson.