Sisters find one another after 74 years

WEIRTON -- The world's very first Christmas began with a miracle.

This year, another miracle is going to be celebrated, as two sisters will finally have the opportunity to spend Christmas together after 74 years apart.

Picture it. 1949.

Shirley DeVore was 9 years old. Her sister, Elizabeth, 6. That year would be the last time the two would see one another.

Time passed and life moved on. Before long, 74 years had come and gone since they'd said their last goodbyes.

Picture it. 2023.

After 7 ½ decades, God decided that enough moments had passed and sent one of his miracles to the two women.

Shirley was now 83 years old. Her sister, Elizabeth, 80. Through an occurrence that is usually only scripted for an award-winning Hollywood movie, a chance encounter brought the two face to face once again. But to learn the whole story, we have to go back.

And in the famous words of the popular television detective, Adrian Monk, "Here's what happened ..."

Wilber and Kathryn Mozingo were blessed with a love for one another. That devotion ultimately resulted in creating a family consisting of 10 children. Unfortunately, Kathryn would befall an illness that would leave Wilber having to care of their family on his own.

But having 10 children -- some of whom were still very young, was just too much for him to handle alone and the Mozingo children had to be separated.

So, the decision was made to place the younger siblings in foster care, while the older children remained with their father, doing their share to contribute to the household's needs.

Shirley was one of those siblings who lived with her dad. Although she wasn't much older than her younger brothers and sisters who had left the home, she had done all she could do to try and care for them after their mother fell ill.

But being a 9-year-old child herself, there was only so much she could do ...no matter how hard she tried. And she tried.

Elizabeth Eileen Cunningham was 6 when she had to leave her family and her home. She was placed in a private foster home where she remained until she was ready to begin a life of her own.

She graduated, obtained a job and married the love of her life, William. The couple celebrated 55 years of marriage this year. Together, they have three daughters: Donna Richardson, Karen Grandinetti and Julie Varner; seven grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

Grandinetti, who resides in Richmond, visits her mother daily. Each afternoon, she drives to the Weirton Geriatric Center and spends time with her parents, as her father is a resident at the nursing home as well.

Grandinetti explained her father moved to the center in February. It was only 10 days later that Elizabeth fell, sustaining a head injury. From that point on, she, too, became a resident at the center.

"They just couldn't live without each other," their daughter teased, as the family laughed at her comment.

Shirley has been living at Weirton Geriatric for five years, according to her family.

After leaving her father's home, she married her husband, Donald. The couple had eight children, she said.

Shirley has 21 grandchildren, 49 great-grandchildren and five great- great-grandchildren.

When Elizabeth moved into the center, not 24 hours had passed before she noticed a name on the bulletin board a few doors down from her room on Garden Place neighborhood.

The name of the patient read, "DeVore."

Well, she had heard Shirley married someone with that last name. But that was all she knew.

With each passing day, Elizabeth grew more curious. She would go into the dining room, sit down next to Shirley and begin asking her questions, here and there.

When speaking with Shirley, her responses are oftentimes short. Although she is capable of comprehending what is being said to her, it is difficult for her to communicate in lengthy sentences. And yet, the brief responses she provides, along with her facial expressions and the tears which fall from her eyes, speaks more than most words ever could.

The love Shirley has for her family -- for those who are still here and those who have died, is evident. At the mention of their names, she will often begin to cry. She will repeat the name and dab at her eyes, remembering just how much she loves them.

Elizabeth recalled the time she approached Shirley in the center's dining room.

"I started to ask her questions about her life," she stated. "I sat down beside her and asked, 'How many kids do you have? 'Bunches of them,' she replied. And so, I let it go."

Elizabeth noted her responses didn't tell her very much about the information she was seeking.

"The next day, I asked her, 'What was your mom's name?' And she said, 'Kate.' And that kicked in."

"So I asked her, 'Who was your dad?' And she answered, 'Wilbur,'" Elizabeth continued. "And I was like, what?" 

Elizabeth kept asking Shirley questions at every opportunity, because the name "DeVore" remained with her every single day.

She continued, "I kept talking and asking her questions like, 'Is this person still alive?' or 'Is this person still married?' But it didn't go over too good."

Shirley had never called Elizabeth by her first name. She had always referred to her by her middle name, Eileen. So during the times when family approached her, asking if she had a sister by the name of Elizabeth in order to discover the truth, she had responded "No."

That is when Elizabeth decided to go to the center's social worker, Kathy Yates.

Yates explained she was approached by Elizabeth, who informed her of all these "coincidences" between she and Shirley.

Yates asked Elizabeth for the names of her parents and other background history so she could have the information at the ready when she pulled the files. It was a match.

"At that point, I called the families and let them know," Yates explained. "We took Shirley into Elizabeth's room and told her, 'This is your sister.' And she began to cry and cry."

Grandinetti recalled how she was informed her mother was now living in the same Weirton nursing home as her sister, whom she hadn't seen in three-quarters of a century.

"I went into the dining hall and it was just my dad and the activities director," she said, reflecting back to that moment. "They were laughing and crying and giggling the whole time. It was just unbelievable when they told me. Something like this could not even be possible. It's a true miracle."

There were days throughout the summer and fall when Shirley, Elizabeth and their family members would sit outside and talk with one another. Yet, no one knew they all belonged to the same family.

Since finding one another again, the sisters spend moments with their daughters and discuss family members. It is believed they are the only two sisters who are still alive.

They learned both of them had attended their sister Mae's, funeral. Yet, neither knew of the other.

They believe their brother, Bob, is living in Washington, D.C.

It was said that Shirley has not seen her brother in approximately seven years. Elizabeth said she hasn't seem him since she was young. 

"It's been more than 55 years since I've seen him," she stated.

Shirley took care of her brother, Bob, until he was 16 and left home and joined the service. She hopes she will be able to see him once again, although the family is unsure on how to contact him or reach out to locate where is living.

But for now, the family is going to focus on the wonderful and unexpected gift which has been given to them.

Shirley and Elizabeth plan to spend a "humungous" Christmas at Grandinetti's house.

"We are going to have a large dinner and I will be happy," Elizabeth said.

"We are going to snuggle around the tree and wait for Santa to come, too," Grandinetti said to her Aunt Shirley, who nodded her head in agreement.

"Are you gonna keep me?" Elizabeth asked her sister.

Holding tightly to her hand, Shirley responded through her tears, "I'm gonna keep you."

"You're not gonna let me get away, are you?" Elizabeth asked.

To which Shirley shook her head and answered, "No. I can't ever do that again."