Vol. 14, No. 1 • November 2009

Separated as Kids, Finally Reunited

by Clemmie Tony Brazil

Tony Brazil is a true hero to his three sisters. No, he didn’t save their lives. But Tony did put their lives and his back together again, against all odds.

In 1993, 25-year-old Tony, and his sisters Doris (26), Christine (23), and Gloria (24) had been separated from each other for 12 years. It was a painful period in their lives, not knowing if the others needed help, or were even alive. But this Rocky Mount family held out hope through the power of God, and love, that one day they would find each other again.

Despite having both a mother and father when they were young, Tony says family wasn’t what you’d expect. Neither parent was around much, leaving the four young siblings, plus their baby brother Michael, at home alone many times. This almost cost them their lives, when at the age of 5 Tony set fire to the house one night in 1973. No one was hurt, but not being able to tell the police where their parents were got all five shipped out to foster homes.

For years, the siblings moved from one foster home to another, going back and forth to Social Services. But at least they could be together. Foster parents usually wanted babies, so Tony had the most difficult time being placed. But even that experience couldn’t prepare him for what happened 12 years ago. On a Monday morning, all five went to court. Their mother was up on the stand. Tony remembers the judge asked her, “Do you want your children?” She said, “No.”

With their mother’s rejection, the siblings cried, knowing they’d be separated from each other forever. Christine and Gloria were lucky enough to be raised in the same home in Sanford, but the rest would be scattered to different towns, in different counties. Over the years, all of the siblings’ last names were changed when they were adopted, with the exception of Tony, who came up hard in foster homes. Letters they would write to each other had to be given to Social Services, who would deliver them, but wouldn’t allow a return address. Frustrated, as the siblings grew older they stopped writing, but never stopped dreaming of finding one another.

It was 1987 before Tony and Doris found each other again. She was a senior in high school, and pregnant. They always talked about Christine, Gloria, and Michael, wondering where they could be and if they would want to be found.

Seven years later tragedy struck: Doris’ husband, the father of her two children, died of complications from diabetes. She was now a mother alone and she needed Tony more than ever. Doris and Tony got closer then, because he promised to take care of her and the children. But what prompted Tony to find his sisters was to make Doris happy. Because when a life is taken, something is gained back.

Then one day in 1993, after getting home from his overnight job, Tony couldn’t sleep. He heard a voice telling him to get up and find Christine and Gloria. He left Raleigh and spent an hour and a half riding around Sanford, asking people if they knew his sisters. Finally, he found Gloria’s home. When she drove up with her boyfriend, Tony was waiting, still not sure if she’d want to see him again after all these years. At first, Gloria refused to believe it was Tony. But when he reminded her of the nickname she used to call him—”Pumpkin”—she broke down in tears and hugged him. This was her brother.

Soon, Gloria called Christine at work to share the joy. Later, even more tears of happiness were shed when they all went to see Doris in Rocky Mount. That time, Tony cried for 30 minutes. “Never thought it would happen,” Doris recalls.

Michael hasn’t been located yet, but Tony believes they’ll see him in time. There is another sister Nikki Nicole Henderson, daughter of their father by another woman, who will not share in the joy. She was killed in a car accident at age 22.

As for their mother, even though she’s since seen them all together again, Tony says she refuses to acknowledge what has happened, the pain that they’ve suffered, and her responsibility for it.

But Tony, Christine, Doris, and Gloria are family together once again. It’s what Gloria says she’s always dreamed of, and now makes her feel complete. That’s why she wrote a poem to her brother Tony. “Tony, you are my hero, not because you found us, but because you never gave up.”

C. Tony Brazil lives in Raleigh. His e-mail address is [email protected]

Copyright � 2009 Jordan Institute for Families