Sunday, March 21, 2010 

My Journey in Finding my Birth Family:                                         

 I've always known that I was adopted and had wanted to know where I came from.  Back in 1990, my adoptive mother, Margaret, gave me the address to the San Diego County Adoption Agency to find out whatever information I could.  They sent me my Background Information which had some information in it and listed the first names of my birth mother and one of my sisters, but no last names.  I found out at that time that the records were sealed so I figured that I couldn't really progress with the search without spending thousands of dollars hiring a private investigator.  So I let it go at that time. 

When I was a child and snooping in my mother's desk, I found what seemed like my original birth certificate with the name, Jennifer Lee Meyers.  I had no idea if Meyers was my last name or not.  I never really thought about it.  Maybe they named me that instead of Jane Doe. 

Over the years, that yearning was still there and it felt like a huge hole in my heart.  It sort of went away for awhile when I had my kids because I could associate with them and say, Yeah, my son and daughter look like me.  But after losing my adoptive mother in 2003, I thought about looking again. 

And then, my opportunity came when one day I was watching Oprah (in late February 2010) and on her show she had Troy, the Locator who looks for long lost family or friends.  I went on his web site and filled out their very short evaluation with my name and my mother's name, where I was born and my birth date.  A few days later, Linda from Search Quest America called and wanted to ask me a few questions.  She said that the reason she called me was because I was born in California and California is one of the 7 states in the US that they can g research birth records dating back to 1949.  She then asked me a bunch of other questions to see how much I knew.  Going back to my 'Background Information', I knew quite a bit which would make this search somewhat uncomplicated.  She told me to wait about 15 days to process the information and they would get back to me.   

I told my brother, Cliff, about this search and he was very supportive.  He didn't want me to forget about him in the process.  I told him that he was my real brother and that I loved him, we grew up together and have a history. 

By the following Saturday (March 20, 2010) I received an email of who my mother was.  My original birth certificate stating that I was Jennifer Lee Meyers was actually my real name given to me at birth.  Weird to think that I had my family name the whole time!  She also told me that I have a set of twin half brothers.   

And then Sunday (March 21, 2010) came and what a whirlwind day that was!!  The first email that I received from my search person, Patty, stated that my birth mother, Evelyn, had passed away in 1999.  I actually cried over that one because I was way too late.  I also found out that I had an older sister named Ruby and Patty was going to call her.  There was one other sister between Ruby and me, and her name was Vicki.  Unfortunately, she just passed away last November, 2009 of cancer.  I found out some other pertinent information regarding the family like that I have an aunt named Pam, who is my mother's sister.   

After this phone call, Patty was going to try to get a hold of Ruby.  Twenty minutes later, Patty called me back.  She had gotten a hold of Ruby through Pam.  They live in San Diego!  She gave me Ruby's email address and told me that she was on Face Book.  After that phone call, I immediately looked up Ruby O'Dell and saw her picture.  She has the same rosy cheeks as me!  I guess Ruby had done the same.  Later that evening, Ruby called me.  Now that was surreal!  Here I was talking with my sister (actually 1/2 sister, but sister nonetheless).  She told me that my aunt Pam noticed the resemblance between me and my other sister, Vicki, and our mom.  We chatted a little bit and it was real easy to talk with her.  I guess we talked for about 30 minutes or so.  She told me to look at her family pictures to see what Vicky looked like.  I did that, and I was amazed we look a lot alike!  It was strange to see her looking back at me.  I copied that picture and sent it to my best friends and family, and they also saw the resemblance. 

Between Sunday, the 21st, and now (Wednesday, March 24, 2010) I have exchanged a few emails with Ruby and I called her last night.  In one of her emails, she wanted to be the first to welcome me into the family and I was very touched by that!  I also have my aunt Pam as a friend on Face Book.   

They both have told me that they have wondered about me throughout the years.  Even Evelyn (my birth mom) wondered as well.  I asked Ruby if our mom was still alive, would she want to meet me and she answered Yes! That made me feel good.   

April 24, 2010:

I had to meet them.  I flew to San Diego and when I met them, it was like we were old friends.  They were so comfortable to talk with, and we had such a great time.  I fit right in (they thought so too).  I have another trip planned for August to meet some more of the family.  I have Search Quest America to thank for this, I couldn't have done it without them!! 

I started this search back in 1991 but couldn't go further because there was no internet (I didn't know how to start) and I didn't have the money.  I'm sorry that I couldn't because I could have met my mother and sister, Vicki, but as Ruby said so eloquently in an email, she felt like our mom was in heaven looking down with Vicki and smiling, probably wishing they were here or that this could have happened years ago. Me too!  But I'm happy that I have found them at last! 

Alice Romano

Her parents took her to San Diego, California, without telling her the reason for the trip.  They dropped her at a home for unwed mothers and then left, not to be seen or heard from again until the day after her baby girl was born.

They came to get Melva to take her back to Oregon, only giving her one minute to look through window at her baby girl for the last time.    Her folks were very poor and forbid her from keeping the baby even though she didn't want to leave without her. 

After we were married we tried to locate her daughter, but at that time finding her baby was very hard and cost us a considerable amount of money with no results.

I had never seen a computer until my daughter gave me one when I was in my fifties about 19 years ago.  Even though I learned to use and repair computers, I still could not find Melva's daughter for her even though I tried.

Melva and I are both 69 years old now, and last year we watched a TV show called 'The Locator' hosted by Troy Dunn. Even though it had been 53 years since the birth of Melva's daughter, we still had hope she could be found. I talked my wife into dictating a letter for me to send to Troy as she won't use a computer. I sent the E-mail letter to Troy's web site and got a letter back saying they were considering it for a show but not to get our hopes too high as they get so many requests and can't select them all.

After not hearing from them for a month I got up at 1 AM and wrote another letter with a lot of information about where baby was born and more. I sent it off to Troy again not telling my wife as I didn't want to see her disappointed again.

About four days later Melva was sitting in her chair in the family room when the phone rang and when she answered, Susan who works with Troy, told her they had found her daughter in San Diego, and she had been looking for her mother too by registering on a registry. It took Melva a while to figure out what was going on as I never told her about my letter, and then the tears came.

After Darlene and Melva talked on the phone several times (long calls), we told all the family. Our 3 boys and the 2 girls who were born after we married. We sent Darlene a plane ticket to come to Bandon, Or.

The 2 girls came from Arizona, 1 came from Florida with our grandson and great grandson, and the boys from Portland, OR.  When we met Darlene at the airport I could not believe what I was seeing, I've been trying to find Susan's e-mail address so I could send her the picture I'm sure she would be quite surprised.

My wife says it was meant to be when I decided to send another e-mail at 1 o'clock in the morning without telling her. We will never be able to thank Susan for saying she had decided to take a look and see to see if she could find anything, and the rest is all one great reunion that lasted a week and still goes on and on.

No one ever knew, not even our children or her younger brother and sister. Everyone knows Darlene now because we just consider her a part of our family.

We will never forget what Susan has done for our family, and the great work she does, it would never have come true without her.

Bill & Melva Woodward
Bandon Or.