When she was 85, Betty Reid Soskin became a park ranger at Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, California. Thirteen years later, she still hasn’t retired.
Even after suffering a stroke several months ago, Soskin continues to serve at the park, though she has cut back from five days a week to one. “I can’t believe I’ve reached this age,” she recently told KTVU. “Inside is 19-year-old Betty.”
She’s walking and talking a bit slower, but the 98-year-old says she’s not stopping because there’s still something she’s meant to do.
“I haven’t any idea what it is,” she said. “I have no idea, except that it’s there. It’s something that I am to accomplish and I haven’t done it yet.”
It’s hard to believe there’s anything left for Soskin to accomplish in her long and storied life, but you don’t argue with an impressively aging elder. Especially one who comes from a mother who lived until 101, a great-grandmother who lived until 102, and a great-aunt who lived to 107—all of whom stayed busy until their passing.
If this isn’t #aginggoals, then there’s no such thing. Watch Soskin in action in this recent interview from KTVU News:
