Record-breaking Park Ranger Passes Away

The park honors the contributions and sacrifices of civilians who helped with the war efforts here during World War II.

RIVERSIDE, CA—Betty Reid Soskin, who was a trailblazer for the National Park Service, passed away on Dec. 27 at age 104.

Hired at age 85 for her experiences here in the United States during World War II, the park service really wanted her to share her PERSPECTIVE with visitors to the Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park, opened 25 years ago.

The oldest U.S. Park Ranger ever, Soskin taught visitors about the work of Black Americans on the home front during those tense and trying times (WWII went from Sept. 1, 1939 to Sept. 2, 1945).

Soskin was born in Detroit, MI on Sept. 22, 1921. Her parents were from Louisiana—her father Dorson was raised in a Creole community while her mom Lottie was Cajun. Her great-grandmother was born into slavery in 1846.

On the WWII home front, Soskin worked as a file clerk in Riverside in a segregated boilermakers union hall. In 1945, she and her first husband opened the first Black-owned music store in Berkeley, CA. It specialized in gospel music and lasted more than 70 years. She worked with two California legislators and helped plan the national park. Once opened, managers offered the 85-year-old a job!

“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,” Soskin said in a statement when she retired as a Park Ranger at age 100.