News : Las Vegas woman finds birth sister in Vinton, after visiting many times

Sisters Maggie Stewart and Laura Blanchard had an emotional first meeting recently in Vinton.

Laura Blanchard, left, and Maggie Stewart: Birth sisters united in Vinton after 40 years.

Laura Blanchard says that every time she visited Vinton, she felt a deep emotion – something she couldn’t explain or even understand.

Now the Las Vegas resident knows: Vinton is where, a few weeks ago, she found her long-lost baby sister, the one her mother gave up for adoption when Laura was a young adult expecting her first child. She was astounded to discover that sister in the very same town she has been traveling to for decades to visit friends and relatives.

Maggie Stewart always knew she was adopted. Her parents told her as much as they could about her birth mother, and even gave passed along her birth certificate.

One day at work at John’s Qwik Stop, Maggie was telling her colleague, Valerie Lane, about her adoption story.

“Val and I were talking one day about how I adopted Caleb and I thought it was cool because I was adopted too,” recalls Maggie. “Val said, “I love genealogy! Do you mind if I try and find them?’”

Maggie laughed and said yes, believing that Lane’s quest would be impossible.

Within hours, however, Lane had found and contacted two of Maggie’s siblings.

“Val found out that there were seven of us,” says Maggie. “I was floored.”

“Genealogy is my passion and I'm pretty good at research,” Lane says. “When I heard Maggie was adopted I asked if she knew her birth family. When she told me ‘No,” I asked if she wanted to know them and could I try to find them. She said ‘Sure’ and gave me a copy of her adoption papers.”

Maggie was born in what was then called the Archdiocese of Dubuque hospital, now known as Mercy Mercy Medical Center.

Lane started searching in the county where Maggie had been born, through census, cemetery, and phone records.

“Because of the age I estimated her birth family to be, I looked for other siblings and tracked them down,” says Lane. “My research led me to Maggie's oldest brother and sister. I found their phone numbers and made contact with them. I can find a lot of information on the internet most of the time. I love to find families and bring them together. I'm glad Maggie's had a happy story ending and that I was there to witness it. It was wonderful to see it unfold.”

The story unfolded in Vinton in September, when Maggie and Laura met in Vinton for the very first time.

They agreed to meet at the gas station while Maggie was at work.

Customers were surprised at the tearfully happy meeting of the two women as they laughed, cried talked and hugged.

“When she walked into Johns, the moment was filled with so much emotion, Maggie recalls. “There were tears of joy and awe. I realized that I look so much like her, I couldn't stop staring.”

That moment, says Maggie, was “the first day of the rest of our lives.”

Later the siblings met at a friend’s house, and then a large group gathered at the Ron-Da-Voo for a night of catching up.

“Someday I hope to meet the rest of them,” says Maggie.

The sisters have been surprised to learn about the many connections they have shared for years.

Laura’s husband, Rick, her high school sweetheart, has relatives who live in the area.

“What's really wild is that for 20-some years I did Rick's grandma’s hair,” Maggie says. “I had a connection with my sister right here in town and didn't even know it. Vinton resident Marvin Lindsey is a cousin of Rick; his mother, affectionately called “Grandma Lucille Meeker,” was a long-time client of Maggie’s at the Vinton hair salon.

Day of heartbreak

Laura clearly remembers the day that her mother dropped off her two younger brothers to go to the hospital to give birth to Maggie, knowing she would not bring her home.

“I was just heartbroken and wished I could have kept Maggie and raised her as our child,” Laura recalls. “I was not given that opportunity. Life throws us some difficult choices.”

Laura and Rick’s son, Joe, was born two months after Maggie. Laura told Maggie how she always remembered her, and spent years trying to find her. Laura and Rick also have a daughter, Trish, born in 1969.

“I always wondered about my sister, but felt I had no right to pursue her,” says Laura. “I didn't want to expose Maggie to a life that maybe she never was told of. I prayed and hoped for 20-some years, hoping someday she would search for me. After so many years I figured she was never told.”

At that point, Laura says, she gave up the quest to find her sister, but kept loving her and praying for her happiness.

She never dreamed that one day she’d walk into a gas station and see her sister, in a city she had frequently visited.

Laura describes her feeling at learning she had found her baby sister in one adjective.

“I was overjoyed,” she says.

When Rick and Laura came to Vinton, they met all of Maggie’s family, including her step-brother and his family.

“We feel that they are our family, also,” says Laura. “Maggie has a fantastic group of family and friends in Vinton, and some of her friends are part of our family. I can't believe how many times through the years we visited Vinton and never knew about Maggie.”

Maggie, too, has a newly-discovered large family to get to know. She now knows her older siblings include Bill, Barbara, Laura, Jeff and John; her mother also had another baby boy, which she gave up for adoption, in 1966.

Laura and Rick have returned to Vegas, with both a promise and an invitation for Maggie.

“We promised to never lose touch,” Maggie says. “We want to get to know each member of our new families. And, I've never been to Vegas and now I have an invitation to go.”

“Maggie is such an amazing new addition to our family,” says Laura. “No one knows the happiness I feel. Now, I have a sister to share my life and adventures with. Thanks to all who helped bring us together.”

Lane, whose research started the process, said being part of this reunion has been a special moment for her, as well.

“I want to thank Maggie so much for allowing me to search for her birth family and giving me the absolute privilege to be witness to her first moment seeing her sister,” she says. “I will forever be imprinted by that joyous moment.”

Along with all of her family’s sincere thanks, Maggie replies with a word of caution for Lane.

“When people read this story, Val is going have a new full-time job. She will busy looking up information for them all,” Maggie jokes.