Mary, David and Christi when she was a little girl.
By Betty Gandee
Imagine knowing a part of you is missing, leading to questions unanswered for many years. Christi White of Bomont, W.Va., got news this past week that changed her life and put so many things into perspective. A simple “Happy Birthday, wherever you are” post on social media made its way to Christi and opened up a whole new world to her and her children.
She was Crystal early on when she was in foster care and was placed in a home where she resided for over two years with a couple named Mary and David. Some other teens were placed in the home who were not a good fit, so the couple requested the teens be transferred. Instead, all of the children were relocated. This devastated Mary and David, who fought the system but didn’t win their battle.
Crystal was placed with a new family that had no desire to keep her connection with Mary and David alive, refusing to relay gifts sent or letters written to her. The new couple even changed her name from to Christi when she was 12 years old. The adoptive family signed their rights away when Christi was 16 and left her feeling lost and homeless.
Christi then met Terri and Danny Funk who took her in as their own, and they became the family she grew to love as Mom and Dad.
Christi and her family stand with Mary and David nearly 30 years later.
When Christi stumbled upon that Happy Birthday post on Facebook, she began to dig a little further and start searching for Mary and David. She looked up their old house in Gilmer County and searched deeds until she found information on the couple. She plugged that information into the white pages and began to dial every number listed. After multiple failed attempts, she finally reached Carolina, David and Mary’s daughter-in-law, who connected her with the couple.
A prayer was answered. After hours of talking, plans were made for Mary and David to drive from Texas to meet up with Christi at their vacation home in Tennessee. A true family reunion resulted. Pictures of the green-eyed little girl Mary and David thought they’d never see again were still on the walls of their home.
Christi said, “My adoptive family was horrible, and just thinking on how much my life would have been different if I could have stayed in my home and with the ones who truly loved me has brought up every kind of emotion.”
