A man in Indiana was perplex and reasonably apprehensive when he received a Facebook message over the holiday’s from his Filipino half-sister.
Jane DeGrand grew up in Manila, Philippines 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.
And after taking an online DNA test, she found that she has a half-brother living in Indiana – 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.
Jane DeGrand grew up in Manila, Philippines and was raised by a single mother. And after taking an online DNA test, she found that she has a half-brother living in Indiana – 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
She decided to message 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 sitting in the grass with Jane’s mom, who is feeding him fresh coconut
He met Jane’s mom there, but never knew he had a daughter on the way.
‘Apparently my mom didn’t know she was pregnant until she was already five months pregnant,’ Jane told Fox 8.
She said growing up the first thing people would ask when meeting her is who her dad was.
‘Who’s your dad because I look different than any other Filipino – I stick out in the Philippines,’ Jane said. She attended college in the United States and now lives in Washington, DC.
She decided to message 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.
Chris explained that after seeing Jane’s birthday on her Facebook profile he realized that they could be connected – but was nonetheless apprehensive.
Chris and Jane were able to visit their father’s burial site in Indiana together, marking the first time the three were ever in the same place
Ancestry DNA couldn’t give a 100 percent confirmation that the pair were related – so they took an official DNA test that cleared any doubt. She is pictured in a Facebook photo left, and right with Chris Livesay and his mother
But then, he remembered that his dad had slides from his time stationed in the Philippines.
‘That’s when he brought up, “My dad has these slides” that he knew he had from the military,’ Jane told the outlet.
One of the pictures is of Jane’s mom and their dad – in which they’re lying sitting in the grass together.
‘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 famliy after visiting Chris at his home in Indiana
Ancestry DNA couldn’t give a 100 percent confirmation that the pair were related – so they took an official DNA test that cleared any doubt.
‘It kind of validated me as having a father. He did exist,’ Jane said.
‘Even thought 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 the pair were even able to visit their father’s burial site.
She told Fox 8 that instead of spending her long-weekends in Virginia Beach, she plans on spending the time in Indiana getting to know John and his family.