Overview
- Soskin died on Dec. 21 at her home in Richmond, California, passing peacefully while attended by family, according to a family statement.
- The National Park Service paid tribute to her influence at Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park, noting her role in elevating overlooked stories of Black workers.
- She joined the NPS in her mid-80s after consulting on the park, became a permanent ranger in 2011, and retired in 2022 at age 100 as the agency’s oldest ranger.
- Her World War II home-front experience included clerical work in a segregated Boilermakers union, and in 1945 she co-founded Reid’s Records, a pioneering Black-owned music store.
- Later-life recognition included introducing President Barack Obama at the 2015 National Christmas Tree Lighting and receiving state and museum honors, with a public memorial to be announced.