Bette Nash, the world’s longest-serving flight attendant has died at age 88.
The attendant, who began her career in 1957 at Eastern Airlines, now not longer active, would work the shuttle flight between Washington DC and Boston so she’d be home each night for her son.
Bette Nash said she wanted to work for airlines since she was a teenager, with the glamor of the job enticing her.
She told CNN previously: “I wanted to be a flight attendant from the time I got on the first airplane – I was 16 years old.
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“The pilot and the flight attendant walked across the hall and I thought ‘Oh my God,’ and I said that was for me.”
But it was a restrictive application process decades ago, with weight and height limitations being strict on potential flight attendants.
Nash explained to WJLA: “You had to be a certain height, you had to be a certain weight. It used to be horrible.
“You put on a few pounds and you had to keep weighing yourself, and then if you stayed that way, they would take ya off the payroll!”
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In 2022, the Guinness World Records gave her the title for longest-serving flight attendant.
At the time she had been serving for 64 years, at the time of her death, Nash had worked for almost 67 years in the industry. The previous record was 63 years and 61 days, handed out the year before.
However, she never officially retired from her job with American Airlines, so when she died on May 17, in hospice care, she was still working with the company.
Nash passed away after battling breast cancer, writes ABC.
The airline released a statement: “We mourn the passing of Bette Nash, who spent nearly seven decades warmly caring for our customers in the air.
“She started in 1957 and held the Guinness World Record for longest-serving flight attendant. Bette inspired generations of flight attendants. Fly high, Bette.”
The Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA), added Nash “touched many with her warmth, dedication, and service”.
“RIP, Bette. You won’t be forgotten.”
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