Bend family reunion 20 years in the making

It’s a story that doesn’t happen every day: The reunion in Bend of a father and his children after 20 years of searching.

“I’m like a little kid waiting for Christmas,” John, a father, said recently as the big moment approached.

Just a short drive away was a destination 20 years in the making.

“I’ve been on a cloud that last couple days. It’s been something,” said John, who has lived in Bend for eight years.

He has struggled with addiction but is now clean, and has been living at the Shepherd’s House in Bend.

“Here’s a guy that has nothing, no material possessions, that wants to take care of others,” said Rebecca Singer, John’s friend.

John met Singer four years ago. Little did he know that she would change his life.

“We needed some help around the store, and he was introduced to me by a mutual friend as being a good, solid guy,” she said.

Their friendship has grown, bringing them to the special moment of seeing his son and daughter for the first time in two decades.

His daughter, Elizabeth, has been searching for her dad and never giving up hope.

“I felt like my legs were going to come out from underneath me, but I thought if I ran, I wouldn’t be able to get there,” Elizabeth said. “And I just wanted to get to him so fast and hug him. I’ve been wanting to hug him so long.”

And it was, indeed, the tearful, long-overdue hug you’d expect, with smiling son Jared also firmly holding his father’s hand.

Now, Elizabeth has no plans of letting go.

“I just want to snuggle and say, ‘Yeah, that’s my dad!'” she said.

How it came about: Rebecca found John’s son on Facebook and sent him a message. It took him a while to see it – but once he did, it only took a couple of days for the meeting to happen.

John and Elizabeth both happened to live in Central Oregon, but didn’t realize how close they were to each other.

“She was over here looking for me. I was there looking for her,” John said.

Elizabeth said, “I’m trying these last few days, I’ve been trying to retrace my steps from when I lived here,.”

But it was Singer that flipped the powerful switch of social media that got them to this moment.

“It really for me has been one of the best experiences of my life,” she said.

“John now has some more people to meet — he’s a grandpa!”

John said, It’s going to be a whole different world.”

A world they had dreamed of for almost a lifetime.

“I felt like I was in a movie,” Singer said. “Oh my gosh, it’s such a great experience.”

John soon left for Idaho with his children, to meet those grandkids.