Betty Reid Soskin, East Bay historian and nation’s oldest park ranger, dies at 104

Betty Reid Soskin, a pioneering historian and the oldest active U.S. park ranger until her retirement in 2022, died Sunday at her home in Richmond. She was 104.

Soskin served more than 15 years as a ranger at the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, where she led tours and helped shape the park’s narrative by centering the experiences of Black women during World War II.

During the war, Soskin worked for the U.S. Air Force beginning in 1942 but later quit after learning she had been hired because supervisors mistakenly believed she was white, according to a National Park Service biography.

In a Facebook post announcing her death, family members said Soskin was surrounded by loved ones.

“She led a fully packed life and was ready to leave,” they wrote.

The family encouraged those wishing to honor her legacy to donate to Betty Reid Soskin Middle School or support completion of her documentary film, “Sign My Name to Freedom.”

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