Corpus Christi Couple Celebrates 75 Years Together

The sounds of Texas.

By Joy DiazJuly 22, 2020 3:29 pm,

What does it take to keep a marriage strong for 75 years? If you ask Eliseo and María Dávila, they’ll tell you that faith in god has a lot to do with it – and learning how to forgive one another. It must have worked. They had 11 children.

The couple, who live in Corpus Christi, met during World War II in Montemorelos, Mexico. They were both 19.

“The tradition was that every evening, all of the bachelor men would walk around the town square, say, clockwise. And all the single ladies would walk counter-clockwise. And we would lock eyes with the person we liked.” – Eliseo Dávila

Courtesy of the Dávila family

“I would tell everyone, ‘she has to be my wife.’ May 19 1945, god answered my prayer. She is my wife!” – Eliseo Dávila

“We are old now, but we still love each other like we did back then. We love our children very much, and they love us.” – María  Dávila

Courtesy of the Dávila family

“Many times when we make mistakes, we feel like giving up. No! Learn to forgive. Learn to keep going. Learn to love each other like the first day.” –María Dávila

English translation provided by David Alvarez and Alex Richmond.

If you found the reporting above valuable, please consider making a donation to support it here. Your gift helps pay for everything you find on texasstandard.org and KUT.org. Thanks for donating today.