Father Given Greatest Christmas Gift of His Life — His Children
Albert Todd has been searching for his long lost children for the past 25 years. After a failed marriage, his ex-wife left the house and took with her their two children, Patsy and Marcus, to Austin, Texas.
For three years, Todd sent letters to his children awaiting a reply. He later learned that his ex-wife had been hiding the letters from the children telling them that their father no longer loved them. The mother never informed Todd of their whereabouts and broke all contact with him.
Todd never stopped searching for his children. A truck driver for 40 years, wherever his job took him was where he would continue his search. “Every state I went to, I looked,” he said. “Because I loved them. And here, I’ve been passing them up all the time.”
Thankfully, Todd had a support system to assist him in his efforts. He re-married a woman named Wanda in 1992 and she has encouraged him over the years to never give up hope. Todd also joined a church in the last year where he received additional support from the pastor who also told Todd to keep on searching. “(The pastor) said God would be with me, and He was with me,” he said.
Finally, Todd received one of the greatest Christmas gifts of his life when he opened up a mysterious letter. It was from his precious children. Patsy wrote how she had been searching for him for many years and finally found his name and address on the internet. Marcus wrote how much he loved and missed his father and how he dreamed to reunite with him again. Patsy informed her father that he now has two grandchildren. Both left contact information in the letter.
An emotional Todd contacted Patsy but could not get through. He finally got a hold of Marcus and the two fought back tears as they tried to speak the words their hearts were thinking.
After discussing past details with the children, Todd discovered that the children’s grandfather had told them to never stop looking for their father. He passed away soon after the discussion. Marcus also told his father that he discovered his letters in an old suitcase one day after arriving home early from work and watching his mother clean up some old items.
Patsy’s husband offered to help Todd come to their home to see his children again. Patsy and Marcus are also looking for their long lost brother and his stepson before the family reunion.
Todd has been anxious to meet his children since the two have been sending him pictures through his phone. Their images are a far cry from how he remembered the two little ones the day before they left him. The only pictures he had were of the children at a very young age.
After a 25 year waiting period, Todd is so elated to reunite with his long lost children. The travel from Arizona to Texas pales in comparison to the struggles he endured in his search. “I’m only 700 miles from there,” he said.