Tears flow as 88-year-old finally meets daughter she thought had died in birth

TAMPA (FOX 13) - There was a long hug in Tampa that was 69 years in the making.

Genevieve Purinton, 88, lives at an assisted living center in North Tampa. She thought she was alone. Her eight siblings died and she had no children. She gave birth just once, in 1949 when she was 18.

"I said I wanted to see the baby. They told me she died," Genevieve recalled Monday afternoon. 

Now, after 69 years, a daughter -- one that she never knew she even had -- walked through the door.

"It's been a lifetime of wanting this," said Connie Moultroup, who arrived here from her home in Vermont. "I remember being 5 years old, wishing I could find my mother." 

Moultroup did that with the help of a gift last Christmas. It was an Ancestry DNA kit that led her to what she thought was the name of her mother and then to the telephone number of a newly found cousin. 

"I said, 'Here's my mother's given name.' She said, 'That's my aunt and she's still alive,'" said Connie. 

As it turns out, Genevieve is not alone. She now has a daughter, granddaughter, and great grandchildren.

The hug went on for a long time as they both cried. 

"You're really not dead," exclaimed Genevieve.

"I'm not dead,” Connie answered through her tears.