A celebration of life ceremony for beloved retired Rosie the Riveter park ranger Betty Reid Soskin will be held at the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts in Oakland on March 1 .
The event will begin at 2 p.m and will be hosted by Richmond’s Rosie the Riveter Trust. It is free though attendees are asked to reserve entry tickets.
The 104-year-old Reid Soskin, who retired as the nation’s oldest park ranger, died peacefully at her home in Richmond on Dec. 21 surrounded by her family.
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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. Reid Soskin later became a civil rights songwriter in the 1960s.
If you go
What: Betty Reid Soskin celebration of life
When: Sun., March 1, 2026, 2 p.m.
Where: Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts, 10 10th St., Oakland.
Tickets: The event is free but tickets are required.
She was most well-known for joining the national park service at age of 85, where she told Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park visitors the stories of marginalized World War II workers. She was also integral in the park’s programming development, for which she received a presidential coin from President Barack Obama in 2015.
In celebration of her 100th birthday in 2021, the West Contra Costa Unified School District (WCCUSD) 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.)
According to the event ticket website, there will be recordings played of Soskin’s original songs from her music career as well as “tributes from many people whose lives Betty affected.”
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Tagged: Betty Reid Soskin, Celebration of Life, rosie the riveter
Joel Umanzor Richmondside’s city reporter.
What I cover: I report on what happens in local government, including attending City Council meetings, analyzing the issues that are debated, shedding light on the elected officials who represent Richmond residents, and examining how legislation that is passed will impact Richmonders.
My background: I joined Richmondside in May 2024 as a reporter covering city government and public safety. Before that I was a breaking-news and general-assignment reporter for The San Francisco Standard, The Houston Chronicle and The San Francisco Chronicle. I grew up in Richmond and live locally.
Contact: joel@richmondside.org