Still riveting at 104: Costa Mesa woman, a Rosie during Word War II, feted on her milestone birthday

Costa Mesa resident Angie Nicargi, who during World War II was among the millions of American women embodied by the cultural icon known as Rosie the Riveter, was celebrated Friday to mark her 104th birthday.

The daughter of Italian immigrants, Angie was born in Brooklyn, New York on May 11, 1921. She was one of six children and is the only one still living.

She married her childhood sweetheart, Bill Nicargi, during the war.

“Bill was a wonderful man,” Nicargi said. “He was even awarded the Soldier’s Medal for heroism when he saved the pilot of a burning plane.”

Newlyweds Angie and Bill Nicargi in 1942.

(Courtesy of the Nicargi family)

While Bill was serving in North Africa, Angie, then 21, joined the female workforce making airplane parts in a defense plant on the home front.

“It gave me a good feeling doing something in wartime,” she said.

She and Bill made their home in Brooklyn, where they became the parents of three children, one of whom died as a child and another as a young adult.

When Bill passed away after 52 years of marriage, Angie continued to live in New York where she immersed herself in full-time volunteering, from childcare at a convent to kitchen work at a senior center.

But after her surviving son and his family moved from the East Coast to Southern California in 2006 and settled into Huntington Beach, she took a leap in her late 80s and decided to relocate herself.

“I don’t regret moving to California,” Angie said. “I have a wonderful son and daughter-in-law and no [family member] was left in New York.”

Today she is blessed with four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. With Mother’s Day falling on her actual birthday this year, a party in her honor with her family and friends was moved up to Friday at Coastal Heights Senior Living, an independent living facility in Costa Mesa.

Angie Nicargi celebrates 104th birthday with son, Larry and daughter-in-law Sharilyn at Coastal Heights Senior Independent Living.

(Susan Hoffman)

For nearly 16 years, Nicargi has lived independently in her Coastal Heights apartment, where she is both the oldest at the facility, as well as its longest tenant.

“She is a definite firecracker, as someone who is full of life, a lot of energy,” said Heidi Peter, Coastal Heights activities director. “When you talk to her, she’s just full of positive energy and has a lot to say. Never negative about anything.”

When her vision began to fail, it was Angie’s optimistic attitude that led her to acquire skills needed to live as independently as possible through the daily living training program at Helen Keller Services. Rather than give up, she learned adaptive techniques and organization systems to keep her home and life in order.

“I used to play bridge and do crossword puzzles, which I miss a lot,” Angie said. “Now I listen to [Amazon’s AI service] Alexa and ask her all about the important news.”

When asked, she lists some of her healthy habits: practicing a positive attitude, reciting the “Serenity” prayer, listening to her favorite tenors, going on little walks in her apartment, keeping up with chores, living a good, clean life and enjoying great Italian food.