ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) – Two long-lost sisters have finally met for the first time. They’ve been separated by hundreds of miles their whole lives, not having a clue about each other.
That was until they finally met at Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport.
Ahondryea Brooks was born in 1957 in the Star City, and Debbie Knox is from Connecticut, born nearly a decade later in 1966.
They found out they were sisters through Ancestry.com. With that, the truth started to unfold, something neither of them ever knew.
“I always looked at my baby pictures and would always say to my mom that I looked like a Black baby,” Knox said. “She was like, ‘No you don’t.’ But I did.
It was their children who nudged them to take the test. Six weeks later, the results arrived, and with them, decades of questions and confusion.
The sisters connected for the first time via phone, creating a cross-country bond before deciding to meet more than four years later.
“I texted her and I told her I can’t answer everything, but I’ll fill in some of the blanks for her,” Brooks said. “She said I’ll take it.”
As they talked, they learned the connection was through having the same father.
Debbie didn’t know him at all. Brooks was wished a happy 18th birthday, but hadn’t heard a word since. Both lived with different relationships to their dad, yet there were signs.
“Everyone who saw it with the two of us together, thought we favored each other,” Brooks said. “She looks a lot like my grandmother.”
For Brooks, she always knew of her diverse roots.
“We have all different kinds of people in our family, you know,” Brooks said, “so it wasn’t a big shock as it was for her.”
Despite the surprise, and still unanswered questions, they see this as a gift and shared history that will forever be a part of their story.
“We like the different cultures,” Brooks said. “We love diversity. So, it was just one more person to open the doors for and say come on in.”
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