Forty-five-year-old twins Shannon Dasch and Shawna Wanner were wary when they received Facebook messages from Samantha Riddle in early 2021.
“She asked if our father’s name was Paul Riddle, who passed away in December ‘96,” Dasch said. “She knew we were twins. She said, ‘I think you may be our half-sisters.’”
Samantha Riddle, 29, grew up with her sister Tara Riddle, 43, and their mother in the Dover area. The twins grew up with their own mother in Pennsylvania. The parents’ relationships were strained, preventing the sisters from ever really knowing each other.
It was the youngest who eventually took things into her own hands. In 2021, Samantha Riddle had three children of her own, and amid a global pandemic, any decades-old family drama seemed of little consequence.
“I think it was being stuck at home, having more time on my hands,” Samantha Riddle said. “But also, just feeling like something had been missing, you know. Who are they, where are they? Where would we be in life if we grew up together?”
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Two days after she paid for some information from a people-finding website, she found the twins on Facebook.
That quickly blossomed into a group chat and FaceTiming, and then plans for the twins to come to Delaware.
Growing up apart
Shannon and Shawna were born right after their mother turned 18, Shannon said, and later took her last name, Wanner. Their mother was never married to their father and the couple separated when the twins were around 4 years old, according to Shannon.
It wasn’t an amicable break-up, and the twins only saw their father twice between their parents’ separation and his death. The last time was at their high school graduation in 1996, a few months before Paul Riddle’s death.
“That was a little rough to process,” Shannon said. “But at that time, we still thought he didn’t want much to do with us, so we just kinda moved on.”
After making contact with Samantha and Tara Riddle, the twins learned about another connection they didn’t know. Samantha and Tara had a sister that died in infancy, and their parents named her Nicole Marie.
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Nicole and Marie are Shannon and Shawna’s middle names.
“I think they wanted to show we will always be part of their family,” Shannon said. “Had she survived there would be some way for us to know, even if we never met, that there would always be a connection.”
Meeting in person for the first time
Earlier this month, Shannon flew from her home in Texas to Shawna’s home in Connecticut and the two drove down to Delaware. They waited anxiously to meet their half-sisters in the parking lot of La Tonalteca in Dover, watching the road with flowers in hand.
When Tara and Samantha arrived, they were joined by their mother, Dawn Hanna, and Samantha’s 6-year-old son Bret. There were gasps and cries of joy as hugs were exchanged.
“I’ve held you before,” Dawn said as she embraced Shawna. Bret joined his mother in embracing his new aunts.
Even though they had just met, the connection was obvious.
“We all just very quickly fell into a very easy, very comfortable place,” Shannon said.
The sisters’ similarities became apparent over the weekend. All four are compulsive hair twirlers. They have similar senses of humor. And much to their relief, in this age of polarization, most of their political and religious views align.
“It’s very surreal,” Shawna said.
The four of them went together to get matching tattoos – Celtic “sister hearts.” They went to a Renaissance fair. Mostly, they just hung out and caught up.
“We got to talk a lot, to learn about the other side of our family,” Shawna said.
After the twins returned home, she was nervous the relationship would fizzle.
“Like it was a flash in the pan,” Shawna said. “But nope. Memes are being shared. Jokes are being told. We’re still talking about everything. And that’s what I was hopeful for.”
Shannon and Shawna are already making plans to return to Delaware in the summer for a family beach vacation. The sisters’ children – six total – are excited to meet each other.
“I definitely feel like my life has changed hugely,” Shannon said. “I didn’t realize what I was missing until now.”
Shannon Marvel reports on Sussex County, Delaware, and beyond. Reach her at smcnaught@gannett.com or on Twitter at @MarvelMcNaught
