A reunion seven decades in the making

WORLAND -Thanks to the determination of a half-sister he never knew existed, Dan Garnett of Worland was reunited with two sisters he had given up hope of ever seeing again.

Garnett was born to William and Lois Martin Sharp in Richmond, Missouri. At the age of 4, Dan, his brother John, 3, and sisters, Lisa, 2, and Annette, an infant, were separated in 1950. Garnett said his sisters told him that his father was extremely abusive and that is why his mother allowed the children to be adopted.

In a story published Dec. 6, 2019, in the Richmond News and written by Teresa Shaw, Garnett said, "John and I were in a foster home for about six months. I was told I didn't say a word for those six months."

His adoptive parents, Harold and Ruth Garnett, treated him well but have passed on. He said last year his best friend passed away, as well as a longtime pastor and he was feeling alone with no one to call and visit with.

At 10:30 p.m. on Nov. 24, 2019, the telephone rang and Nora got out of bed to answer the phone. On the other end was a woman who introduced herself as Brenda Hamm and she said she was 99.9% sure that Dan was her brother.

Nora took the phone to Dan. "As soon as I heard Brenda's voice there was no doubt. There was a familiarity," he said.

He said he later that weekend he spoke with his sisters, Lisa Pierce and Annette Gaiser. Again there was another instant connection. The siblings immediately began planning for a reunion.

He said his mother later divorced his father, remarried and they had a daughter, Brenda. Brenda wanted to find her half siblings for herself but also for her mother.

She told the Richmond News, "I really wanted to do this for my mom. She really wanted to find her children."

The Christmas reunion, 69 years after the siblings were separated, was at a bed and breakfast so the siblings could be together the entire. "It was kind of overwhelming. It was so intense," Garnett said.

"This was my greatest gift besides the Lord," Garnett said.

He said they found there were many connections, the biggest was music. He said they all sang, John also played guitar. "Our favorite cake was German chocolate." Garnett said the siblings are all Christians, noting he accepted the Lord as his Savior while in Italy in the military.

Garnett said he had tried a few times to find his sisters but had given up in the 1970s.

Hamm found Pierce first and then Gaiser. The three sisters were reunited in July 2019. The three of them then began a bigger search for Dan and John.

"I never thought they would have worked so hard to find us," Garnett told the Richmond News. "Brenda has this intensity and this focus, and never gave up."

Nora told the Richmond News that Dan's adoptive parents shared his real last name with her in 1981, but they had no clue to the women's whereabouts.

"We tried finding them when we were in Kansas City and we visited Excelsior Springs," Nora said in Jan. 10, 2020, Richmond News article. "But nothing was familiar."

Garnett said while his sisters were searching, Hamm enlisted the help of a "search angel" who helps families reunite.

Garnett said that for a while they had all lived near each other in Missouri, his adopted parents had a dairy farm that eventually went into bankruptcy. They then moved to an uncle's place in Kansas City, later to Albuquerque, New Mexico and eventually his parents operated the Apache Motel in Winslow, Arizona.

Garnett dropped out of high school to join the Marines, then attended a junior college in Phoenix, majoring in music education. He then joined the Air Force for 16 years, retiring in 1984. It was back to Missouri in the late 1980s where he attended Calvary Bible College.

Garnett said he lost touch with his brother in 1986. His brother John passed away in 2003.

Eventually Garnett began looking for a ministry and that search led him to Worland, Wyoming, and the Zion Lutheran Church where he was hired as the director of music and education. He then went to Thompson Falls, Montana, but eventually returned to Worland Zion Lutheran, this time as administrative pastor.

He is retired now and he said his wife Nora, a paraeducator, is planning on retiring at the end of the year and they will be "going fulltime RVing."

The family, now reunited, plan on an annual gathering. Between the four siblings they have 58 descendants, 28 of whom are Dan's.