SARASOTA- “Wow that’s absolutely shocking,” said William Houchin.
Reunited with the son he never knew he had.
“It’s almost like there’s another me, and it’s wonderful and I love you son and don’t you forget it,” said Houchin.
William Houtchin says life is full of twist and turns…including his daughter finding his son. Vicki McClenathen’s interest in genealogy came from her son’s fourth grade project, when he was asked to trace back his family tree. Since then, she says it’s like putting puzzle pieces into place.
“I like to learn, I like to explore and put things together and analyze, and genealogy lends itself to that. So it just became a hobby I really really enjoyed,” said Vicki McClenathen.
McClenathen signed up for Ancestry DNA, but never imagined she’d find her brother, Charles Basinger.
“My heads just spinning, because there’s a cousin here, over here’s two aunts and there’s an uncle and there’s a grandfather, and I’m like wow,” said Charles Basinger.
Several emails, a few calls, and one paternity test later, Ancestry confirmed Houchin is Basinger’s biological father.
“I just want to hug him all the time. He wants to hug me all the time, we want to hug her. We just want to hug each other,” said Houchin.
McClenathen says their similarities are undeniable. Basinger served as a paratrooper for 82 Airborne, Houchin in the Air Force. The two are quick with a joke and constantly pranking each other, but their sense of humor isn’t where the resemblance stops.
“The poor soul resembles me so much, the poor boy,” said Houchin.
Despite the lost time, Basinger says he wouldn’t change a thing.
“I like it just like that, because if we were a family together, then maybe our lives wouldn’t be what they are today,” said Basinger.
The family is moving forward creating new memories and planning out their future. McClenathen says the puzzle isn’t finished yet though.
“This is one big puzzle piece that just got put into that great big giant puzzle for sure,” said McClenathen.