For one woman, Christmas this year gifted her a newly discovered family.
Cynthia Bednarz grew up knowing that she was adopted and that her biological parents were a biracial couple, but it took her decades to discover her parents’ identities. After an emotional family reunion, Bednarz recently celebrated her first Christmas with her biological father, Willie C. Cross, who is now 96 years old.
“I was surprised that she wanted to find me, but I’m glad she did,” Cross told NBC Chicago with a broad smile.
According to NBC Chicago, Bednarz, a resident of Chicago, was adopted at three months of age. As she grew older, her interest in finding her biological parents intensified, and she hired a private investigator to search for her mother. Unfortunately, her mother had already passed away by that time.
Bednarz was left with her father’s name and little other information about him.
“I never in a million years would have thought he was alive,” Bednarz said during her interview.
Bednarz had lost hope in finding her father until she decided to take a 23andMe DNA test, and subsequently received a message from a relative piecing together her family tree. The relative making the family tree connected Bednarz with a Cross family in Detroit. Soon afterward, the niece Bednarz never knew she had messaged her on Facebook.
“I found her on Facebook and in-boxed her, and I said I’m here with my grandfather [Bednarz’s biological father] and he would like to meet you,” Bednarz’s niece, Atisi Riddle, said.
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Shocked, Bednarz called her daughter, and the two went to meet Bednarz’s father. Bednarz called the first meeting “amazing.”
“We just gave each other a big hug – it was just amazing,” Bednarz explained.
Cross, who was confirmed as Bednarz’s biological father through a paternity test, was overjoyed to meet his daughter and welcome her into the family. He described it as a “beautiful day.”
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