Betty Reid Soskin was married twice during her lifetime. Her first husband was Mel Reid. The couple tied the knot in 1943 and divorced almost three decades later in 1972. A few years later, Betty married her second husband, William Soskin, in 1978. The couple remained together till William passed away in 1988.Betty Reid Soskin's personal life is not as public as her activism and social work. What is known about Betty and Mel, her first husband, is that they started a small gospel record shop called Reid's Records in Berkeley, California. The store was open for 74 years till it finally closed in 2019. Betty Reid shared four children with her first husband.Betty remarried in 1978 after her divorce from Mel Reid. She married William Soskin, who was a psychology professor at the University of California, Berkeley. The couple were married for 10 years till Soskin passed away in 1988.Betty Reid Soskin passed away at the age of 104 in her home in Richmond, California.Betty Reid Soskin's familyBefore she became Betty Reid Soskin, she was born as Betty Charbonnet in Detroit in 1921. Betty's family has roots in Creole and Cajun cultures. She spent her early childhood days in New Orleans till they had to move because of the Great Mississippi Flood.After they moved to Oakland, California, Betty's father and uncles worked as waiters and Pullman porters. Throughout her childhood, she had a devoutly Catholic Creole upbringing.Betty Reid Soskin had experienced racism while growing up, and her children faced the same fate as well. After her marriage to Mel Reid, the couple moved into a white neighborhood and received death threats.Betty also decided to take a job in the Air Force office. Surprisingly, she passed as a white woman, but she refused to pretend. Mrs. Soskin revealed what she said after she asked if she was going to be promoted as a black woman. She wrote in her 2018 memoir Sign My Name to Freedom:"I walked out on the U.S. government and told them to shove it."Her then-husband, Mel Reid, also faced a similar incident when he applied for a job with the Navy. She said:"He was going to fight for his country... But he found out he could only cook for his country."At the age of 93, Betty said in an interview:"Wish I'd had [the] confidence when the young Betty needed it to navigate through the hazards of everyday life on the planet. But maybe I'm better able to benefit from having it now – when I have the maturity to value it and the audacity to wield it for those things held dear."Betty Reid Soskin lived a long and meaningful life shaped by family, hard work, and courage. She faced racism with honesty and strength, never hiding who she was. Even in old age, she spoke boldly about justice and left behind a powerful legacy.Also read: 6 charities and causes Jane Goodall supported throughout her life