A reunion 60 years in the making for long lost brothers

LUBBOCK, TX (KCBD) - It’s a reunion a local Lubbock man thought would never come, and it was made possible by a popular DNA kit from the genealogy website Ancestry.com

Jerry Generalao was always told that he had an older brother who was given up for adoption so he said he and his four other siblings have tried to look for him, but never had any luck. That was until one man reached out to a family member claiming to be that long lost brother.

It came as a surprise, but after some research, Generalao got to meet his long lost brother at the Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport.

Generalao has one sister and three older brothers. Growing up, his mother never let her children forget that they did have an older brother that she had to give up due to unfortunate circumstances. “My mother and father were not married at the time and they were forced to give him up for adoption. I wish it never happened.”

His mother passed back in 1988, but Generalao says he and his siblings have been looking for his brother, Michael, ever since. Never in a million years did he ever think because of new DNA technology that his brother would find them. “He was trying the same things and was trying to find us just like we were. He did it through Ancestry DNA.”

Generalao says his brother reached out to his niece who also took the DNA test.

Now more than half a century later, his brother and wife flew to Lubbock from Washington State for the ultimate family reunion. Something Jerry has been waiting for, but something Michael Cabral has been longing for.

“I was told I was adopted when I was 10 and when I reached 20 to 23 I wanted to find my biological family,” said Cabral.

He says it was harder than he expected because he didn’t know where to start. It wasn't until his wife saw how much pain he was in, longing to find his family, that she came up with an idea.

“I would cry when I see families reunite. I would cry and she knew it hurt so she said just try Ancestry DNA, but I said it's not worth it,” said Cabral

Cabral said she bought it anyways and he took it. Now he ways he is forever grateful because it was that decision that led him to his family.

Cabral will be visiting with all his newly found family for a little while, but the story doesn’t stop there. Cabral says he’s not going to waste any more time not being with them so he’s actually moving to Lubbock from his home in Washington state to be closer to them.

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