5 Generations Gather to Celebrate Couple’s 65 Years of Marriage

Anastacio and Jessie Cisneroz had nine children, each one a blessing. The children grew up and had children of their own.

Then these children of the children had more children. And so on, for a total of five generations.

This is the way of the world and there is nothing unusual about such a scenario, except that Anastacio, now 95, and Jessie, 82, are still married after 65 years.

On Saturday, the Cisnerozes gathered for an early celebration of their Nov. 6 wedding anniversary with 115 direct descendants--including five great-great-grandchildren--and 50 other relatives.

“No marriage is perfect, we’ve had our ups and downs,” said Jessie, sitting on a picnic bench on the shady lawn at the Los Angeles Historical Pico Adobe in Mission Hills, where the party was held. “But the love has kept us together.”

“Every marriage is supposed to last this long,” said Anastacio.

Throughout the day, the couple greeted arriving family members, one by one, with warm embraces and words of endearment. The couple posed for photographs, admired a two-tiered anniversary cake and looked over a family tree drawn on cardboard with color-coded labels for each generation.

“Our parents have been the foundation of our family,” said Adelina Menjuga, 44, who along with her twin sister, Lina Mejia, planned the bash. “They taught us the importance of family, faith, education and good work ethics.”

“They raised us to be close and to work hard raising our families,” said Mary Silva, the couple’s oldest grandchild. “They have really kept the family together” by hosting holiday dinners.

Jessie met Anastacio in 1932. They both lived in San Fernando and would see each other around the neighborhood. He was a 29-year-old lemon picker and she was a 17-year-old high school junior. It was love at first sight.

They were married six months later in a simple ceremony at Santa Rosa Roman Catholic Church in San Fernando, Jessie said. For five generations, the church also has been the site for numerous family weddings and baptisms.

Their first son, Ignacio, is now 64.

The Cisnerozes raised their nine children in a tiny single-family home in San Fernando they bought for $350 in 1933. They still live in the same house.

Anastacio worked as a utility man at Lockheed. Jessie stayed home, constantly reminding the kids of the value of family.

“Every day I feel honored by our children . . . they have been such a blessing to us,” Jessie said. “I tell them that when we pass on, I don’t want them to break up the family. They should still get together as if nothing happened.”