Betty Reid Soskin, the oldest National Park Service ranger in the country, has died at 104.
Betty Reid Soskin, the oldest full-time National Park Service ranger in the United States, speaks with Kelli English (L), National Park Service interpretation manager, during a press conference announcing her retirement from World War II Rosie the Riveter/Home Front National Historical Park on April 15, 2022 in Richmond, California.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
TO post on facebook His family announced his death on Sunday.
“This morning, on the winter solstice, our mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, Betty Reid Soskin, passed away peacefully at her home in Richmond, California, at the age of 104. She was cared for by her family. She lived a full life and was ready to go,” the post read, in part. “Thank you all for your love and respect for Betty!”
The National Park Service also honored Soskin in a social media post.
“Thank you for your service, Ranger Betty.” the agency published in X.
“Soskin made significant contributions to the development of @RosieRiveterNPS. She was a powerful voice in sharing personal experiences, highlighting untold stories, & honoring the contributions of women of diverse backgrounds who worked on the home front of World War II,” added the publication.
Born on September 22, 1921, in Detroit and raised in New Orleans before her family moved to California, Soskin joined the National Park Service in 2007 as a docent at the Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Park Museum in Richmond, California, which highlights the contributions of women during the war.
Soskin told ABC News in San Francisco. KGO in 2021 that he did not know the secret to his longevity.
“I wish I knew. I’m not sure there’s a secret,” Soskin said. “I think it’s all, one foot at a time. One foot in front of the other. I don’t think any of us really understand what it is.”
“I think it’s important for all of us to follow our passions. We all need passions,” Soskin also told ABC News.
Soskin retired in 2022 at age 100. Among those who praised Soskin after his retirement was former President Barack Obama, whom she inserted in 2015 at the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony, in which he participated at the age of 94. Obama posted an X-ray photo of the couple hugging at the event to acknowledge his retirement.
“Betty, I hope you realize how many people appreciate everything you’ve done, including myself,” Obama wrote.
Meeting the country’s only black president, Soskin told ABC News, was one of the highlights of his life.
“Standing next to Obama on stage in Washington, D.C., in the shadow of the White House, which was built by slaves, really captured the full meaning of that for me,” Soskin said.
Soskin also served on the Berkeley City Council and was named Woman of the Year by the California State Legislature in 1995. according to the National Park Service.
He also worked a variety of other jobs during his long life.
“During World War II, Betty worked as an archivist at the segregated Union hall at Boilermaker’s A-36. In 1945, she and her husband, Mel Reid, founded one of the first black-owned music stores, Reid’s Records, which operated until its closure in 2019.” according to the National Park Service, who even created a special Ranger Betty parks passport stamp for Soskin in 2021 in honor of his centennial.
In lieu of flowers, the family’s Facebook message asked that donations be sent to Betty Reid Soskin High School in El Sobrante, California, or to support the completion of a film about her, titled “Sign My Name to Freedom.”
