Sheila’s Biological Father Revealed through DNA

Sheila Trevett had the surprise of her life when her MyHeritage DNA results came back, and she uncovered the truth about her real biological father.

For over 23 years, Sheila had been in contact with her birthmother. She was convinced that it was her mother’s long-term boyfriend who was her biological father.

Wanting to learn more about her family history, Sheila took a MyHeritage DNA test. She received a cousin match with someone named Kyle. After discussions with Kyle, Sheila was able to solve who his birth father was, and who was hers.

So all these years I thought I was half German, and a misplaced Yankee raised by Southerners. Well, it turns out, in my estimation, that God knew exactly what he was doing all along, and placed me in a family that strongly matched my genes.

My sister’s mom is very much like my adopted mother Barbara. They both have great taste, a sense of style, and a cleaning standard far above the norm. And on my dad’s side, his grandmother Clevie Pierson’s family is from, you guessed it, Nachitoches, Louisiana. And I’m not going to be surprised if I am at least a distant cousin on either or both on the Cothern or Robinson side.

Sheila reached out to her biological father, Warren, and he was pleased that she got in touch.

My email to Warren a few weeks back was a complete surprise to a 73-year-old guy, but he seems very happy about it.

Warren’s family has been living for generations in Natchitoches, Louisiana. He currently resides in Phoenix and works as an industrial engineer.

Initially, meeting her biological birth father was overwhelming for Sheila.

It’s hard to express my feelings from our first meeting.  Here, you’re finally looking at someone in whom you see your family resemblance strongly, and to have that for the first time, at 52, is mind blowing.

She quickly found that the two share similar personalities, a sense of humor, a love of reading and a way of thinking. Warren has a quick wit and logical mind, both of which Sheila can really relate to.

It’s amazing how much of who we are is our genetic predisposition. When I was younger and had just met my birthmother at 30, I would have chalked it up to a 50/50 split on nature vs nurture.  At 50, with this new-found knowledge and relationship, I’d give it 80 nature vs. 20 nurture.

Since their initial visit, father and daughter have gotten together several times, getting to know each other a little better each time. Sheila enjoys hearing stories of how Warren grew up in Louisiana, stories of his parents, and what drove them to choose Colorado as their home state.

This will be an ongoing relationship we build over time. I’m grateful every day that a DNA test could answer my questions.

Sheila also discovered that she had a sister, Julie, who died of leukemia at 14 in 1982. This rung a chord with Sheila, who had experienced a similar loss of a family friend. She empathizes with him over what it was like to lose their oldest daughter as a teenager.

Sheila and her biological dad Warren Martin with his wife.

Sheila is just thrilled with her new family connections and is armed with new knowledge about her family’s roots.

All of this just made me know how very much I fit in my family, and just how lucky I am.