John Gonsalves had a very special meeting to prepare for recently, and it wasn’t a gathering for a game of cards with the guys or a family barbecue. It was a family reunion that he never expected. As he swept up every crumb from his dining table like the most meticulous housekeeper and placed fresh flowers in a vase, he gushed: “I'm about to become a father, at 59!” He assured that the experience that he was about to have with his new daughter was just as exciting as when he became a father to his younger daughter, Robin, who was waiting alongside him.

She described the same feelings of being “nervous and excited, and curious” to find out what her older half-sister was like. “CBS This Morning” was there to capture the first embrace of Jeanie Siciliano and John Gonsalves as daughter and dad, and another hug from Robin, in the story with correspondent Elaine Quijano on August 21. The heartfelt words and emotions of the moment might never have occurred without Robin’s gift of a home DNA test for her dad as a birthday gift.

Not long-lost anymore

“There she is! She's here -- it's not just a picture,” exclaimed John Gonsalves as he watched 40-year-old Jeanie Siciliano emerge from her car in front of his home. He didn't wait for her to ring his doorbell, but instead, raced out to greet her with a bundle of baby daughter balloons.

“I'm a newborn,” she gleefully shouted to her dad as the two hugged. Robin was surprised, commenting that “she's so light” when first seeing Jeanie in person. Those features of skin color are part of the reason why Jeanie submitted a DNA test sample this year, hoping to find answers regarding her biological father. Her mother is Irish and Italian, “and very fair,” as Siciliano described.

She was shocked to see her results, and the name John Gonsalves given as “father” -- with Robin as a close relative.

Jeanie wrote John a letter, which he read from his phone with perhaps with even more excitement than the day he received it because now, Jeanie was sitting just feet away from him. He, too, went through every stage of emotion, from completely stunned to feeling the whole revelation was a scam, and finally, immense joy.

Jeanie’s birth was the result of John's high school relationship with her mother, with whom she was able to reconnect. John went on to have a long marriage with Robin’s mother, who died a few years ago. Jeanie's questions of skin tone and history have given way to bonds that will be endure for the rest of her reunited family’s lives.

A gift beyond the box

Seeing the smiles between John Gonsalves and his radiant daughters, it's not hard to see the family similarity. It was Robin who unlocked this family legacy with her gift of the home DNA test to her dad on his birthday. “I knew that he wanted it, and I never know what to get him,” confessed Robin, like so many daughters. The present only proves that in the grand scheme of things, there are no coincidences, and everything has a plan and a purpose.

Now, Robin playfully takes credit, asserting: “I gave him the gift of another child.” She probably will never need to buy her dad a gift ever again, but now, Jeanie has to be added to the Christmas list.

When Jeanie was asked how the relationship with Robin might evolve, her voice broke slightly: “My heart broke for her,” Siciliano said, upon learning of the death of Robin's mother. Her own search for her biological parents and experience with a loving adoptive family deepened her awareness that no mother can be replaced, but she can be there as an older sister. She can certainly be a listening ear for “guy advice." She admitted that Robin (being 20 years younger) probably makes better decisions than the “super immature” older sister who is now in her life.

Robin pondered how she was going to navigate dating without the influence of her mother, and now she has a sister willing to step in and be one of the “women figures” that Robin said have been few in her sphere. Jeanie reached to rub her back as she related that “losing my mom was really hard." She also said that her newfound relationship with Jeanie feels like a blessing.

Both daughters reached for their dad as he said that he felt that his fourth quarter of life was "cool." He likened it to going to the Super Bowl, as he said: "We're going to win.” The treasure he has found surely exceeds even the most prized Super Bowl tickets and anything that can fit into a box. There is still plenty of time for this family to create memories that will last a lifetime.
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