Posted on 10/29/2020 12:01:02 AM PDT by nickcarraway
A father and son who hadn't had any contact for nearly 48 years had an emotional reunion at a Pennsylvania airport, thanks an aunt's sleuthing on Facebook.
Bill Patrick Sr., of Northumberland County, and Bill Patrick Jr., of Utah, said they had not seen each other since the younger Patrick was only 5 years old.
"My mom I guess took off with my two sisters and I the day after Easter, I think, in 1973," Bill Jr. told WPMT-TV. "Pretty much what I knew about dad was on the birth certificate."
The elder Patrick said he and his family had long been trying to find his children.
"My sister's been looking. My brother when he was alive he was still looking," he said.
The sister, Bill Jr.'s aunt, finally had some luck when she found him on Facebook about two years ago. The father and son were able to connect over the long distance and were finally reunited at Harrisburg International Airport when Bill Jr. flew out to meet his dad.
"I told myself I wasn't going to get emotional," Bill Jr. said. "That didn't happen."
The pair said they found out they have many things in common, including both having been married for 31 years. Bill Sr. found out he now has four grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren.
"It's almost like that puzzle piece that's missing and kinda fitting into that place," Bill Jr. said.
In another reunion, a pair of brothers were reunited in New York state after 60 years apart in September. Don Crawford, 67, and Bruce DeLude, 69, said they were in foster care together for years as kids before being separated and sent to different families.
The pair were reunited after 60 years thanks to DeLude's daughter, Heather, who did some research and was able to find a phone number belonging to Crawford.
I also found my birth mother after searching for her for 26 years. I was 50 yo and she was 72 yo. when we met for the first time. I did it all without the internet by going thru obits, cemeteries, libraries, and good ole’ leg work.
I wrote a book detailing my entire journey called, “Scattered Siblings”, auth: Lawrence Weeks (available on Amazon).
Couple of interesting things that happened: 1) There was a picture of me in a coffin when I was 6 years old (really). . . and 2) I stabbed my brother with a knife and threw him off a bridge into the Ohio River (?).
What?
A Sr. and a Jr. that Sr. couldn’t find for years? Seems unlikely to me. Any PI would of completed that assignment before lunch.
Well, I’m now going to have to buy your book.
I do family history and genealogy as a hobby, so I definitely know about sleuthing. The internet is not all it is cracked up to be. Going to Cemetaries, courthouses, and libraries/historical societies is invaluable.
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