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The Rosie the Riveter Trust joins communities across the nation in mourning the passing of Betty Reid Soskin, a pioneering civil rights activist, educator, and the oldest active National Park Service Ranger in U.S. history. Soskin passed away early this morning at the age of 104. 

Betty Reid Soskin was a foundational voice in the creation and enduring mission of Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park. As a World War II home front worker, she brought lived experience, historical rigor, and moral clarity to the Trust’s work, ensuring that the stories preserved and shared reflected the full complexity of the American home front. 

“Betty Reid Soskin captivated visitors at the Rosie the Riveter visitor center,” said Michelle Fadelli, President of Rosie the Riveter Trust. “As a park ranger, Betty made history real, because she lived it. She made history matter, because she told the truth. And she made visitors care about all kinds of heroes who contributed to allied victory during the war.” 

Born in Detroit in 1921 and raised in Oakland, Soskin worked during World War II as a file clerk in a segregated union hall, an experience that shaped her lifelong commitment to civil rights, equity, and truth-telling. Decades later, she became a driving force behind a more inclusive interpretation of the Home Front, advocating for the recognition of women of color, working families, and those excluded from wartime opportunity. 

In 2011, at age 84, Soskin became a National Park Service Ranger, captivating visitors with programs that blended personal history with national memory. Her storytelling challenged audiences to reconsider long-held narratives and expanded public understanding of World War II and its lasting impact. 

The Rosie the Riveter Trust is deeply grateful for Betty Reid Soskin’s leadership, partnership, and unwavering insistence that history be told honestly and completely. Her legacy lives on in the park she helped build, in the values she championed, and in the countless people inspired by her voice. 

Information about opportunities to honor Betty Reid Soskin’s life and legacy will be shared in the coming days.  

h For information and resources about the life and legacy of Betty Reid Soskin, follow this link: https://www.nps.gov/rori/learn/historyculture/betty-reid-soskin.htm 

For more information about the Rosie the Riveter Trust, visit www.rosietheriveter.org