World War II was a time of loss for many people. But nearly 80 years later, for two women, that loss would turn into a reunion that no one expected.

And it all started with a joke between cousins and a DNA test that one of them ordered.

Annie Ijpelaar, 78, and Sheila Anne Fry, 75, were both adopted to different families when they were very young. Neither woman knew each other. Annie’s son, Marc, 50, had ordered the DNA test, hoping to tease his cousins with it.

But when he got the DNA results, he was shocked to find out that his mother had a half-sister. Something his mother did not know. 

Marc got in contact with Sheila’s daughter-in-law, Karen. Both Annie and Sheila took a DNA test which did show they were related. They had their first video chat in May 2022.

The situation was special – they had an amazing conversation. There were challenges because they both had trouble hearing and the communication between them was funny,” Marc said.

Sheila was a retired shop assistant who lived in the United Kingdom, while Annie, a retired craftswoman, is from the Netherlands. 

While Sheila knew the name of her biological mother, she had no information on her father. Her parents, she said, only knew that he was a Canadian soldier that went home after the war ended.

Annie Ijpelaar, 78, and Sheila Anne Fry, 75, share their crafts with each other. The two sisters recently met for the first time. Photo by the families.

“What we presume happened is as the forces were closing down, he had been in Holland, and they had Annie. Then he was sent to Bristol and met my mother,” Sheila said.

Annie, however, was raised by her birth mother and her ‘father’, which in the end turned out to be her stepfather, not biological father. She found out she was adopted by him after finding family documents.

The two sisters finally met in June 2022 in the Netherlands. 

“It was amazing to meet face to face, we both love to crochet, and we both knit and do crafts. I must say, Annie is a lot better than me, she has an awful lot of patience by the sounds of it,” Sheila said. “It was like looking in the mirror and talking to myself. We had done a video link before we met face to face, but it was amazing.

Shelia hopes Annie will visit her in the UK in the future. Annie, a retired craftswoman, from Drunen, Netherlands said: “It was very special, and we immediately connected.

“Although the language was a problem it felt very strange and also natural to see and talk to my sister after all these years. It is great to finally meet Sheila, but it can be difficult to keep in touch as we are not very good with computers and phones,” Annie said.

“My English is not good, but I am trying to learn. I wish she lived closer.”

Watch the amazing reunion when the two sisters meet. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Sources: Good News Network | MSN