A man was brought to happy tears on his birthday when his doorbell rang and in walked his biological grandfather, who for decades he did not know existed and had never met.
As soon as Alex Pacetti, 28, laid eyes on the man staring back at him in his Selah, Washington, home, he immediately welled up, the surprise his wife Hannah had arranged for him getting all too much.
Alex’s new family dynamic had only come about over recent years, as his biological father, who was adopted, started thinking about his biological parents once his adopted parents had passed away.
Through ancestry websites, Alex’s father, Jimmy Lund, was connected to his biological mother, whom he apparently had lukewarm discussions with, given that she would not explain who Jimmy’s biological father was, Hannah, 27, said.
Hannah added that Jimmy’s mom had actually given him up for adoption because she had fallen pregnant at a young age and never told the father, Michael Coffman, that she later had the baby.
As a result, Michael, 77, never knew about Jimmy, and it wasn’t until Michael’s wife found him on an ancestry website that things became clearer.
Father and son met in March 2021, and it was suggested that one day, Michael should meet his biological grandson, too.
Ahead of Alex’s birthday on February 20, Jimmy, 57, had been liaising with Hannah, who suggested that Michael come along.
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When the pair first met, there were obvious similarities in how they looked, Hannah said, which made her certain they were related.
Speaking of the tear-filled moment, Hannah said: “I told my husband that there was a knock on the door and it must be his dad and his wife, Kelly.
“He opens the door and there is Alex’s grandpa with a giant red bow on his shirt and a happy birthday balloon.
“My husband was absolutely shocked and surprised – his grandpa was so sweet and embraced him immediately. Not only did he find a son, but my husband is the only grandchild he has.
“He realized that he has great-grandchildren and a whole extension of the family he never knew existed.
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“What’s even more incredible is my husband is his exact copy.
“They are even built the same and have the same smile and nose; my husband looks more like his grandpa than his father does.
“It was a mixture of overwhelming emotions, and that’s when you see my husband crying, and his grandpa goes back over for another huge hug, just to let him know that he’s here now and not going anywhere.
“I felt pure happiness.”
