All in the Family

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 this 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 of the shady lawn at the Los Angeles Historical Pico Adobe, where the party was held. “But the love has kept us together.”

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

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

In the meantime, women relatives got caught up on each other’s lives while the men tended chicken and beef on the grill.

Children raced around on the lawn, kicking a soccer ball, tossing a football or jumping up and down in a rented, air-cushioned bounce ride.

“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 during the Great Depression in 1932. At the time, 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 went to the movies on their first date--accompanied by her mother and his brother. “We rode in a Model T car that was so small, Anastacio had to ride standing on the running board,” Jessie recalled.

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

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Soon after they tied the knot, the first of the children came in 1933. It was a boy, Ignacio, now age 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.

“We were poor, but we didn’t know it until we left home and saw the world,” Menjuga said with a laugh.

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

“I always told them to let love overcome whatever differences they may have,” Jessie said.

As the children left home, Anastacio and Jessie began to do things again as a couple, such as go to the movies and take trips to Las Vegas.

But mostly, their social lives are centered around the family.

“Everyday 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.”