Condolence: He never gave up.
This is our story. In 1972 many weeks after tragedy struck our family and we lost our younger brother "Scooter" my older brother John and I where taken from our mom, and our dad Norman was given temporary custody of the two of us. He brought us back to his home in Arkansas where we lived with him and his wife Charlene (mom) and baby Angela. We where a happy family for many months; until the day the Texas courts sent officers to come knocking on our dad's door to tell him he had to return John and I to Texas because we were still under the protection of CPS of Texas, so if he didn't want to go to jail and lose us forever he had to send us back. He had to go to court in two weeks or so and then he would be given full custody of John and I. So my dad did what he believed was the right thing and brought us to the airport where they had a small plane waiting to fly John and I back to Texas, and with heavy heart our dad watched his two small children board the plane. For days he waited for the court date to come around so that he could be given full custody of my brother and me. Finally the day had come, he arrived at the court house ready to be told he could finally bring his children home, only to be told that we had been adopted out. They said he had signed his rights away and showed him a paper that had his signature on it. Though he told them that it was not his signature, they told him it was to late and he would not get us back. He was not going to give up tho and even when he was threatened he still continued to look and when lawyers would say the would take his case and days later would call and tell him to stop, he never gave up. For 44 years he continued to look along with many of our family and relatives, and to hope and pray that one day he would be reunited with his two children. When John and I became old enough we started our seach for him for many years we searched and searched with what information we had and could find on the internet. Finally one day I found just the information we needed and John found a name of a man that matched our dad and the age; tho he was not from the states which we thought he would be from, John decided to write a letter and ask if he was the man we where looking for. Dad recieved the letter and mom Charlene read the letter and called John at the number he had provided in the letter. After asking a few questions that she knew that only John could answer, mom handed the phone to our dad saying "This is him, this is really John." After so many many years of praying, searching and hoping he had finally found his children. After he and John talked John called me and told me he had found our dad and gave me his number to call him. After I hung up with John I called our dad, tho it took me a few minutes to settle my nevers before I made the call the excitement and happiness I felt when I heard our dad's voice was undescribable. We talked everyday on the phone from that day. Tho dad was not well a few days later he, uncle Bobby and our sister Sandy where on their way to ND to see John and then a few days later they came to MI to visit me. Then in November we got a call from our sister Sandy and from our uncle Bobby to tell us our dad was not doing well. So with the help of our sister Sandy and her husband Melvin I was able to make the trip to AR and John made the trip to see our dad. We got to spend a few days with him before he went into the hospital where he spent a 3 days in the hospital then came home, and the next day with his family and the two children that he had spent 44 years looking for and loved one surrounding him he passed peacefully to be with our Lord and his baby son, parents, brothers and sisters in Heaven.
Tho we only had a short time with our dad, I am thankful to God for giving us the time that we did have with him and for fullfilling our dad's life long wish and to let him come home with a heart filled with joy instead of sadness.

Condolence: He never gave up.
This is our story. In 1972 many weeks after tragedy struck our family and we lost our younger brother "Scooter" my older brother John and I where taken from our mom, and our dad Norman was given temporary custody of the two of us. He brought us back to his home in Arkansas where we lived with him and his wife Charlene (mom) and baby Angela. We where a happy family for many months; until the day the Texas courts sent officers to come knocking on our dad's door to tell him he had to return John and I to Texas because we were still under the protection of CPS of Texas, so if he didn't want to go to jail and lose us forever he had to send us back. He had to go to court in two weeks or so and then he would be given full custody of John and I. So my dad did what he believed was the right thing and brought us to the airport where they had a small plane waiting to fly John and I back to Texas, and with heavy heart our dad watched his two small children board the plane. For days he waited for the court date to come around so that he could be given full custody of my brother and me. Finally the day had come, he arrived at the court house ready to be told he could finally bring his children home, only to be told that we had been adopted out. They said he had signed his rights away and showed him a paper that had his signature on it. Though he told them that it was not his signature, they told him it was to late and he would not get us back. He was not going to give up tho and even when he was threatened he still continued to look and when lawyers would say the would take his case and days later would call and tell him to stop, he never gave up. For 44 years he continued to look along with many of our family and relatives, and to hope and pray that one day he would be reunited with his two children. When John and I became old enough we started our seach for him for many years we searched and searched with what information we had and could find on the internet. Finally one day I found just the information we needed and John found a name of a man that matched our dad and the age; tho he was not from the states which we thought he would be from, John decided to write a letter and ask if he was the man we where looking for. Dad recieved the letter and mom Charlene read the letter and called John at the number he had provided in the letter. After asking a few questions that she knew that only John could answer, mom handed the phone to our dad saying "This is him, this is really John." After so many many years of praying, searching and hoping he had finally found his children. After he and John talked John called me and told me he had found our dad and gave me his number to call him. After I hung up with John I called our dad, tho it took me a few minutes to settle my nevers before I made the call the excitement and happiness I felt when I heard our dad's voice was undescribable. We talked everyday on the phone from that day. Tho dad was not well a few days later he, uncle Bobby and our sister Sandy where on their way to ND to see John and then a few days later they came to MI to visit me. Then in November we got a call from our sister Sandy and from our uncle Bobby to tell us our dad was not doing well. So with the help of our sister Sandy and her husband Melvin I was able to make the trip to AR and John made the trip to see our dad. We got to spend a few days with him before he went into the hospital where he spent a 3 days in the hospital then came home, and the next day with his family and the two children that he had spent 44 years looking for and loved one surrounding him he passed peacefully to be with our Lord and his baby son, parents, brothers and sisters in Heaven.
Tho we only had a short time with our dad, I am thankful to God for giving us the time that we did have with him and for fullfilling our dad's life long wish and to let him come home with a heart filled with joy instead of sadness.