An 80-year-old Boca Raton woman who has always desperately wanted to find her birth mother has been reunited with her biological mother. Joanne Loewenstern was adopted when she was a baby, and only found out about it when she was 16.
She was told that her birth mother had died two days after the birth. Since then, Loewenstern has longed to find her mother. The trouble is, at the age of 80, it’s pretty unlikely to find your mother still alive.
But the truth is sometimes stranger than fiction. About a year ago, Loewenstein’s daughter-in-law created an Ancestry.com account. All the elderly lady knew was her birth mother’s name. As fate would have it, she got a ‘hit’ and contacted Samson Ciminieri, who turned out to be Loewenstein’s half-brother.
When she found out that her mother was not only still alive, but living only an hour away, Loewenstein’s greatest wish came true. She and her mother, Lillian, now spend as much time together as possible.
Lillian now lives in a nursing home in Port St. Lucie, where Loewenstern visits her. They love coloring pictures in together, but the mystery of why Loewenstern was adopted remains unsolved. Lillian’s memory is hazy.
