Silvis Hero Street woman turns 100 on Cinco de Mayo

SILVIS, Ill. (KWQC) - A Silvis Hero Street woman celebrated her 100th birthday on Cinco de Mayo and is reflecting on her life story as she has seen history unfold right outside her doorstep.

Manuela Terronez, later to be called Nellie Munos, was born on May 5, 1923, in Riverside, California. At a young age, she and her family immigrated to Silvis, living out of boxcars at the rail yard and growing up through The Great Depression.

Being an immigrant, Munos said that her teachers couldn’t say or spell Manuela, giving her the name Nellie Munos, which she’s gone by since.

In school, Munos met her now late husband Joe, and the two went on to eventually get married, have children and even build a house on Second Street, now known as Hero Street.

“I met my husband in school and then we got married,” she said. “And I had eight children, and all of my children, my four boys and four girls. So that makes it very good.”

To this day, Munos still lives on Hero Street and is proud of her late brother and former mayor of Silvis, Joe Terronez, and his role in telling the stories of the veterans who lived on the street.

Munos said what’s kept her going for 100 years is the unity of those closest to her.

“We always have our cookout in the back, and we always are together,” she said. “We’re always very well, you know, untied. So that’s a part of my life.”

Munos said she’s very proud of being a mother and raising her children in Silvis.

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