MORENO VALLEY – (INT) – Most places don’t carry greeting cards for couples that have been married three quarters of a century.

It was 1940 when a 23-year-old Amador asked 20-year-old Nellie to be his wife. At that time, theaters were showing Gone with the Wind, people were buying new cars for $800 and World War II had just begun.

For Amador and Nellie, a unique love affair had also just begun. And it’s been going strong for decades --- seven and a half of them to be exact. The Moreno Valley couple celebrate their 75th wedding anniversary with family and friends.

Nellie, who is 95, said she has been in love for a lifetime, and after all these years, she still adores her husband.

“He has always been good to me,” she said. “He always provided for me, made sure I was OK, and made me feel loved.”

The two lovebirds first met in 1938 at a public dance in El Monte, a city just east of Los Angeles.

There was electricity at the start, said Amador who turns 99 in May.

“After the dance, we all needed a ride home so we all crammed into my friend’s Model A Ford,” Amador said.
“She actually had to sit on my lap because the car was so crowded. I planted a kiss on her cheek that night.”

The next day, the couple spent a rainy afternoon watching the Rose Parade. A day later, Amador had charmed his way into Nellie’s parents’ home where he spent the day eating her mother’s home-made tamales.

Two years later, the couple got hitched.

“We just knew we didn’t want to be away from each other,” Nellie said. “Getting married was a very natural thing for us.”

After their marriage, the couple moved to the nearby town of Irwindale. Amador worked odd jobs until 1947 when he got a job as a laborer in a rock quarry. A few years later, the couple purchased and operated a small convenience store in South El Monte. Later, they owned a chicken ranch and sold eggs. The couple also ran a welding company, and built and sold homes in Baja California.

The couple moved to Moreno Valley in 1986.

Their secret to a long marriage? “There’s really no secret,” Amador said. “It’s really all about respecting each other and staying positive and not quarreling with each other over the small things.”

Story Date: February 16, 2015