Two siblings reunite in North Charleston after 62 years apart

NORTH CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC) - There was a family celebration at a hotel in North Charleston on Friday as two siblings, separated by adoption as children, reunited for the first time in about 62 years.

“I haven’t seen him since we got in the caseworker’s car and went to the children’s home,” Connie Shy said. “And we have been looking for him and he’s been looking for us and now we’re together.”

Shy was adopted when she was about 4 years old, and Simington was adopted when he was about 18 months old. For a few years, they lived about 25 miles apart in Ohio but Simington ended up in Connecticut.

Shy did an Ancestry DNA testing kit to find her other family members. Simington didn’t know he had biological siblings but was curious about his birth parents. His family encouraged him to do a DNA test.

“I kept telling people I didn’t know if I had any family or if they were still around,” Simington said. “We’re getting old!”

Less than two weeks after he did the DNA test, he had a hit. Shy and Remington connected online shortly after and planned to meet.

“I had a conversation with the Lord. I said, ‘Lord, we’ve done all we can now. It’s up to You. You’ve got to figure out a way to get us together, to find him. We would like to see our baby brother at least once,” Shy said.

This weekend, Simington will get to meet other family members he did not know he had at a family reunion in North Charleston. They plan to have another reunion in Ohio to meet more family members. They encourage anyone looking for family members to get a DNA kit.

“Anybody who is looking for a lost relative, that is the way to go,” Shy added.

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