My sibling Ronnie Chappelle
By Trace L Hentz, Blog Editor
I just had a birthday. I wasn't expecting a call from Alabama where my brother Ronnie lives. On my 9-9 birthday, his wife told me that Ronnie had died in his sleep on Sept. 6, how he'd been real sick. His funeral was happening the next day (Sept. 10, 2026.)
I was not going to make it all the way down to Alabama to be there, obviously.
Ronnie and I have the same dad, Earl Bland. Earl was 18 when Ronnie was born and his new baby boy was adopted by a maternal aunt. Growing up, Ronnie was miserable, his daughter told me. Even raised in your own family, being adopted by a relative can have its own drawbacks, as many of you have told me.
Ten years later, Earl was 28 when I was born. Earl knew I existed, too, and I explained in my memoir what he told me, how he would have raised me.
The sad truth is my brother Ronnie and I never met. We talked on the phone. His daughter found me after my memoir ONE SMALL SACRIFICE was published. When I met Earl when I was 38, he told me I had a brother, but little else. Ronnie was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Earl didn't tell me his name or didn't know. Earl thought he was a lawyer in New Orleans but wasn't sure. He was wrong. A Navy man, Ronnie had a long military career.
I didn't think I'd ever find him. He found me.
Now he's gone.
Here's the kicker: Ronnie is the second brother I have lost (in the past few years), and I am not mentioned in their obits. Ronnie's OBIT: https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/name/ronnie-chappelle-obituary?id=62373423
Who ever does genealogy needs to be aware that this happens to adoptees. In my case, TWICE!
I need to take a break from blogging here. I may have to tear apart my kitchen again or do some mosaic tiling and hard labor to process this. I know how to grieve, yes, cry, yes, but this pain is more anger.
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