The bus ride from Fairfax to Washington
took only half an hour. But for two of the passengers, the trip was about 45
years in the making. Carole Tessier met her birth mother, Margaret Teece
Nagella, almost a year ago. Now they were traveling together to the annual March
for Life.
Abortion became legal in the United
States Jan. 22, 1973. A few weeks later, an 18-year-old high school senior in Ravenna,
Ohio realized she was pregnant. Margaret, the oldest of a Catholic family of
nine, knew from the very beginning that she would carry her child to term.
“There was no question in my mind. I really didn’t even consider abortion,” she
said. “I knew it was an option, but it wasn’t an option for me.”
Still, she was scared and overwhelmed.
The baby’s father was deployed overseas. She was hesitant to tell her parents.
So Margaret went to Birthright, a pregnancy resource center, who then brought
her to Catholic Charities. With the support of a woman from adoption services,
she told her parents about the pregnancy.
“(She) went to my parents’ home, and we
broke the news to (my mom.) My dad came home from work and he wanted to know
who that lady was talking to my mother in the kitchen,” she said. Her parents came with her the day she
formally signed the papers to place her baby for adoption. “It was kind of a
family decision,” said Margaret.
After her baby was born, Margaret’s life
continued. She got married and had three sons. But Carole, who was adopted by a
local couple, wasn’t far from her mind or her home. “My friend was a substitute
teacher in the school where (Carole) went and he figured out she was my
daughter because we looked so much alike,” said Margaret. “He told me her name
and that she had an adopted brother.” Some years later, she thought she saw Carole
in the local newspaper. But she didn’t reach out yet. “I think God showed that
to me so I could have a little bit of peace that she was doing OK,” she said.
In 2017, Carole was doing some online
shopping when she saw a deal for Ancestry.com. Knowing her adoptive mom was
interested in testing her own DNA, Carole bought her a kit. And then, after a
quick moment of reflection, Carole bought one for herself. A few months later,
she was sitting at her computer when the results came to her inbox. In addition
to her heritage, she found the name of her mother and grandmother. “I started
shaking and I was yelling to (my husband), Rob,” she said. Carole soon found
their addresses and sent them each a letter and photos. Then she waited.
“A few years before all of this
happened,” said Margaret, “I had a feeling in my spirit that one day my
daughter might try to find me, and it would happen through my mother. One day
at work, my mother calls me and she was beside herself with excitement. I went
to my mom and sat in her kitchen with her. She had the letters and photos that
Carole sent. She had put one in a frame, and she had mapped out the route to Carole’s
house. She was good to go.”
Margaret and her mother, Irene Teece,
sent a bouquet of multi-colored roses to Carole to let her know they would get
in contact soon. First Irene sent a letter. Then Margaret. “I took my time
because I wanted it to be special. I wrote an eight-page letter,” she said,
telling her daughter a little bit about herself. Margaret mailed it on her late
father’s birth day, March 5. Weeks later, Margaret, Irene and Carole met at an
Olive Garden in Washington, Pa.
What followed was nearly a year of getting
to know one another. Carole met many of her biological family members, and her
adoptive family and friends met them. “It’s come full circle,” said Carole.
“When I first met her, I told Carole
that I felt like Moses’ mother,” said Margaret. “She sacrificed her son to give
him a better life and I felt the same with Carole. I felt I had to offer her up
to somebody who could give her the life that she deserved,” she said.
Carole was always thankful. “She chose
life for me when many others in her shoes might not have. I have always felt so
incredibly blessed because of her selfless act and have always felt this
previously unknown mother was a hero. Now, God has given me this most amazing
gift by allowing me to finally know and love her,” she said.
As the women told their story, other
riders on the bus, kids and adults from All Saints Church in Manassas, sang
songs and ate chicken sandwiches. Seven of the Tessiers’ nine children, ages 19
to 4, joined their parents and grandma on the ride. Interrupting the chatter,
Rob Tessier, youth minister at All Saints, spoke into the microphone to announce
that they would soon be praying a rosary. He also introduced Margaret.
“My wife was adopted after a crisis
pregnancy. My kids and my wife would not even be here if it wasn’t for somebody
we discovered this past February — Margie, who’s with us today. She’s prolife,
obviously,” he said. “(Without) the ‘yes’ that Margie said, I wouldn’t have my
kids or my wife. So I’m very grateful,” he said looking toward her. “Thank you
very much.” Both mother and daughter wiped tears from their eyes.
As the bus pulled up to the Mall, the All
Saints group enthusiastically clambered out. “Let’s go save some babies!” said
one child. As she took her young daughter, Eva, out of her car seat, Carole
lamented that they hadn’t made any signs to hold. As he passed by, one boy said,
“You are a sign.”