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Michigan sisters meet after 75 years
Suzan, originally born Sandy, had been given up for adoption by their mother, who couldn't care for three children at a young age. Jackie was raised by their late birth mother and along with their late brother. Suzan was never told she was adopted. Jackie's cousin was doing an Ancestry with her mother to look up their ancestors and made a stunning discovery.
ROMULUS, Mich. - Two sisters were reunited for the first time in 75 years at Metropolitan Airport Wednesday night. Jackie Murphy finally met her sister Suzan Baekkelund thanks to online family DNA testing which answered so many questions that lingered for years.
Suzan, originally born Sandy, had been given up for adoption by their mother, who couldn't care for three children at a young age. Jackie was raised by their late birth mother and along with their late brother. Suzan was never told she was adopted.
Jackie's cousin was doing an Ancestry.com family tree with her mother to look up their ancestors. At the same time, Suzan's daughter Inga did a DNA and sent it in.
"A green flag goes up of some sort and says there is someone in your family that matches your DNA," Jackie said. "They pursued it and they knew it wasn't my aunt's. The only person left was my mother. They called me and wanted to see if I knew of a daughter that was adopted out, that she was born in Michigan. The last name that was given to my mother of the adoptive parents was Trotter.
"So my cousin called and said, 'We have someone in our ancestry that belongs on the Stevenson side of the family. A little girl was adopted out; do you know of anyone in the family?' Instantly I knew they were talking about my mother. They asked if I would like to talk to her and I said I would love to."
Jackie, 80, still said she wasn't sure about the connection - but got confirmation after asking Suzan, 76, if she had a last name with a T. When Suzan said her maiden name was Trotter, a three-week marathon of tears, excitement, and anxiousness began.
"I love her and I don't even know her. But I loved her all my life because I knew she was there," Jackie said minutes before Suzan's plane from Nashville arrived. "We have a big family waiting for her."
When the two finally met, Suzan and Jackie embraced and cried.
"Let me look at you," Suzan said. "We do look alike."
"I love you," Jackie said.
"I love you too," Suzan said. "You're so adorable."
Jackie spoke of their birth mother looking down, finally knowing they are together and have each other. They both spoke of all the time they have to finally catchup.
"I am over the moon with joy," Suzan said. "I love Jackie."