'Papa was a rolling stone': Thibodaux woman finds unknown half-brother after 23andMe test
After more than 40 years unaware of each other's existence, two siblings have found each another. Now they are best friends.
Dawn Marcel, 48, and her brother, Corey Rodrigue, were raised by different families, each by fathers whom they say raised them well. Now the two speak over the phone for hours on end and share a love of Ferrero Rocher. Their immediate families have grown close, too.
"I mean, I was on the phone the other day, and my wife already knows, it's like I walk in from dropping my son off at the north shore… and she'll be like, 'Hi, Dawn,'" Rodrigue said with a laugh.
Dawning realization
Marcel's father, Ray Pontiff Sr., passed away suddenly from a massive heart attack at 39. The then 9-year-old Marcel was left with a hole in her heart. Her mother, Dolores Daigle, remarried, but it was never the same.
"Family-wise, that was a big part of my life that was missing, not having a dad, you know?" Marcel said.
That void was filled in a very unexpected way when Marcel was visiting her aunt, Hazel Martin, who mentioned that she thought Marcel was adopted.
Armed with the name Dennis Naquin Sr. from her aunt, Marcel found him using the phone book. She was excited, but scared.
"I reached out to him with a letter," Marcel said. "Because, you know, I didn't want to show up on his doorstep and then get rejected."
Naquin called her. The two planned a meeting, and Marcel wanted a blood test for verification. She said Naquin didn't need it. After more than 11 years, she had a father again.
"When I met him, and I looked at him, he didn't even want the test… he even said, 'I can look at you and tell you are mine,'" Marcel recalled.
Marcel said the journey was important as a path of self-discovery. She found her roots and learned where she came from. She got to know him for more than 25 years, and through him met her half siblings: Dennis Naquin Jr., and Denise Naquin.
Naquin Sr. passed away last December, and that could have been the end of the story. But Marcel's discoveries weren't through. In another city, her sibling was seeking answers as well.
The other half
Rodrigue, 47, followed in his father's footsteps, serving in the Navy for six years, and the Air Force Reserve for 10. Now he works as a nurse in the trauma ward at a Metairie hospital. He loves the parents who raised him well, he said.
One thing has nagged at him throughout the years -- his birth certificate. The certificate has white-out over his mother's maiden name, which he can clearly read through the back.
"It was whited out and my last name was written in there," he explained. "And since it was the original, I could actually see the pen ink through the back."
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He knew he was born out of wedlock because of the alteration, but he assumed his mother got pregnant and the two quickly got married. One day as Corey walked by the two, he heard his father tell his mother that someone had passed away. When he asked about it, the two never responded. He said based on the dates, he thinks they could have been talking about Naquin.
Rodrigue said he isn't sure if his father knows what he's learned yet. His father, Derrel Rodrigue, is caring for his mother, who has had dementia for the past eight years.
He said he's never mentioned his recent discoveries to him out of fear of hurting him or his parents' relationship. He couldn't go on without finding out for himself though, and seeking answers, he took a blood test. Little did he know his sister would be taking one too just weeks later.
"All of a sudden, across the feed came, 'You have a half-sister,'" he said. "It hit me like a ton of bricks, like what the hell is going on? It was a happy day, but it was kind of confusing."
Worlds Converge
After Naquin Sr. passed, Marcel took a 23andMe test. The test pinged that she had a brother who had taken the test just weeks before. Marcel did some digging and got his phone number.
On March 16, Rodrigue got a phone call he wasn't expecting. He described it as "surreal."
"Suddenly, I have this whole part of my life I never knew I had," Rodrigue said. "We talk about what's going on in our lives, our families, and just kind of are learning each other, especially at this point, and it just seems like it's just very easy conversation… sometimes I'll call and before I know it, it's five hours later."
They bonded over their similarities, which arose from two completely different upbringings. Marcel shared stories of the father Rodrigue never met. Three days later, the two families met at La Casa in Thibodaux. Marcel was too nervous to eat anything, and Rodrigue couldn't remember what he ordered.
The two are still getting to know each another, and Marcel has introduced Rodrigue to their other half-siblings. Both are excited to continue to learn about the family they never knew they had.
"Family means everything to me, everything, I just don't even know what more to say than that," she said. "I wouldn't be surprised if we had other siblings out there cuz, let me tell ya, papa was a rolling stone."
This article originally appeared on The Courier: Thibodaux woman discovers half-brother after 23andMe DNA test
