A man in the US state of Chicago received the surprise of a lifetime when he learned that the local bakery he frequented near his home was owned by his birth mother who put him up for adoption nearly five decades ago. Vamarr Hunter, 50, of South Shore discovered that he was adopted at 35 and remained curious about meeting his mother ever since. It was after submitting a sample for genetic testing that Mr Hunter was informed about the uncanny coincidence, according to a report in The Washington Post.
In 2022, California-based genetic genealogist Gabriella Vargas helped Mr Hunter track Lenore Lindsey, 67, the owner of ‘Give Me Some Sugah’ bakery. Once Vargas put together that Ms Lindsey was Mr Hunter’s birth mom, she called and passed on his number.
“He had a high match in his Ancestry matches, and it was easy to build the family tree and figure it out from there,” Vargas told the outlet.
Ms Lindsey. who was recovering from breast cancer surgery at the time and preparing to undergo chemotherapy, immediately rang up Mr Hunter despite her condition.
“I was on the phone talking to my friend when a call came through from the bakery. I was like, ‘Why is Give Me Some Sugah calling me?'” Mr Hunter said.
Although the mother-son don’t remember what happened next, Ms Lindsey remembers opening with “Is this Vamarr Hunter?”, without recognizing the name of one of her most loyal customers.
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‘It was crazy’
Meanwhile, Hunter who had been expecting the call from his birth mother, quickly pieced two and two together.
“When I knew who he was, we just started screaming on the phone. We were beside ourselves,” Ms Lindsey said.
“It was crazy. It was just so unbelievable,” Hunter agreed.
Notably, Ms Lindsey was only 17 when she gave birth to Mr Hunter in 1974. However, owing to the family’s poor condition, she had to put up her son for adoption.
“It was heartbreaking. It was a difficult time for my family. They wheeled him out, and I remember seeing a head full of hair and my mom telling me how beautiful he was,” Lindsey recalled.
Mr Hunter is now running the bakery alongside his mother and enjoying the time together as family – and business partners. He says once he retires, he wants to pass it along to one of his children.