Mother and daughter reunite 48 years after adoption

A Rochester woman has reunited with the daughter she placed for adoption nearly five decades ago, and the timing couldn't have been more profound.  

Family members express a rollercoaster of emotions having gained a loved one, but also losing another just months before. 

It was Nov. 11, 1975, at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Ill., that adoption plans would go into effect for a girl born to Patty and Henry Paulson. 

Patty explains that they were struggling and hoped to ensure their child's well-being and future opportunities, even if that meant without them. 

"I didn't do it for spite. I did it to comfort her, to help her out. I didn't want her to struggle," she said. "I knew in my heart I couldn't take care of her."

It's a decision she regretted making many times over those years, she said, adding that she had tried to find her after but was unsuccessful.

Her daughter, Kim Chamberlin, would go on to grow up in a stable, loving home, provided by her adoptive parents, Ray and Sue Ritcheson. Still, questions always lingered about her birth parents. 

Growing up, Kim would share those questions and the emotions she had about being adopted with her sister, Cindy, who had also been adopted by the Ritchesons and could relate. 

"At night, we would talk a lot and wonder how our moms are doing, how are dads are doing, or our siblings," Kim said. "That was kind of our thing. We kind of held each other together."

She recalled the two of them wishing on stars to one day find their biological families. 

"I knew one day it was going to happen," she said. "It was just a matter of time."

Cindy was first to meet her biological family. She learned of multiple siblings in the process and got to spend time with her birth mom before she died of cancer. She continues to stay in contact with those siblings in Texas.

Like her sister, Kim also learned of having siblings – three new sisters, Helen Burden, Sandra Jimenez and Linda Franz. Unfortunately, her birth father, Henry, took his life four months before the two could meet. His obituary, however, would lead to her being able to connect with the rest of the family. 

"I didn't think I wasn't going to be able to find anything," Kim said, with only her birth parents names and a birth date to search online. "If it wasn't for that obituary, I probably would never have been able to find them."

Later that night, she reached out to Helen, her oldest sister, on Facebook. The two were quick to join a voice call, and they ended up chatting into the early morning hours. 

"It was like we never missed a beat. The connection was so deep," Helen said. "That was the best feeling, and I needed something to right me because I had just lost dad." 

There was a question to be asked in finding Henry's obituary, regarding an infant daughter, Donna Paulson, being listed as preceding him in death. 

"She said, 'Do I have a sister that passed away?' Helen commented about her initial conversation with Kim. "I said, 'No, that's supposed to be you."

Helen explained that her mom said she had passed away. 

"I've been looking for her since probably the age of 14," she said. "I had a feeling that she was out there because mom never got a death certificate."

Helen noted she searched records of the hospital and the Illinois Department of Health, but couldn't turn up anything with the name Donna. 
 
"I always told mom and dad that one day she'll come or I'll find her," she said. 

Roughly two weeks had passed from their initial contact when Kim was on her way to Rochester from Michigan to meet her sisters and eventually Patty. She was joined by her husband David and 12-year-old daughter Gianna, who was excited to have another grandma and more aunts. 

"I didn't even make it out of the car and they were already at my door," Kim said of meeting Helen and Sandra first. "It was a great feeling, but I wanted to see mom."

The two would talk on the phone before meeting the next day. 

"She said I would like to see you, and I said we'll see each other soon," Patty said of that conversation. "It was a struggle trying to talk to her."

Kim shared the same sentiment, noting there were a lot of emotions on both ends. 

"I said there are no hard feelings. I'm not mad. I mean, I lived a great life," she said.

Kim stayed for four nights on that first visit and they've been enjoying each other's company ever since. She is now closer to the family since moving to Kokomo and has joined efforts with Helen in local suicide prevention efforts in remembrance of their father.

In addition to her daughter, Patty now has four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren in her life.

"I just missed my dad by four months. That's it," Kim said. "But it's okay. I'm at peace, and I'm doing something to help the situation now. I would have loved to meet him."

The family is planning a trip to Walt Disney World, as that is a stipulation Patty had with Kim's adoption and one she hopes to return.


Patty Paulson with all four of her daughters, Linda Franz, Helen Burden, Kim Chamberlin and Sandra Jimenez.