By Kathy Chouteau
Betty Leon Charbonnet Reid Soskin, a 104-year-old Richmond resident who served as the oldest active National Park Service Ranger in U.S. history, passed away in her home surrounded by family Sunday, Dec. 21. In an outpouring of sentiments from across the Richmond community and beyond honoring her life well lived, Ms. Soskin was further cited as a pioneering civil rights activist, educator, author, family member, musician, songwriter, co-owner of Reid’s Records, painter, blogger and more.
“She led a fully packed life and was ready to leave..,” shared her family in a statement about the centenarian who worked until age 100. “There will be a public memorial at a time and place to be announced,” they stated, asking for privacy. In lieu of flowers, Ms. Soskin’s family suggests donations to Betty Reid Soskin Middle School in El Sobrante and to support the completion of a documentary about her, “Sign My Name to Freedom.”
The Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, where Ms. Soskin was hired to work at the age of 85, called her a foundational voice in its creation and enduring mission. There, she brought “lived experience, historical rigor and moral clarity,” said Rosie the Riveter Trust, 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.”
The national park in Richmond remembered Ms. Soskin as a powerful voice for sharing her personal experiences, highlighting untold stories and honoring the contributions of women from diverse backgrounds who worked on the World War II Home Front. “Thank you, Betty, for your service, your stories and your light.”
Former Richmond Mayor Tom Butt remarked that Ms. Soskin’s popularity as a park ranger resulted from her ability to interpret the WWII Home Front story from diverse points of view. “As a person of color, she knew personally of the racial discrimination and segregation on the Home Front, but was also able to deeply appreciate the ‘We Can Do It’ spirit where all Americans pulled together to achieve ultimate victory in WWII.”
Ms. Soskin’s great grandmother was born into slavery, and she poignantly carried her photo with her as she attended President Barack Obama’s inauguration in 2009. Later, she bore the distinct honor of introducing President Obama at the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony in 2015.
Widespread honors of Ms. Soskin prevailed. On Sept. 22, 2021, her 100th birthday, Betty Reid Soskin Middle School in El Sobrante was renamed in her honor in a ceremony that celebrated her contributions as a national park ranger, civil rights activist and otherwise. In ensuing years, the school held recurring birthday parties for Ms. Soskin that were not only attended by her, but also its entire campus community. A balloon garland, birthday cake and vibrant signs created by the students added to the celebratory nature of the events.
Ms. Soskin was also selected as “Woman of the Year” by the California State Legislature in 1995; received the National WWII Museum’s Silver Service Medallion in 2016; honored with Glamour Magazine’s Woman of the Year Award in 2018; named as one of ten women “Builders of Communities and Dreams” in 2005 by the National Women’s History Project; awarded Sierra Club’s Trailblazer Award for her lifetime of service and advocacy; and attended the grand opening of the Smithsonian National Museum of African-American History and Culture as Interior Secretary Jewell’s guest, according to former Mayor Tom Butt.
Also notably—in the 1960s and 1970s—Ms. Soskin wrote and performed songs, appearing in concerts and coffeehouses alongside Malvina Reynolds, Pete Seeger, Country Joe McDonald, Ric Masten and others, shared her family.
Born in Detroit, Michigan in 1921, Ms. Soskin was raised in Oakland and New Orleans. She 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.
Ms. Soskin’s most important role was as a mother to her four children—Rick, Bob, Diara and Dorian Reid—whom she raised in Walnut Creek with her husband, Mel Reid. Following their divorce, Betty married Dr. William Soskin in 1978 and remained married until his death in 1988.
Rosie the Riveter Trust produced a documentary about Ms. Soskin’s life in “No Time to Waste.” Ms. Soskin authored the memoir Sign My Name to Freedom. Its title inspired a song she wrote and a musical play that features her original songs, written by Michael Gene Sullivan and staged by the San Francisco Bay Area Theater Company in 2022. In 2026, a film about her original songs, additionally titled “Sign My Name to Freedom,” is scheduled for release, according to her family.
