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Family

After his wife of 50 years died, he found a secret letter she had hidden from him for decades

The letter was sent in 1959 and she never let him see it.

via SHVETS production/Pexels and Suzy Hazelwood/Pexels

Tony Trapani discovers a letter his wife hid from him since 1959.

Tony Trapani and his wife were married for 50 years despite the heartache of being unable to have children. "She wanted children,” Trapani told Fox 17. "She couldn't have any. She tried and tried." Even though they endured the pain of infertility, Tony's love for his wife never wavered and he cherished every moment they spent together.

After his wife passed away when Tony was 81 years old, he undertook the heartbreaking task of sorting out all of her belongings. That’s when he stumbled upon a carefully concealed letter in a filing cabinet hidden for over half a century.

The letter was addressed to Tony and dated March 1959, but this was the first time he had seen it. His wife must have opened it, read it and hid it from him. The letter came from Shirley Childress, a woman Tony had once been close with before his marriage. She reached out, reminiscing about their past and revealing a secret that would change Tony's world forever.

"Dear Tony, I bet you are surprised to hear from me after so many years. I was just thinking about you tonight like so many other nights. But I thought I would write you and find out how you are," the letter reads. "Tony, please don't be angry or surprised to hear this. I have a little boy. He is five-years- old now - grey eyes and beautiful black hair. What I am trying to say Tony is he is your son."

"Please, Tony if you can find it in your heart to forgive me, please come and see him," Shirley wrote in the letter. "Every day he asks me where is his daddy and believe me Tony I can't even answer him anymore. If would be forever grateful to you if you would just see him. ... I'll close now hoping and praying you will answer. P.S. His name is Samuel Duane."

Now, Tony faced the fact that he had a son that would be around 60 years old and he set out to find him. For over a year, Trapani’s sister tried to track down the mysterious Samuel Duane Childress, until she finally contacted his wife, Donna.

Tony and Samuel met in January 2015 and he felt like a new dad. After meeting his father, Samuel said his mother told him she sent the letter, but Tony never responded. "Why my wife didn't tell me," said Trapani. "I don't know. She wanted children. She couldn't have any. She tried and tried."

"I always asked my mom, I said, 'Well what does he look like?'' Samuel said. "She said, 'Well, go look in the mirror."

The two met and caught up on a lifetime of memories with the understanding that they could never change the past. "Just to know him now is so important to me. It's going to fill that void," Samuel said. But just to be sure, Tony took a paternity test to ensure they were father and son.

The test came back negative, revealing that Tony was not the father. The news upset Tony and Samuel, but they still had a unique bond. They shared a relationship with Samuel’s mother and both have been on an incredibly wild ride after Tony found the mysterious letter.

“They're keeping that bond,” Donna said. “That paper doesn't mean anything to him. That bond has been made—and we're going to move on from here.”


This article originally appeared on 2.23.24

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Joy

Rescue dog owner brought to tears after giving her ‘super mutt’ a DNA test

All she wanted to know was the breed.

via WileeFam/TikTok (used with permission)

Cathy gets a "pupdate" from Embark.

A dog owner in New York City named Cathy had a touching reaction after learning that her rescue dog, Wilee, has a brother who looks just like him. Four years ago, she got Wilee's DNA tested through Embark because he’s a unique-looking rescue and wanted to know his specific mix.

“He is a mix of chow chow, Pomeranian, American Staffordshire terrier and many more,” Cathy told Upworthy. “He is a super mutt!”

A few months later, Embark began sending her profiles of dogs they found to be Wilee’s family members. Since then, Cathy has learned that he has two sisters and a brother, Nic. What’s incredible about the siblings is that the girls are solid-colored, but Nic is the spitting image of Wilee.

When Cathy learned about Wilee’s sisters, she hoped that she might find a brother who was similar to him. “I have a theory that all of the girls in his family are solid colors, and they don’t look like Wilee. So, I was really hoping a boy would match. I was like, maybe the boy will look like Wilee.”

What do i do with all my emotions now? What do i do with this info 😭 i need like 55 more pics of nic…

@wileefam

What do i do with all my emotions now? What do i do with this info 😭 i need like 55 more pics of nic… #newyorkcity #dogmama #dogsoftiktok #embark #mutt #rescuedog #heartwarming

The similarities between the 2 dogs are astonishing. "This is the cutest thing I’ve seen all day. His brother looks just like himmmm!" one commenter wrote on the video.

"This is Nick. Look at this young man. Is this not Wilee? Is this not my dog?” Cathy explained in the video. “I need like 55 more pics of Nic.” Cathy told Upworthy that she’s been in touch with Nic’s owner and he is “very energetic just like Wilee.”


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Science

Denver Zoo didn't know who fathered a baby orangutan. So, Maury Povich did a DNA test.

"You are the father!"

via Denver Zoo/TikTok

Which orangutan is the father?

There was drama at the Denver Zoo after the birth of a baby orangutan named Siska. The zookeepers didn’t know if the father was 16-year-old Jaya or 30-year-old Berani. So, to learn the truth about Siska’s paternity, they found the perfect man for the job, Maury Povich.

For 31 years, Povich was the host of his eponymous daytime talk show, where one of the highlights was his paternity tests, where he dramatically explained, “You are the father” or “You are not the father.

In a video shared by the zoo on December 19, Maury announced the truth of Siska’s paternity to the world.

“We want to thank the Denver Zoo for everything they do, but this is really important,” said Povich, dressed in a tuxedo. “When it comes to the orangutan—4-month-old Siska—Berani, you are the father,” he continued as photos of both orangutans in question were superimposed on the screen.

Povich’s name is synonymous with paternity tests, even though he began his career as a serious journalist. Povich started as a news anchor in the '60s, before becoming the host of "A Current Affair" from 1986 to 1990.

His wife, journalist Connie Chung, set the record straight when Povich won the Lifetime Achievement award at the Daytime Emmy Awards on December 16.

“I know that you think he’s been determining the paternity of every child in America all his life,” Chung said, according to ABC News.

“But no, in his 67 freaking years in television, he’s been a news reporter and a news anchor and old fashion talk show host interviewing world leaders, politicians, members of Congress, authors, movie stars and even Julia Child,” Chung continued.

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Joy

After doubting the paternity of her best friend's son, woman begs her to get a DNA test

She couldn't live without knowing the truth.

via Karolina Grabowska/Pexels and Thravis3D/Unsplash

A woman is torn between a friendship and the truth.

Sometimes, the quest for the truth can push people to make extreme choices, especially when not knowing the answer eats away at them daily. Such is the story of Reddit user FooFooBunnyLa, who was so concerned over the identity of her best friend’s child that she forced her to get a paternity test.

Her best friend had a son with a man she claimed was a one-night stand, so she raised him alone. As the child grew older, FooFooBunnyLa started to get suspicious.

“The issue is this: this kid looks EXTREMELY like my husband like to an insane degree,” FooFooBunnyLA wrote on the Reddit AITA subforum. “The hair color, eyes, face, everything. He’s even been out with my friend and her son, and people have mistaken him to be the dad before. Needless to say, for three years now, I’ve had my suspicions, but I haven’t said anything. My husband is also close to my friend, and the timeline works out. We were all living almost in the same neighborhood around the time she got pregnant.”

Over the years, the resemblance began to gnaw away at the woman, and her friend wouldn't show her a picture of the child’s biological father, no matter how much she asked.

distressed woman, sad woman, depressed woman

A distressed woman sits in a chair.

via Liza Summer/Pexels

The situation was suspicious. The child looked a lot about her husband, and her friend wasn’t forthcoming with any evidence to prove otherwise. To put the issue to bed, the friend took the DNA test. The results would have enormous ramifications for everyone involved.

“Long story short, my friend got a paternity test but said our friendship is over,” FooFooBunnyLA wrote. “The test says my husband isn’t the father. I feel so ashamed to lose my friend, but I thought my husband would slightly understand since even he sees the obvious resemblance between him and this kid. But he has moved out for the time being, and I’m worried this is the end of our marriage.”

The woman asked the online forum if she did the right thing.

“I honestly felt like I had no other choice,” she confided. “The resemblance was unavoidable and it was eating at me so much that no amount of therapy could help. I thought my husband would understand my fears most of all given my history with past cheating exes.”

depressed woman, paternity tests, woman in chair

A depressed woman sits in a chair.

via Liza Summer/Pexels

The woman received over 1400 responses, and nearly everyone agreed that she was wrong in the situation.

“Wait so you thought your supposedly cheating husband would just casually comment on his love-child like ‘oh gee honey doesn’t he look just like me’ to his already paranoid wife?” Toyworker, the most popular commenter, wrote. “Why the f*** would he do that if he was actually guilty? Why the f*** would either of them indulge you if they actually cheated?”

However, one commenter noted that if the woman successfully caught them with the test, people’s opinions of her would differ significantly.

If the results had come back positive, I think it would be mostly … praise for trusting her instincts,” DCPhoto78 wrote.

Ultimately, asking for the test ruined both relationships regardless of the outcome. Her friend and husband were sickened by the accusation, which created a point of no return for their relationship with her. Even if she were correct, the lying and the infidelity would have also caused severe and irreparable damage to the woman’s relationship with her friend and husband as well.

If FooFoo BunnyLa had to do it all over again, would she ask for the test?

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