Facebook reunites two long-lost siblings after 65 years.
DAVENPORT, Iowa: A man has been
reunited with his sister 65 years after the siblings were separated in foster
care thanks to a sevem-year-old friend who searched Facebook.
Clifford Boyson, of Davenport, Iowa, met his sister, Betty Billadeau,
in person on Saturday.
Billadeau drove up from her home in Florissant, Missouri, with her
daughter and granddaughter for the reunion at a hotel in Davenport.
Boyson, 66, and Billadeau, 70, both tried to find each other for years
without success. They were placed in different foster homes in Chicago when
they were children.
Then 7-year-old Eddie Hanzelin, who is the son of Boyson’s landlord,
got involved.
Eddie managed to find Billadeau by searching his mom’s Facebook account
with Billadeau’s maiden name. He recognized the family resemblance when he saw
her picture.
“Oh, my God,” Boyson said when he saw and hugged Billadeau.
“You do have a sister,” Billadeau said.
“You’re about the same height Mom was,” Boyson said.
Billadeau’s daughter, Sarah Billadeau, 42, and granddaughter, Megan
Billadeau, 27, both wiped away tears and smiled during the reunion.
“He didn’t have any women in his life,” Sarah said.
“We’re going to get that straightened out real fast.”
Boyson said he’s looking forward to visiting Billadeau near St. Louis
and meeting more family.
“I’m hoping I can go and spend a week or two,” he said. “I want to meet
the whole congregation. I never knew I had a big family.”
Eddie, who enjoys messing around with his family’s iPad, said he’s glad
he was able to assist in making the reunion happen and that he learned about
helping others at school.
“Clifford did not have any family, and family’s important,” the boy
said.
Near the end of their tearful reunion Boyson and Billadeau presented
Eddie with a US$125 check in appreciation of his detective work. - AP
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