Get your Kleenex ready.
The bond between a father and son is something nearly indescribable, and nothing can make a grown man cry like being separated from or losing his child.
Tony Trapani, 81, of Grand Rapids, MI broke down in tears this week upon meeting his son for the first time…61 years after he was born.
It wasn't that Trapani had been avoiding being a father or didn't want the burden of fatherhood — he and his wife had always wanted children — but he never knew he had a son until he discovered a series of letters from a past girlfriend that his wife had kept hidden from him in a file cabinet for over 50 years.
He was "spring cleaning" his house when he found the letters addressed to his name. He recognized the name of the sender, but had never once been shown the secret content within.
When he opened the letters to read them, he got the surprise of his life. It's not often that a 80-something-year-old man is told he's now a father.
Read on and please SHARE this amazing story. Don't forget to watch the video at the end. He had me laughing at :46, but crying by 1:37.
The letters were postmarked as being from 1959, yet Tony had never once read them or even been made aware of them.
Tony's wife had kept these letters hidden from him for decades because they revealed that Tony had a son. At the time the letters were sent, his son would have been five years old.
Tony admits to being shocked, but also sad. He didn't want his son to think he was being an absent father. He was also completely confused as to why his wife would keep this secret from him. She had always wanted a family, but she was unable to have children of her own.
Tony's son, Samuel Childress, grew up believing that his father never wanted to meet him or have anything to do with him, which could not be further from the truth. He knew that his mother had sent Tony letters, but he just assumed Tony dismissed them.
Tony recently met his son for the first time. Samuel Childress is now 61 and grateful to meet his father. The two are holding no resentments or grudges towards anyone. They want to move forward.
Tony told his local news station, “He’s my full son that I’ve had my whole life, but why my wife hid that letter is beyond me.”
Samuel describes meeting his father as filling a void that's been there his whole life.
They plan to take a paternity test to be sure, but they look forward to their years together and making new memories as father and son.
Please SHARE after watching this heartbreaking video.
