It was the year 1933 when 14-year-old Lena Pierce gave birth to a baby girl in central New York. The baby, who she named Eva May, was then taken away 6 months later by Social welfare officials because Lena, aside from being underage, was also a ward of the state.
“I grew up a very happy child,” Morrell told ABC News. “I was so content in the family I was adopted by.” Eva May was adopted by a nice family who named her Betty Morrell and raised her as an only child in Long Island, New York.
Sadly, her adoptive mum passed away when Betty was 21; her adoptive father passed on a few years later.
Betty with her adoptive mum who passed away when she was 21 years old (screengrab: youtube)
At the insistence of her granddaughter, Kimberly, who was only 12 years old, Betty Morrell kept the search going.
Kimberly who is now 32, shared with ABC that her grandmother never tried searching over the internet, so they started going to sites which could possibly aid them in their search.
Their search finally ended in September 2015. Using a site called Ancestry.com, Kimberly got in touch with one of her grandmother’s distant relative put her in touch with Millie Hawk, one of Pierce’s daughters.
She found out that her mother Lena was doing well and living in an assisted-living apartment complex in Hallstead, Pennsylvania.
“Kim and I got on the phone and called her,” Betty told ABC. “I had found my baby sister, who’s 65. We just clicked. It was like we had known each other all our lives.”
While most kids grew up with imaginary friends, Betty shared that she had imaginary siblings to keep her company.
Much to her delight, along with reuniting with her biological mum, she also learned that she had six siblings (four sisters and two brothers).
Betty shared she had a happy childhood. Here she is smiling as a teen (screengrab: youtube)
A double mother-daughter reunion
Ater their call, Millie rushed to Lena’s apartment to tell her that Betty had gotten in touch with her, “‘My Eva May, they found her?’ It was just so emotional.”
Betty and Kimberly flew to Pennsylvania last January 2016, Millie brought her mother Lena to meet her.
“The minute I saw her come through the security door, I just got goosebumps,” said Millie. “Mother reached for her; Betty said. ‘Mum.’ They hugged and cried.”
“There were a few tears, and shaking,” said Lena. “It sure was a joy to finally meet up with her. It’s kind of hard when you have a child that you get separated from. I never wanted to give her up.”
Since the emotional reunion, Betty and Millie have been keeping touch via phone calls and Facebook. They’re even planning to meet up and vacation together in Florida this coming spring.
Betty has been serving as an inspiration to many adoptees longing to be reunited with their own biological parents. She welcomes their messages on Facebook and responds with encouragement.
“I say absolutely don’t give up. There’s always something that will link it,” she said. “It’s a lot of work. It took me 50 years.”
Watch the powerfully touching reunion here.