A miraculous reunion after 53 years of being apart
by Denise Hill

When Joan and Bruce were very young, they had a baby boy on March 19, 1958. Because of family pressure and no means of providing for him, Malcolm Bruce McCullough was given up for adoption.

Stories circulated and Joan was told that he died, but in her heart of hearts, she knew this was not the truth. Joan and Bruce married several years later and went on to have three more children – two sons (Shaun and Devon Hill) and a daughter who died in infancy.

Fast forward to 2010 when Devon, the youngest son, had a strong desire to find his blood brother. He called Joan to discuss the idea to which she heartily agreed.

As the birth mother, Joan had to start the process by completing government documents. On Friday, January 22, 2011 Joan received a package which provided Malcolm’s full name – Robert Gregg Neden.

Joan phoned her daughter-in-law to tell her what she had received, and Lynne immediately placed the name in Google. His name came up and much to her surprise, he was living in northwest Calgary, about 15 minutes from her house. Lynne called his number, Gregg was home and he and Lynne had an emotional discussion.

Reunited brothers Gregg, Devon and Shaun
gather to celebrate Shaun’s wedding to Lynne. - photo by Denise Hill

The following day the three brothers met at the home of Shaun Hill. They talked non-stop for about four hours, looked at family pictures and marvelled at the amount of family traits, senses of humour, and food tastes that were so similar in all of them.

The one thing that touched the family deeply was the fact that Gregg was a Christian and had been a lay pastor for six years some time ago.

Since that initial meeting, the three brothers have had other visits, one of which where they met Gregg’s adoptive mother. Joan and her husband, Gordon, (who attend Royal Oak Victory in Calgary) were wintering in Arizona and came home near the end of March where she met with Gregg the day after she arrived. Words cannot describe what emotions she experienced!

On Easter Monday, and Shaun’s birthday, April 25, 2011, Shaun and Lynne were married, with their brother, Gregg performing the ceremony. For legal reasons, another licensed pastor, Peter McManus, was in attendance and has graciously consented to our sharing the story in City Light News.

It is very difficult to crop this story because there are so many incredible details to be shared. At the time of this writing, Gregg and Devon will be travelling to Flaxcombe, Saskatchewan on May 5 to meet his aunts, uncles and cousins.