Frank Randy Perez was born February 19, 1941 in Los Angeles, California. A year later his sister, Susan, was born; and a year after that his little brother, Jim, was born. One day shortly after the arrival of his little brother in 1943; his father went to work early in the morning, and then his mother hastily packed up the kids and left Los Angeles to relocate in Mexico City.
Randy's mother was a beautiful blonde haired, blue eyed lady of Irish decent. When she first settled in Mexico, she pursued an acting career in the movie industry, where she appeared in 3 movies. This was short-lived, so she later became part owner and manager of a high-class night club. His mother was gone a lot making a living, so Randy, Susan and Jim were raised mostly by their servants. They had a really nice home, and attended parochial schools. On the few occasions when they were together as a family, Randy and his siblings would ask about their father; but their mother would never say anything other than he was far away in another country. They didn't even know his name.
When Randy was approximately 15, he came home from school and discovered his mother had packed up the family and was planning to move back to the United States - that day. They arrived in San Antonio, Texas, in February 1956. This was very difficult for all 3 kids, there was no forewarning or explanation of this move - it was not only a cultural shock, they didn't even speak English. In 1957 they moved again to Hollywood, California - where Randy attended Hollywood High School.
Randy enlisted in the Navy in 1959, and this was the 1st time he saw his birth certificate and discovered his father's name "Frank Ramos Perez." In January 1963 he was discharged from the Navy, and in February 1963 he was hired by Pacific Telephone. He ended up working for the phone company for 35 years. During a lot of those years, he continually tried to locate his father, through the extensive phone network systems; but with no luck.
Our daughter-in-law, Julie Perez was adopted, and was actually successful in locating her own birth parents with a software she borrowed from her brother. So one day, in early 1995, she decided to try to locate Randy's father. She picked Stockton, California at random. When she browsed the listings for Frank Perez, or F.R. Perez she found many listings. She just picked one at random . . . it wasn't the first, or the last. In just 3 questions, Julie knew she'd found the right Frank Ramos Perez. "Oh my gosh, somebody's looking for you" she remarked. "I'll call you back." A flurry of calls united the family, at least in spirit, that first night.
A week later, on April 8th, 1995 Randy, I and our children drove to Stockton to meet his father. We were so excited and scared all at the same time. Not knowing how we would be received, or anything about his father and his other family. When we arrived at Frank Sr's home, we were met at the door by Letty [Frank's wife]. We were welcomed into the home, and about that time, around the corner stepped Frank Sr. When Randy and his father's eyes met, they both rushed into each other's arms and wept for a long time. Frank Sr. grabbed Randy's hand tightly, and for the rest of the day, would not let go. He ushered us all into his living room and began telling us the story he waited 52 years to tell. He removed his wallet from his pants and slipped out a neatly folded piece of paper. He unfolded it and handed it to Randy. It was the "Dear John" note his mother had left for his dad to find when she took the kids to Mexico. Frank carried that note in his wallet all those years, knowing that someday God would re-unite him with his children. He wanted them to know that he loved them dearly and never abandoned them.
We were warmly welcomed by the entire Perez family. Randy got to meet his 3 half-brothers, Gary, Dean and Ron and their families - as well as tons of cousins, nieces and nephews. We celebrated every Father's Day in Stockton with his dad after this. And for the 1st time in his life, Randy got REALLY excited about father's day, because now HE had a father to celebrate.
About a year later, Frank Sr. had a stroke and dementia started to settle in. We were so lucky to have found his father when we did . . . it was God's perfect timing.