Bette Nash, who was once named the longest-serving flight attendant in the world, has died. She was 88.
American Airlines, Nash’s employer, announced her passing on social media on Saturday. The airline noted that Nash spent nearly 70 years passionately caring for customers in the air.
“Bette was a legend in America and throughout the industry, inspiring generations of flight attendants,” the American said. wrote on Facebook. “Fly high, Bette. We will miss you.”
According to the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, which also paid tribute to Nash OnlineNash began her career as a flight attendant for Eastern Airlines back in 1957. The union noted that it is based in the Washington, D.C. area.
Nash’s position at Eastern eventually led her to American, which purchased many of Eastern’s routes in 1990.
The Associated Press reached out to American and APFA for more information about Nash’s death on Tuesday. ABC News reported that Nash died on May 17 while in hospice care after a recent breast cancer diagnosis. She never officially left American Airlines, the publication added.
According to the Guinness Book of Records, Nash was born December 31, 1935 and began her career as a flight attendant at the age of 21. In 2022 Guinness Book of Records named Nash is the longest serving flight attendant in the world – officially surpassing the previous record a year earlier with 63 years and 61 days of service as of 4 January 2021.
“I wanted to be a flight attendant from the moment I boarded my first plane—I was 16 years old, sitting with my mom on a green leather couch at Washington (Reagan National Airport),” Nash told CNN in a 2016 interviewremembering the thrill she felt when she saw the flight crew pass by.
Nash told CNN she applied for a job in the air after graduating from college, “and the rest is history.”