The image of Rosie the Riveter flexing her bicep beneath the words "We Can Do It!" has become an enduring symbol. The iconic poster represents the millions of women who stepped into factories, shipyards and assembly lines during World War II, including Minnesota-raised Jeanne Gibson. Gibson, who died on July 29 at age 100, grew up in Minneapolis before heading to Seattle to help build Navy destroyers as a welder during the war. She is believed to have been one of the last surviving Rosie the Riveters. In the decades that followed, she dedicated herself to making sure the stories like hers would not be forgotten, volunteering at the Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, Calif. Tammy Brumley is a fellow volunteer known as the park's "Rosie Wrangler.” She was also a close friend of Gibson’s in her final years of life. Brumley said the women known as “Rosies” were essential to victory in World War II when they took on jobs that had traditionally been for men after millions left to serve in the military. "They stepped up," Brumley told Minnesota Now guest host Kelly Gordon. "Whether it was typical riveters or welders, or people making parachute pins or K-rations, anything for the war effort.” That history becomes more urgent to preserve with each passing year, Brumley said. While a handful of Rosies are still alive, their numbers continue to dwindle. For Jeanne Gibson, the path to becoming a Rosie began in Minneapolis. She was a student at Southwest High School when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. As a teen, she hoped to become a veterinarian but the nearest veterinary school rejected her application because she was a woman. Gibson briefly enrolled in the University of Minnesota's Cadet Nurse Corps program before deciding nursing wasn't the right fit for her. She and a friend headed west to Seattle, where they both became welders at Todd Pacific Shipyards. Brumley said Gibson had a gift for explaining welding and even found it fun. "She describes welding kind of like sewing," Brumley said. "You would tack the item first, which is like basting, and then you would do the welding, which is like sewing. You would just coax that molten metal along." Working union jobs during the war exposed Gibson to something many women had never experienced before: equal pay for equal work. But after the war ended, she quickly encountered discrimination again. Brumley said Gibson left one job after discovering she was earning less than a male file clerk because she was a woman. At another position, she was told she wouldn't advance because she was expected to get married, have children and leave the workforce. But Gibson didn’t accept those limitations. She quit those jobs and continued her education, earning a master’s and doctorate degree from the University of California, Berkeley. Gibson went on to spend her career as a teacher, and spent her retirement volunteering every Friday to tell her story as a Rosie at Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park. Brumley said that even in her final days, Gibson remained committed to telling the Rosie story. Just a week before her death, she appeared before before a crowd for the halftime of a professional soccer game to continue advocating for the women who helped reshape the American workforce. Gibson viewed those appearances as an extension of her decades-long career as a teacher, according to Brumley. "It gave her another opportunity to teach Americans their history and to help young girls understand the message to advocate for themselves and never take no for an answer," Brumley said. Gibson received many accolades for her work, including a Congressional Gold Medal in 2024, the National WWII Museum's American Spirit Award in 2026 and just last month, a banner of her own at the Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park. Gibson often joked that she would die with her boots on. In the end, Brumley said, she did. Gibson died wearing her red and white polka-dot tennis shoes, a nod to the scarf depicted in the iconic Rosie the Riveter poster. Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation with Tammy Brumley and MPR News host Kelly Gordon. Subscribe to the Minnesota Now podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
