‘After 47 Years, It Feels Like Coming Home’: Woman’s Search for Birth Dad Ends in Tears of Joy
A single phone call sent Jennifer Skiles on a breathtaking journey to find the father she never knew
Key Takeaways
- Jennifer Skiles began searching for her birth parents after her adoptive parents passed away.
- Tragically, Jennifer’s birth mother died in a car crash just as they were bonding.
- A Facebook message led Jennifer to her birth dad, Paul Lonardo, who formally adopted her.
All her life, Jennifer Skiles felt the ache of questions no one could answer. But then a single phone call changed everything and sent her on a journey of love, loss and discovery. Here, she shares her story with Woman’s World.
Jennifer Skiles’ heart skipped a beat when she spotted the blinking answering machine light.
“This is Cheryl. I got your letter. Maybe you could call me back?” The shaky voice filled the room.
For a moment, Jennifer couldn’t breathe. It was her birth mother she’d been searching for all her adult life.
A new beginning
Jennifer was 3 years old when she was adopted by a Knoxville, Tennessee, couple. Neither of her parents ever told Jennifer she was adopted, but she knew.
Her grandmother had once let it slip, and when she needed her birth certificate for her first job, she discovered she had been born in Germany.
Jennifer was 18 when her dad died, and a few years later, cancer took her mom. Feeling alone, she began the search for her birth parents.
When Jennifer obtained her original birth certificate from Germany, the line for her father was blank, but the form listed her mother: Cheryl Brown.
Eventually, Jennifer’s search led her to an apartment complex in Texas.
Does she still live there? she wondered, and wrote a letter to the complex’s manager. Please forward this to Cheryl Brown.
What happened a few days later changed everything…
During that first phone conversation, Cheryl told Jennifer about her life and how she’d joined the Army. After boot camp, she and a fellow soldier from Rhode Island named Paul Lonardo had spent a weekend in New York City.
“After that, I shipped out to Germany,” she told Jennifer. “We lost contact and I never told him I was pregnant.”
The women grew so close Cheryl decided to move to Knoxville. But just weeks before the move, she died in a tragic car crash.
Jennifer was devastated.
My birth dad is the only parent I have left, she thought.
More determined to find him, she took a DNA test and prayed for a match.
Love finds a way
There were no matches. But unwilling to give up, she began Facebook-messaging everyone in Rhode Island with her dad’s last name.
One day, her efforts paid off.
“My father-in-law’s name is Paul, and he served in the Army about that same time,” a woman texted her.
“I’d love to talk with you,” Paul messaged a few hours later. “Would you have time tonight?” he added.
Jennifer couldn’t wait.
From the moment she heard Paul’s voice, Jennifer was sure it was him.
“We’ll do a paternity test,” Paul offered.
When Jennifer worried the test would be negative, he added, “It won’t matter. You and I are already family.”
Fittingly, the positive result arrived on Father’s Day. Jennifer’s birthday was only days away.
“I’m not missing another one,” Paul said and booked a flight for their first of many visits.
Soon, their bond deepened, and eventually Paul wanted to make it official.
“I don’t know what you think of this,” Paul broached one day. “But I want to formally adopt you as my daughter.”
“Yes!” Jennifer fell into her dad’s arms.
The adoption went through, and now Jennifer has paperwork that doesn’t have a blank line where her birth father’s name belongs.
“After 47 years, it feels like finally coming home,” she says.
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