DNA kit assists Spring woman in locating her birth mother

Katherine Roblin, 60, of Spring, last celebrated Mother’s Day back in 2000. That was the year her adoptive mother passed away, leaving her heartbroken every time the holiday rolled around. Well this Sunday Katherine will once again celebrate that holiday, this time with her biological mother.

“I feel fuller, more complete than I’ve ever felt. There was a part of me missing all these years,” says Roblin, who was born in 1957 in Detroit, MI.

Her adoptive parents gave her the best life, never hiding the fact that she was adopted. Katherine made a promise to her adoptive parents to hold off the search for her biological family until after they died. Her mother passed away 18 years ago, but through her grief with the support of her husband, she began her pursuit.

She only had her birth name, "Colleen Marie Fraser" to work with, and due to the lack of technology, she hit many dead ends.

“The most you could really research was by posting information on adoption websites and that never bared any fruit. And then the DNA test 23andMe came out and my husband was really interested in pursuing that and he thought this might be a good vehicle.”

Within a week, she found a man she shared 10 percent DNA with. That man turned out to be her first cousin. Katherine’s mother was his aunt, and he gave her the best news she could hope for. Her mother, Elizabeth Frazer, was still alive and well at 81 years old.

A joyous 2-hour conversation soon turned into Katherine packing her bags for an emotional meeting in California.

“I didn’t realize she suffered for seven months trying to raise me all by herself. Her father kicked her out of the house. Back then it was very frowned upon. Here she had bonded with an infant for seven months and had the gut wrenching experience of having to handover a baby.”

Katherine learned she has an adoptive brother and a half sister, who she now keeps in contact with daily. The reunited family has since spent holidays and birthdays together and are looking forward to a wonderful first Mother’s Day together.

“It’s been the most loving journey. I don’t know what I did right in my life to deserve all this love but I’m so grateful," Katherine says. 

Katherine now hopes that she can find her biological father.