Family United With Long-Lost Brother After 50 Years

Craig Ferrie was surprised to see the Facebook friend request. The East Haven resident's wife, Frances, had received the same request, too.

It was from a man named "Frank Ferrie."

"That's my father's name," Craig, 54, said thought to himself at the time, last October.

He called his younger brother, Robert, 51. He too had received a friend request from Frank Ferrie through the online social networking site.

Then they learned their sister, Patricia, 53, got one, too.

It was Robert's son, Robert Jr., who explained.

"I think I've found your brother," Robert Jr. said to his uncle. "I'm pretty sure it's him."

Making the Connection

Frank Ferrie Jr. had decided to join Facebook just a couple of months earlier at the urging of his wife, Deborah.

"I was just on there to have some fun, play games, that type of thing," Frank, who is now 60, said.

But then, one day, he got an email message: "The message read: 'I hate to bother you but I'm looking for my long-lost uncle,'" Frank explained.

It was from Robert Jr.

After the two talked for a couple of weeks, it soon became clear to them both that Frank was most likely his father and uncle and aunt's older brother.

Then, it was Craig's turn.

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He sent Frank a message through Facebook. And after looking at some of the pictures Frank had posted on the site — including one of his father holding Frank's hand as a young child — everything came into focus.

"The pictures, that absolutely sealed the deal," Craig told East Haven Patch during a recent interview at his East Haven home. "He looked just like my father... it didn't take me long to realize: this is Frank."

And the three had been searching for Frank for decades without any luck. But that luck was about to change.

Searching for Frank

Frank Jr. was born to their father and his first wife during Frank Sr.'s service in the Navy.

Frank and his parents lived in New Haven for a short time, the marriage did not work out, and Frank and his mother moved to Florida.

Frank's mother remarried just as his father did, too. And, unfortunately, father and son lost touch over the years. Frank Sr. was raising his new family in North Haven.

But as Craig, Robert and Patricia grew up in North Haven, they would sometimes talk of how they wanted to find their brother Frank.

As the oldest among the three, Craig said he took the lead in trying to track him down once he came of age.

"Over the years, Frances and I would take trips to Florida. And when we were there, we'd try to find him," Craig explained.

"At that time, all we had was the phone book. And we'd look, but never find Frank," he said.

Frank, who had successful 25-year career in the Navy himself, moved about quite a bit because of his military service. So he said he can understand why he would be difficult to track down during those years.

But Frank told East Haven Patch that he, too, was looking for his siblings.

"Where ever I would go, I would search through the telephone books," he said. "But I never had any luck."

Facebook

But then came the Internet, and with it: Facebook.

Once the Ferries confirmed that Frank was indeed their brother, Craig said he wasted little time last fall in going down to Clermont, Fla., where Frank and Deborah now live.

"This is way too long. And I didn't want to waste any more time," he said.

Deborah said she had arranged that first visit with Craig and Frances as a surprise for her husband. It was their anniversary week, and she thought it a fitting gift.

And it was.

"When I first saw Craig get out of the car, I thought my knees were going to buckle," he said.

A Family Welcoming

After Craig's visit to Florida, in January his sister Patricia went down to Frank and Deborah's to meet and share time together.

From there, they made a plan for Frank and Deborah to come up to Connecticut for several days in early July to meet Robert, as well as the rest of the family and their friends.

"And now they're here," Craig said with a smile, as everyone sat around the porch table at his East Haven home.

Frank said the several days he has spent with his family here in Connecticut has been an overwhelming experience for him.

"It's hard being 60 years old and finding out you have another family... it's just been a whirlwind," he said.

The brothers said their only regret is their father, who passed away in 1995, was not able to take part in the reunion.

"I just wish Pop was here," Craig said.

He added, however, that since his mother, who still lives in North Haven, learned about Frank Jr. she has treated him almost as a third son.

"She just welcomed him with open arms," Craig said, with Frank nodding and smiling along.

"My mother has been just as excited as anyone," he said.

'Icing on the Cake'

Frank, echoing the words of his brothers Craig and Robert, said he is just so thankful for the opportunity they have all been given to get to know one another, spend time together — and simply sit together and enjoy each others' company.

"You just can't put it all into words," Frank said, still visibly overjoyed with it all.

"I don't want any more time to go by," he said. "Everything from here is just icing on the cake."