My husband yelled from his office, "Are you in Facebook as Judy Bruckheimer Lewin?" Yes, I confessed -sure to get censored by the Facebook police. I felt special joining a social network, adding my mother-in-law's maiden name Bruckheimer to my name. And that's not all. Our distant cousin Jerry Bruckheimer, producer of CSI and Cold Case, would have lots of TV Series material in a true without a trace case already in his family.
I wanted to scream from the St Louis Arch of how I solved my husband's 50 year search to find his missing mother in 7 steps, when all he knew was Mom. My husband was concealed, his last name changed and his biological father refused to tell us about Steve's mother. I joined Facebook to tell my friends and family my discovery; and possible reasons for the coverup. A search on Facebook displayed dozens of names from my alma mater Washington University, St Louis, MO.
In 2004 I found my husband's mother, Mary Bruckheimer, using forensic genealogy research. Hours of tedious research in libraries, cemetery visits, and on-line archive searches resulted in finding new relatives, and birth dates and places all over the world. Next, I prayed to God the relative we just found was ready, willing and able to interview. In the end, the relatives with nothing to hide and over 80 years old, helped me solve this 50 year old mystery. While genealogists are eager to compare notes and network, I want to grab the public's attention with the BRUCKHEIMER STORY, for those not familiar with family history.
This true story is about how Steve was taken from her in 1952, in Long Beach, California without a trace. The mystery is because my husband, Steve Lewin was looking for his mother, while Mary and later, her family were looking for us from 1953 until 2004. We found Mary's grave and another surprise, John Nathan, - a younger half-brother we never knew existed.
Are we related to Jerry Bruckheimer? A Bruckheimer relative confirmed our grandfather is a brother to Jerry's grandfather. I can't wait to speak with Jerry's wife, Linda Bruckheimer, author and editor. Her novels are based on her life growing up in Kentucky, moving to California only to return and write about her roots. Maybe Linda will make a connection with me someday.
My husband was startled when he saw Judy Bruckheimer in his email inbox. When I answered, "Oh honey, how did you know about my new name on Facebook?" He said, "I thought it was an email from Linda Bruckheimer. Just what we are hoping to hear! "
This morning I changed my name back on Facebook - so I was Judy Bruckheimer Lewin for a day. Today is Easter Sunday, 2008, and we will visit our brother, John Nathan, his family and my mother-in-law's grave in Gillespie/Benld, Illinois near Staunton, Illinois.
For anyone searching for their missing relatives, please keep looking and never, ever, ever give up hope. Someday, you never know how someone will come along and offer the missing link to help solve the puzzle in your life, just as we found help from others.
Genealogy Sleuth - Visit http://www.JudyLewin.com OR http://www.Lunna.org for more details of how I found my husband's mother after 50 years, when he was taken from her in 1952. This mystery explains what happened to his mother, Mary Bruckheimer, and why no one told him her name or about her family. Without any clues, I used forensic genealogy to solve the mystery. My article "How I found MOM after 50 years in 7 steps" is published in MoSGA, XXXIV, Sept 2008. My book, Thank you, Judy, For Finding my Mother, will be published in 2010.
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