Man, 81, Who Always Wanted to Be a Dad Gets Surprise of His Life

Tony Trapani met his son, Samuel Childress, for the first time earlier this week. (Screenshot: WXMI-TV video)

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By Beth Dalbey

At 81, Tony Trapani long ago accepted that when it came to fatherhood, the ship had sailed.

The man had always dreamed of being a dad, but his wife of 50 years, Gertrude “Dolly” Trapani, was unable to have children.

She died in 2008, but it wasn’t until February of last year that he began clearing out her filing cabinets – a task that uncovered a letter and a life-changing secret, The Grand Rapids Press/MLive and WXMI-TV report.

He was a dad, and had been for 61 years.

The letter, postmarked March 1959 and written in the hand of former girlfriend Shirley Childress, had been intercepted by Dolly – Trapani is at a loss to explain why, because they both wanted children – and hidden in the back of a drawer.

“Dear Tony,” it began. “I bet you are surprised to hear from me after so many years. I was just thinking about you tonight like so many other nights. But I thought I would write you and find out how you are. Tony, please don’t be angry or surprised to hear this. I have a little boy. He is five-years-old now – grey eyes and beautiful black hair. What I am trying to say, Tony, is he is your son.”

In her letter, Shirley Childress pleaded with her old beau to visit their son, Samuel Duane Childress.

“Every day he asks me where is his daddy and believe me, Tony, I can’t even answer him anymore. I would be forever grateful if you would just see him. …”

Fifty-six years later, that reunion took place in Grand Rapids, filling a hole in both men’s hearts. Childress, who lives in Pennsylvania, had been searching for his dad for almost a quarter of a century.

“It’s a miracle,” Childress said. “I’m just glad now [that in] what time we have, just to get to know him.

“That’s very important,” he said. “It fills a void I’ve had over the years.”

“It’s one of those things you think, ‘How could this happen?’” Trapani said Tuesday, clutching the hand of the son he met for the first time only two days before. “It’s fantastic – but why didn’t I know this ahead of time?”

Connection on Facebook

The connection was finally made through the social media grapevine.

After discovering the letter last February and searching for most of the past year for his son, Trapani got a lead. His sister, Arlene Schulte, connected two weeks ago with Donna Childress – that’s Mrs. Samuel Childress – on Facebook.

Meeting his father for the first time was like looking in the mirror – just as Shirley Childress promised it would be all those years ago when Samuel Childress had asked his mother about his father.

“I always asked my mom, I said, ‘Well what does he look like?’ She said, ‘Well, go look in the mirror.’ ”

The similarities extend beyond the physical resemblance. They both list chocolate cake and doughnuts as their favorite foods. They both enjoy spending time in nature, which they’ll do together at Trapani’s cabin Up North in the coming weeks, months and, both men hope, years.

Trapani’s son and daughter-in-law plan to move from their home in Williamsport, PA, to the Grand Rapids area to make the most of the time they have left on Earth.

“I just want to be with him and spend as much time with him,” Childress said. “We only have so many years left.”

Trapani said he feels like a new dad. His heart hurts some at the betrayal – “He’s my full son that I’ve had my whole life, but why my wife hid that letter is beyond me,” he said – but he’s trying not to dwell on that.