Noel arrived in the United States in 1944, and three months later she was working at a shipyard in South San Francisco.

She spoke little English when she arrived and had no experience with power tools. She relied on bilingual neighbors for her day-to-day needs at home, and at work bilingual co-workers helped her understand directions.

Courage and a hope for a better life led Noel to the U.S. after a divorce. She left her two daughters behind in El Salvador to be cared for by her sister until she could send for them a few years later.

Now, those daughters helped Noel celebrate her birthday.

The centenarian has been living in Sunnyvale for three years in an assisted living home not far from her daughter and son-in-law, Maria Elena and Franco Ciacchella.

Maria had a twin brother who died as a toddler after hitting his head and developing gangrene, Franco said.

Franco said his mother-in-law has always been generous but with a frugal business mind. When she was younger, Noel and her second husband, John, owned a few rental properties.

Adelina Noel managed the rentals while raising her children. Before that she worked for 10 years in a chocolate factory where she said she occasionally popped a candy in her mouth instead of in the package--a far cry from the work she did at the WWII shipyards.