欧博娱乐Betty Reid Soskin, Oldest National Park Servic
Betty Reid Soskin, who was the oldest active National Park Service ranger when she retired, has died at 104
During her tenure with the NPS, Soskin shared her history with visitors on tours — opening up about her experiences working at a segregated union hall as a file clerk during World War II
"She led a fully packed life and was ready to leave," her family wrote in a statement announcing her death
Betty Reid Soskin, best known for being the oldest active National Park Service ranger, has died. She was 104.
Soskin's family made the announcement on Sunday, Dec. 21.
"This morning on the Winter Solstice, our mother, grandmother, and great grandmother, Betty Reid Soskin, passed away peacefully at her home in Richmond, CA," her family wrote in a statement. "She led a fully packed life and was ready to leave."
"We understand the public nature of Betty's life, however we ask that you please respect the family's privacy at this time." the family added. "There will be a public memorial at a time and place to be announced."
Soskin was the oldest active ranger in the National Park Service when she announced her retirement in March 2022 when she was 100 years old.
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She began her career as an NPS ranger at 85, leading visitors on tours at the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, Calif., PEOPLE previously reported.
Before that, she served as an NPS consultant while they were researching the formation of the park. At the time, she was the only person of color in the room and became an integral part of making sure the park didn't erase its history of racial segregation.
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For the next decade and a half, Soskin shared her history with visitors on tours — opening up about her experiences working at a segregated union hall as a file clerk during World War II and later becoming a political and community activist and songwriter during the civil rights movement.
"I tell the story of the African-American workers," Soskin remarked during a 2015 interview with Today. "When I'm on the streets or on an escalator or elevator, I am making every little girl of color aware of a career choice she may not have known she had."
In 2015, Soskin was given a commemorative coin by President Barack Obama, which was stolen from her the following year when an intruder broke into her home and beat her.
When she returned to work three weeks later, Soskin called the experience "an adventure I wished I'd never had," according to NBC Bay Area.
"But it's over now," she added, noting at another point during the press conference that it felt "good" to be back, feeling "the support of the community."
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Soskin's retirement announcement came months after she celebrated her milestone 100th birthday.
"To be a part of helping to mark the place where that dramatic trajectory of my own life, combined with others of my generation, will influence the future by the footprints we've left behind has been incredible," she said in a statement at the time.
"Being a primary source in the sharing of that history – my history – and giving shape to a new national park has been exciting and fulfilling," she added. "It has proven to bring meaning to my final years."
She celebrated her last birthday with students at a middle school named in her honor.
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Following her death, Soskin was remembered as a "mother, daughter, musician, author, political activist, wife, record store owner, songwriter, painter, grandmother, great-grandmother, prolific blogger, and more."
Among her honors included being named Woman of the Year by the California State Legislature in 1995, and receiving the National WWII Museum’s Silver Service Medallion in 2016 and Glamour Magazine Woman of the Year Award in 2018.
In lieu of flowers, Soskin's family asked that donations can be made to the Betty Reid Soskin Middle School in El Sobrante, Calif., and for the completion of her film, Sign My Name To Freedom.