After 55 Years, Couple Reunited And Found The Daughter They Gave Up For Adoption When They Were Teens

Here’s a love tale you thought you’d only see on the big screen.

This is a true tale. As a result, it wouldn’t surprise me if it inspired a slew more love films in the future.

Let’s go back a few decades. Dennis Vinar, a popular student at Brownton High School in Minnesota, in 1960. He was a good-looking athlete who excelled at sports. Many females vied for his affection. Dennis, on the other hand, had already fallen in love.

Karen Lehmann, a modest, quiet, and gifted clarinetist, already had Vinar’s heart.

Their whirlwind relationship began after they were introduced to each other.

They began dating and swiftly progressed from strangers to lovers. Lehmann and Vinar have been dating since 1958.

When Lehmann learned she was pregnant in 1960, their casual relationship took a dramatic turn. She was just 14 at the time, and the pregnancy had not been intended, but the couple realized they had to deal with it.

When Lehmann informed her parents, they placed her in a Lutheran Social Services home for females who became pregnant outside of marriage.

With her living so far away, Vinar couldn’t afford to see her every day. He was preoccupied with school and athletics, and the young athlete struggled to find time for her.

On August 13, 1961, Lehmann gave birth to a lovely baby girl.

She called her “Denise” because her blue eyes reminded her of her father. She asked Vinar if he would want to hold his daughter and sign her birth certificate, and he enthusiastically agreed.

Their connection was frowned upon by Lehmann’s father. Vinar, he believed, would only obstruct his daughter’s future.

Vinar was barred from visiting Karen and the baby by Lehmann’s father. Vinar tried to persuade Lehmann’s father that he was prepared to look after his fiancée and kid, but the old man was adamant that they not be together.

Even their daughter was placed for adoption right away.

Following the birth, their lives went separate paths. Vinar enlisted in the army while Lehmann finished her education. Lehmann’s father started intercepting their conversations and letters, so the pair couldn’t remain in touch.

Decades later, the two would find love and start their own families with other people. But fate intervened and brought them together.

Vinar was invited to join the social networking network LinkedIn a few years ago.

He signed up, and then it occurred to him: why not look for the love of his life?

“I put in ‘Karen Lehmann,’ and there she was—third down,” Vinar added, beaming. “I slammed my hands together and said, ‘That’s my lady!’”

For Lehmann and Vinar, a new chapter has begun. Vinar discovered the lady he loved after 5 decades, which we might call a twist of faith.

Vinar was not one to waste time! The next day, he contacted Lehmann, and the two lovers were reunited.

Can you image being separated from each other for 50 years and then reuniting, still passionately in love?

They hadn’t spoken to each other in three months. They discussed for a long time before deciding to meet. Vinar had been divorced for a long time, and Lehmann had become a widower in 2014. They both realized that this was their chance to rekindle the love they had lost so many years before.

In 2015, Lehmann and Vinar married.

Everything seemed to be almost perfect. There was only one thing left for them to do: locate the daughter they had to abandon.

They sought assistance from an adoption agency and discovered that Denise now goes by the name Jean Voxland. She had been lived in Kenyon, Minnesota, with her husband and three children. Vinar and Lehmann penned a letter to her.

Andrew, Voxland’s husband, informed her about the letter when she returned home from work one day. She was taken aback. Who’d have guessed that 54 years later, after having no idea who her original parents were, they would arrive out of nowhere?

Voxland answered with five pages of her own, as well as numerous images, to their message. They continued to exchange mail when she received a response nearly immediately. They all agreed to meet soon after.

Voxland returned to her parents’ house in May 2015.

Voxland was likewise taken aback when she realized she looked just like her father. Both of their eyes were flashing blue.

Voxland, Lehmann, and Vinar have made up for all of the missed birthdays, holidays, and other events since then.

It’s amazing how Lehmann, Vinar, and their daughter were able to reconnect after 55 years. Indeed, love triumphs over everything!

The family wrote a book together called, “How Did You Find Me?” to share their amazing story.