Testimonials

Under Construction

Under Construction

  In January 2015, I posted the following on my Facebook page in a desperate attempt to find my Dad’s long lost best friend from WWII. I didn’t have much information and it had been 71 years since they last spoke. Patricia, a relative of a friend, saw the post and somehow located Paul’s daughter in another state! Paul and his wife were living in a nursing home and Paul was ill.  

My Dad and Paul reconnected over two phone calls, and within a few weeks, Paul passed away. My Dad passed a year later but it meant so much to him to talk to Paul again. It was just in time; it truly was divine intervention.  I don't know how she did it but I am so truly grateful for Patricia’s ability to find people.  

"My father, Clyde Hildebrand, is trying to find out what happened to his best friend Paul Fitzgerald from Tennessee. They served in the Navy during WWII together. They lost track of each other when my dad left the Navy and Paul was in Japan. Paul was likely born 1923 - 1926. He served on LST 280 with my dad during the Normandy Invasion D-Day, bringing British troops to Gold Beach. Paul later served in Saipan and Japan in 1945. The chances of him being alive are slim but my dad's been doing a lot of reminiscing and regretting they lost touch. My dad also kept a diary during the war, and Paul's family might like a copy. Anyone have connections in Tennessee that could share this? This picture was taken in 1944, Paul Fitzgerald on the left, my dad Clyde Hildebrand on the right. Anyone know Paul Fitzgerald from Tennessee (on the left)???”   

BLESSING

On January 13, 2019, I received a message from Patty Swis, who had been doing genealogy/DNA research for my (then unknown) half sister, Denise.  Patty is an expert when it comes to genealogy and a great detective. She had done some investigating and through elimination found Dee’s father to be my biological father.  I talked with Patty a few times over those next few months. One day Patty called and asked if I was interested in finding my mother. Of course, I said YES. Patty is just amazing. I was absolutely astonished to find Patty had found my mother, Annette Simms! I told her my name was Mary Simms on my adoption records…Patty said having the Simms name on my adoption papers made Patty surer her research was correct. It was so exciting to make the connection. It is so hard to express how exciting it was to find my mother. The next week Patty came back with more information. Annette had married Cliff Cuneo and had further found out I had 6 brothers - Cliff, Mike, Thomas, John, Stanley and Jim. I was speechless.  She started telling me all their names and where they lived. It was beyond my wildest imagination. How did she find this information? I had looked at this DNA for years and in a couple of weeks Patty had discovered, I not only had a family but a large family…Patty offered to call them for me. I agreed. I knew they would be as shocked as I was. But they deserved their privacy. If they didn’t want to talk with me, I was okay with that.  Patty called Stanley on Good Friday, April 19, 2019. Stanley and Betsy, his wife, called me Easter Sunday the 21st…  To this day, it is hard for me to believe I would find my family. Next, Stanley did his DNA on Ancestry, and it was confirmed that we are related.  He called me when he got the results. We were both so excited to know, without a doubt, RELATED! It has been a great story, kind of unbelievable for me. I know I have been blessed by two great mothers and six wonderful brothers and their families added to my family tree.  

Under Construction

Under Construction