"Reid Soskin, who retired as the nation's oldest park ranger, died peacefully at at age 104 at her home in Richmond on Dec. 21, surrounded by her family. During World War II, Reid Soskin worked as a file clerk for the U.S. Air Force and, in 1945, she and her then-husband, Mel Reid, founded Reid's Records in Berkeley, a small black-owned business that specialized in Gospel music."
"In celebration of her 100th birthday in 2021, the West Contra Costa Unified School District changed the name of Juan Crespí Middle School in El Sobrante to Betty Reid Soskin Middle School. (The Betty Reid school community, where she celebrated her 104th birthday last year, shed tears Wednesday night as the board voted to move them to Pinole Middle School as part of a round of budget cuts.)"
A free celebration of life for Betty Reid Soskin will be held at the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts in Oakland on March 1 at 2 p.m., hosted by Richmond's Rosie the Riveter Trust; attendees are asked to reserve entry tickets. Reid Soskin retired as the nation's oldest park ranger and died at age 104 on Dec. 21 at her Richmond home. She worked as a file clerk during World War II, co-founded Reid's Records in 1945, became a civil rights songwriter in the 1960s, and joined the National Park Service at 85 to share marginalized WWII workers' stories. She helped develop park programming and received a presidential coin from President Barack Obama in 2015. The West Contra Costa Unified School District renamed a middle school in her honor in 2021. Recordings of her original songs and tributes from many people whose lives she affected will be played at the event.
Read at The Oaklandside
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