Betty Reid Soskin, legendary national park ranger, dies at 104, family says
By KGO Staff
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RICHMOND, California (KGO) — Betty Reid Soskin, best known as the oldest serving National Park Service ranger in the country, has died, her family announced on Sunday.
She was 104 years old.
Her family wrote on Facebook:
“This morning on the Winter Solstice, our mother, grandmother, and great grandmother, Betty Reid Soskin, passed away peacefully at her home in Richmond, CA at 104 years old. She was attended by family. 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..
Soskin was born on September 22, 1921. During World War II she worked as a file clerk for a boilermaker’s union and founded Reid’s Records in Berkeley. It was open for 75 years.
She has worked for more than a decade as an interpretative ranger at the Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Park Museum in Richmond.
She retired from the National Park Service in 2022.
Before joining NPS, Soskin helped with scoping meetings for the City of Richmond and NPS to develop the Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park.
In 2011, Betty became a permanent NPS employee and has been leading public programs and sharing her personal remembrances and observations at the park visitor center.
In September 2021, ABC7’s Liz Kreutz spoke to Soskin, asking her, “What’s her secret to a long life?”
Soskin was not completely sure.
“I wish I knew. I’m not sure that there is a secret,” Soskin said. “I think it’s all just, one foot at a time. One foot in front of the other. I don’t think any one of us really understands what it’s about.”
Another explanation was genetics. Soskin’s mother lived to be 101. Her grandmother, who was born a slave in Louisiana in 1856, lived to be 102.
“And I was born in 1921,” Soskin added, “And I’m still here,” she said in 2021.
Soskin was also an author, a musician, and a civil rights activist.
In an unfinished documentary, “Sign My Name to Freedom,” Soskin revealed her passion for music.
“There’s a part of my life that I’ve kept hidden for a half century,” she said in the film.
In September 2025, ABC7 was in El Sobrante when dozens of students from Soskin Middle School celebrated Soskin’s 104th birthday.
For those who want to honor Soskin, her family is asking for donations to the Betty Reid Soskin Middle school in El Sobrante and/or help support the completion of Betty’s film “Sign My Name to Freedom.”
Her family said there will be a public memorial. The time and place will be announced.
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