Hartford (AP) — Mary Doyle Keefe (above), the model for Norman Rockwell’s
iconic 1943 "Rosie the Riveter" painting that symbolized the millions of American
women who went to work on the home front during World War II, has died.

According to her daughter Mary, Keefe died Tuesday at The McLean Village
Community in Simsbury after a brief illness.

Keefe grew up in Arlington, Vt., where she met Rockwell — who lived in West
Arlington — and posed for his painting when she was a 19-year-old telephone
operator. The painting was on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post for May
29, 1943 (shown above).

Norman Percevel Rockwell
(February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978)