WATCH: Richland Township Woman Meets Sister For The First Time Since Being Separated 61 Years Ago
RICHLAND TOWNSHIP, Pa. (KDKA) -- A Richland Township woman met her long-lost sister for the first time after they were separated 61 years ago.
Sisters Karen Shekels and Dianne Croskey only just met last week. But it is as if they've been inseparable all their lives.
Sixty-one years ago, unbeknownst to their father, their mother traveled to Florida to have Shekels and give her up for adoption.
"She had the baby, came back. My dad found out, got married and a year later, had my brother and I," said Croskey. "My mother told me when I was 20."
Shekels, who lives in Alabama, was also learning the pieces of her past.
"It was hard for both of them, especially for her, to walk away from a baby," Shekels said.
"There was that little piece of my heart that didn't have a name. But I always prayed for her, thought of her," Croskey said.
Another long-lost relative was doing some research on a DNA website and made the connection by phone three weeks ago.
"And that's when I think he called you at dad's house," Shekels said.
Then they finally met each other.
"I was literally speechless. She was speechless and we're like, 'Oh, my God, Oh, my God.' And I go, 'What's your name?'" Croskey said.
Their mom has died, but their dad was there to hug hist first-born daughter for the first time last week.
"He's 86 years old. It's a child he's hasn't been with for 60 years, had never met," Croskey said.
"Now that I know my background, I've got a big family, and I've been blessed twice because I had parents who raised me that were just wonderful," Shekels said.
And now from Alabama to Pittsburgh, an unmistakable bond has brought them together.
"And now that piece of my heart has a name. And that's a huge blessing," Croskey said
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