Rosie The Riveter Has Passed

[RadishRose]

January 24, 2018

The World War II-era Rosie the Riveter poster and the real-life woman, Naomi Parker-Fraley, who was its inspiration


Everyone knows the iconic image that, during World War II, became an enduring symbol of feminine resolve. But until recently, no one’s been sure what woman inspired “Rosie the Riveter,” the war worker of 1940s popular culture featured in the famous poster by artist J. Howard Miller. Now, as the New York Times reports, the woman who was most likely behind the Rosie poster bearing the slogan “We Can Do It!” has died.


Naomi Parker-Fraley, a Tulsa, Okla., native, passed away on Saturday at age 96 while in hospice care in Longview, Wash., her family said.


The Rosie face first became famous during the early 1940s, when millions of American women pitched in during the war, working not only at riveting, but also at welding, nursing and myriad other jobs while maintaining their traditional duties as mothers and homemakers.

 

[Olivia]

Wow! I didn't even know she was still living. Thanks for the info, Rose!
She certainly became an icon.

 

[rgp]

RIP Ms Fraley.

 

[RadishRose]

Mrs. Fraley nee Parker at age 20-



Created by the artist J. Howard Miller, it featured a woman in a red-and-white polka-dot headscarf and blue shirt, flexing her bicep beneath the phrase “We Can Do It!”

But there were other depictions of a Rosie the Riveter.... One by Norman Rockwell-

Her foot is resting on a copy of Hitler's "Mein Kampf"

The model for Rockwell’s May 29, 1943, cover of the Post, Mary Doyle Keefe, who posed for this painting, was a petite woman in real life. Rockwell would apologize for painting her so large.

 

[Aunt Bea]

Rosie proved to be an inspiration to her generation and beyond!

My grandmother was a machinist during WWII.

When the war ended and the men returned my grandmother, a single mom, was fired because the men had families to support and needed their jobs back.

 

[Falcon]

Rest in Peace Naomi.

 

[OneEyedDiva]

Saw a picture of a very nice statue of her the other day, probably in the article about her passing. May she Rest in Peace.

 

[Big Horn]

She didn't "pass." She died. She's dead just as all of us will be dead within a relatively short time. Can't people say, "Die?"

 

[SeaBreeze]

Rest peacefully Naomi.

 

[Smiling Jane]

I didn't realize she was based on a real person, who riveted in heels according to the photos!

RIP to a true icon.

 

[oldman]

I remember seeing her picture on calendars back when I started flying. Some of the veteran pilots still had a few old calendars from back in the day that featured her.

RIP, Naomi. You were an inspiration to many.