A father and son who hadn’t had any contact for nearly 48 years had an emotional reunion at a Pennsylvania airport, thanks to an aunt’s sleuthing on Facebook.
Bill Patrick Snr., of Northumberland County, and Bill Patrick Jnr., of Utah, said they had not seen each other since the younger Patrick was only five years old.
Patrick Jnr told WPMT-TV, “My mom, I guess, took off with my two sisters and I the day after Easter, I think, in 1973. Pretty much what I knew about dad was on the birth certificate.”
The elder Patrick said he and his family had long been trying to find his children.
He said, “My sister’s been looking. My brother when he was alive he was still looking.”
The sister, Patrick Jnr.’s aunt, finally had some luck when she found him on Facebook about two years ago. The father and son were able to connect over the long distance and were finally reunited at Harrisburg International Airport, when Patrick Jr. flew out to meet his dad.
“I told myself I wasn’t going to get emotional,” Patrick Jr. said. “That didn’t happen.”
The pair said they found out they have many things in common, including both having been married for 31 years. Patrick Sr. also found out he now has four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
“It’s almost like that puzzle piece that’s missing and kinda fitting into that place,” Patrick Jnr. said.
