posted September 6, 2008
A Texas woman who is originally from Chattanooga said she found her long lost half brother in Ooltewah after a 12-year search.
The discovery also united the half-brother - retired TVA engineer Robert Eugene Littlejohn - with a half brother from Rossville he never knew he had. And he has one more half brother to meet.
Kay Griffin of Pearland, Tex., is in Chattanooga this weekend for visits with her new sibling.
"It took my breath away when I finally got to talk to him," Ms. Griffin said.
She said the re-united siblings are spending the weekend getting to know one another and sharing family pictures.
Ms. Griffin said the search began the day after her mother died when her mother's sister told her, "Did you know you have another brother?"
She said her father was a military man who was only home 30 days a year, and her aunt told her that when her father returned home from one long tour of duty that he found his wife was pregnant. She said her father told her mother that she could either give the baby up for adoption when the child was born or he "would take the other three children with him to Germany."
She said the mother chose to have her baby boy go up for adoption, and she never told the other children about it. The family was then living in Chattanooga, and Ms. Griffin was two at the time.
She said she pondered whether she should begin a search for the brother, thinking that he might have never been told he was adopted. But she decided to take the risk.
Her only clues were that his first name was Robert and middle name was Eugene and he was born in Chattanooga on May 30, 1952.
She said her Internet search yielded no clues until she recently tried again and got help from a woman who regularly aids those trying to connect with long lost kin.
She said the woman pointed her to Robert Eugene Littlejohn, who had been born May 30, 1952, in Chattanooga and was adopted by a Littlejohn couple.
She was able to get his phone number and she made the call a few days ago, though "I was really nervous."
She said Robert answered and he acknowledged that was his name and birthday. She said she asked if he was adopted and he said he was. She said she then told him, "I think you're my brother." She said, "He got real quiet, but finally said, 'You must be my sister.'"
She said Robert told her he had been adopted by a couple, who had no other children. He said they had given him a wonderful life. Both of the Littlejohns are now deceased.
Robert retired from TVA, but is still doing contract work. He is also a volunteer coach at Boyd-Buchanan School, where his wife is a teacher. He said two daughters, ages 28 and 22, and they were coming in this weekend to meet the new family members.
Robert soon placed a call to Kay's brother, James Howard, who lives in Rossville and works for a drug company. The two half-brothers had breakfast the next morning.
Ms. Griffin said Robert told her he had heard he might have some family members out there somewhere, but he had not expected to ever have the thrill of meeting them.
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