‘She was a trailblazer’: Friends, family discuss life and legacy of Wichita’s ‘Rosie the Riveter’
By Sydney Ferguson
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WICHITA, Kansas (KAKE) — The Wichita community is mourning the loss of Connie Palacioz, a B-29 Superfortress and World War II-era “Rosie the Riveter” who died Sunday morning at 101-years-old. Now, her friends and family are also honoring her legacy — highlighting how her work paved the way for women in aviation.
Palacioz’s daughter, Tish Nielsen, describes her mother as a faith-filled woman who was strong, determined and loved life.
“She taught us as a family never to give up and to be strong,” said Nielsen.
Before becoming a legend, Palacioz was born in Peabody and grew up in Newton. Nielsen says her mother faced racism and other issues as a Mexican American, but she never let it hold her back.
At 17, she went to work for Boeing during World War II, joining thousands of other women who helped keep the country going.
“Being here is rough because she loved this place,” said a teary-eyed Nielsen, standing in front of B-29 DOC.
The plane is one of 1,644 B-29 Superfortresses produced in Wichita during the war and one that her mother worked on during her time at Boeing — a huge part of Palacioz’s still-developing legacy.
She worked at Boeing from 1943 to 1945, riveting and shining parts — never telling her family she was a “Rosie the Riveter” until it was time to become one again.
“When you would ask her, ‘Why didn’t you tell us you’re Rosie the Riveter,’ she said, ‘I was just doing my job,’ and that’s the way she was,” said Nielsen.
Nielsen says Palacioz’s humility was her strength, adding was just proud to serve her country. In the year 2000, she once again answered the call to help bring DOC back to life.
“I remember meeting her and thinking ‘this lady is something else,’ said Josh Wells, Executive Director of the B-29 DOC Project. “She’s passionate, and she is dedicated, and she just wanted to see her airplane put back together.”
Nielsen says her mother also came back, hoping to find her buckler, Gerry — an African American woman she worked with on the B-29s and struggled to find after the war. Nielsen says originally, Gerry was cleaning at Boeing, and her mother moved parts because no one was willing to work with her.
“Mom said, ‘That’s fine with me. I’m a minority. I’m Mexican. I’ll work with her,” said Nielsen. “My mom said she was the best. She knew her craft very well, and then they wanted to separate them, and they didn’t separate.”
Wells says that during the war, a workforce made up of between 80% and 90% women, like Connie and Gerry at Boeing, was producing 4.5 B-29s a day — not only aiding the war effort but paving the way for women in aviation.
Connie volunteered during the 16 years it took to restore DOC and later traveled with Wells and others around the country to share its history. Nielsen says her mother made it a point to talk about how the discrimination wasn’t right during these travels
“Having Connie out on tour with us was one of the greatest opportunities that I’ve had,” said Wells. “It wasn’t about her, it was about what she represented, and she knew that, and she was a trailblazer.”
Nielsen says the restoration work and getting to share the plane’s story meant the world to her mother, and for her as well, being her mother’s travel companion.
“I remember the first time she watched it, she cried and said, I can’t believe that it’s flying,” said Nielsen. “It’s been an unbelievable journey to ride with her on this, and I think it extended her life many years, I really do.”
Nielsen says Palacioz passed away peacefully and quickly at home Sunday, which is all she had hoped for her mother.
“It was the most beautiful homecoming ceremony I could ask for… and that makes me happy, and I know she’s with our Lord,” said Nielsen. “She was blessed with a long life to be able to share her story.”
Nielsen and Wells say now, it’s their job to continue sharing that story, making sure Connie and the work she did are never forgotten.
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