A Chatham woman is eternally grateful to her Windsor friend for reuniting her with her long lost brothers after 60 years of being apart.
Penny Pollock, 71, told CK News Today she has finally been reunited with her two brothers Art Pumfrey and David Scholz after nearly 60 years of searching, thanks to Nancy Piche of Windsor. A third brother, Ric, unfortunately died in 2019 before the family found each other.
Pollock said her brothers were adopted at a very young age after a rough childhood and grew up in Thamesville and Dover without her ever knowing they were nearby.
The entire family finally reunited in Chatham on Saturday after she met brother Art in 2022 and they met David this past Thanksgiving.
Pollock said it's a dream come true finding her loved ones after all these years, adding she couldn't love them any more than she does.
"When I met Art I said you could have been standing behind me in line at Walmart or something and I never would have known. My mother and I, we thought that if they were given up for adoption that they wouldn't be adopted around us. We figured they would be adopted in Toronto or farther away," said Pollock.
Pollock said she didn't know she had brothers until she was 13 years of age and was nervous before meeting them because she didn't know if she would be accepted or loved by her brothers.
"I was a basket case because I was so nervous. My first thing was what if he doesn't like me? All of these years I've had this fantasy about meeting my brothers and knowing my brothers and loving my brothers and I said what if I meet them and they go -- oh, I don't want to be around that girl, what's going to happen then?" she questioned.
Calling her friend Nancy an amazing woman who worked tirelessly to help her, Pollock said it's never too late to reunite with family and loved ones and wishes her story inspires others to stick with it and never give up.
"Nancy posted to every Facebook page that started with If You Grew Up In. She started with Chatham and then worked her way around Chatham, Ridgetown, Blenheim, Dresden, all the way from Windsor to London," noted a grateful Pollock.
Piche told CK News Today it took about a year to locate Pollock's brothers through various sources and avenues, such as Children's Aid and Facebook.
