The Economic Times

In 1995, at age 74, she was named Californias Woman of the Year. At age 86, she became a permanent NPS employee, carrying memories of Amelia Earhart's tragic loss and the 1944 Port Chicago disaster

Betty Reid Soskin lived through some of Americas defining moments, remembering Amelia Earharts tragic disappearance and the 1944 Port Chicago explosion. Named California Woman of the Year in 1995, she later joined the National Park Service and became its oldest ranger, spending her later years preserving overlooked stories of Black Americans and women during World War II.