Filipina finds out she has a half-brother in Indiana
Half-sibilings Chris Livesay and Jane DeGrand were reunited after a DNA test confirmed their shared paternity. FACEBOOK
Jane DeGrand grew up in Manila and was raised by a single mother.
Her father was an American who fell in love with her mom in the early ‘70s while serving in the Air Force. He met Jane’s mom there, but never knew he had a daughter on the way.
And after taking an online DNA test, Jane found out that she has a half-brother living in Indiana, a man named Chris Livesay.
Their father, John Livesay, lived in Crawfordsville for most of his life, but spent a few years in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s in the Philippines while serving in the Air Force.
“Apparently, my mom didn’t know she was pregnant until she was already five months pregnant,” Jane told Fox 8.
Chris and Jane visit their father’s burial site in Indiana together, marking the first time the three were ever in the same place. FACEBOOK
People had always asked who her father was because “I look different than any other Filipino — I stick out in the Philippines,’ Jane said. She went to college in the United States and now lives in Washington, DC.
Jane decided to contact Chris in December after getting her dad’s name from her mom and finding a likely match to the Livesay family tree from Ancestry DNA.
A photo shows their dad, John Livesay, sitting in the grass with Jane’s mom, who is feeding him fresh coconut. FACEBOOK
Chris wasn’t sure that they could be connected. But then, he remembered that his dad had slides from his time stationed in the Philippines.
One of the pictures is of Jane’s mom and their dad. “I was like well that’s my mom — and that’s my mom feeding your dad coconuts,’ Jane explained.
Jane is pictured with the extended Livesay family after visiting Chris at his home in Indiana. FACEBOOK
“It kind of validated me as having a father. He did exist,’ Jane said. “Even though he didn’t know I existed, I know he actually existed and he is real.”
Jane eventually visited Chris and his family at their home in Indiana in January, and they even visited their father’s burial site.
She told Fox 8 that instead of spending her long weekends in Virginia Beach, she plans to spend the time in Indiana getting to know Chris and their dad’s family.
