National Park Service’s oldest active ranger retires at age 100
Written by Angie Sharma on April 3, 2022
The National Park Service announced the organization’s oldest active ranger has retired at age 100 in California.
The NPS said Betty Reid Soskin, who has served as a ranger at Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond for more than a decade and a half, officially retired at the close of her last day on the job Thursday.
Soskin, marked her 100th birthday in September 2021, took a temporary position working with the NPS at age 84 and became a permanent employee in 2011, making her the oldest active National Parks ranger in the United States.
Soskin’s work at the park included hosting interpretive programs to highlight the histories of Black Americans and other people of color.
“The National Park Service is grateful to Ranger Betty for sharing her thoughts and first-person accounts in ways that span across generations,” said Naomi Torres, acting superintendent of Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park. “She has used stories of her life on the Home Front, drawing meaning from those experiences in ways that make that history truly impactful for those of us living today.”
