And Then There Were Three - My Biological Half-Sisters

Take a peek into the dining room of a sweet white house in Media, Pennsylvania 43 days after I wrote my last letter to Irene. Here's a guest post from Peggy and Susan - Irene's daughters, and my half-sisters, both younger than me.

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It was a beautiful, sunny day, Easter Sunday, April 4, 1999. Our small family was gathered for Easter lunch in the dining room at Mom and Dad’s long-time house on Middletown Road in Media, Pennsylvania. After lunch, our Dad asked Scott, their grandson, to go outside with him - he said he had to go check on something or other and he wanted to show it to Scott. After they had gone, Mom announced that she had something to tell us. We all immediately assumed the worst, of course, but then she proceeded to tell us the most amazing story. 

She said that in 1956, she was engaged to another man (not our Dad) and that she got pregnant. When she told him about the pregnancy, he said he wanted nothing to do with the child and broke off the engagement. She did not feel that she would be able to provide a good life for a child at that point in her life. Her sister’s husband was a physician, and he arranged for her to have the baby at a home for unwed mothers in Vermont. She gave birth to a baby girl in December of 1956 and named her Pamela. The baby was then given up for adoption and Irene returned home to Media, PA all alone.

Irene married our Dad, Larry, in 1958, and gave birth to two more daughters, Peggy in 1960 and Susan in 1962. And she never said a word to us about the existence of our sister for nearly 40 years, until that Easter Sunday in 1999. 

We remember that we reacted with amazement, and we both said things like “how wonderful that we have another sister”, “things like this only happen on tv” and “of course we want to get to know her!”. Mom had been so nervous to tell us about Kate, we are pretty sure we made her cry with our openness and excitement at her news. 

We wanted to meet her immediately, but that would have to wait for a little while longer. 

Peggy and Susan

The Three Sisters: Susan, Peggy and Kate