Jim Harroun always knew that he had a "baby sister somewhere."
Lorraine Faye "Jo" Bagshaw (given up for adoption at 4 months old) had been told by her adoptive mother that she had "two brothers somewhere," with the last name of Harroun.
Lorraine learned of her brother Jim when on Nov. 2, 2006, one of Lorraine's closest friends was reading through the obituary section, and saw the last name of Harroun (Jim's wife Alma had died Oct. 9). She contacted Lorraine immediately.
Lorraine says, "I threw on my hat and coat, and we drove to the funeral home in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, as fast as we could." When she arrived, the funeral director would not release any information, but he did place a telephone call to Jim and said, "Your sister wants to talk with you."
"Was your Dad's name Oroville?" Lorraine asked excitedly. "Yeah," Jim slowly replied.
"Was your mother's name Mary?" Once again Jim said, "Yeah."
"I'm your sister," Lorraine yelled.
Jim and Lorraine have lived approximately 60 miles apart throughout their lives.
Jim said, "I found out that at one point in time, I was within a quarter of a mile from the house Lorraine was raised in! Can you believe it? That was about 55 years ago, when I was hauling sand from Chester, Wash., to Plummer, Idaho. She lived right down the road from a little store I had stopped at to buy gas and get something to eat. Right down the road...and I didn't know it!
"Why did Jim and my other brother, who is now deceased, have to be placed in a foster home? Why did my mother put me up for adoption when I was 4-months-old? I wonder why God finally allowed me and Jim to be reunited after 71 years? I wonder what God has planned for us," Lorraine asked.
Jim Harroun is a member of the Athol Church in Athol, Idaho.
