Father and Son Reunite after 54 Years

More than half a century after a hostile divorce, a boy who had been told his father had been killed in military service has been reunited after 54 years with his father, Marvin Shimel, 84, a resident of Grand Terrace since 1974. Gary was the couple’s only child together. Born in a Chicago, Illinois hospital in 1952 to parents Marvin and Barbara Shimel, Gary was the victim of his parents’ youthful divorce in 1955. Gary’s mother received custody and falsely told her son that his father had been killed in service in Vietnam, so he never even thought to seek a reunion with his birth father. She remarried a number of times and Gary settled on the name Henderson, after one of his mother’s husbands. Gary married his wife Vicki and raised a family in Berwick, Iowa just north of Des Moines. They have four children and several grandchildren. Meanwhile, in 1960, while stationed at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., Marvin met and married Virginia, a young mother of four who had been widowed when her husband was killed in a car accident. The young mother of four children and Marvin made a life in the military with Marvin accepting and loving her children as his own. They celebrated 52 years together. Virginia passed away October 28, 2012 and in mourning her passing, Marvin also continued to grieve the loss of his natural son. Marvin’s nephew, living in Iowa, had heard local rumors that Marvin’s son was living in that state. Marvin contacted Chief of Police Francis Donchez Jr. in Davenport, Iowa, who delegated the inquiry to Lt. Brett Morgan. Lt. Morgan was able to assist the two in making contact. Following that conversation, Vicki wrote Marvin a heartfelt letter saying that after the tough life Gary had lived, it was wonderful after all these years to find that his father was alive and cared—and she was glad that Gary had turned out so well. Father and son have had a number of phone conversations since, and Gary and Vicki visited Marvin in Grand Terrace this last weekend and had a wonderful reunion. Marvin is author of the forthcoming book, “Memoirs of a Military Media Man,” self-published and available soon on Amazon.com.