THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, June 1, 1995 TAG: 9505270151
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JOAN C. STANUS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
When 75-year-old Rene Torous first saw her baby sister after 50 years of separation, her initial thoughts were of their mother.
``I just burst out crying,'' Torous, a resident of Peterborough, England, said of the May 15 reunion with her sister, Kathleen Murphy of Norfolk's Ingleside section. ``She looks just like Mum.''
``We've had lockjaw ever since,'' Murphy, 67, quipped. ``We've been staying up all night, talking and catching up. It's like it always was.''
Before their tearful reunion on the concourse at Norfolk International Airport, the sisters had not seen each other since 1945, when Murphy left Peterborough for the United States as a 17-year-old war bride. She had met Norfolk native Willard Murphy while he was in the Air Force, stationed in England during World War II. The couple married right after the war, on May 19, 1945.
Not long afterward, Willard Murphy was sent home. Six months later, Kathleen followed, as one of thousands of war brides from England who immigrated to America on the Queen Mary ocean liner.
She never saw her sister again until a couple of weeks ago.
For about 15 years, the sisters kept in contact by letters, mainly through their mother. But after her death, the women drifted apart, even though they had been close, ``like best friends,'' while growing up.
``I just lost track of her,'' Murphy said. ``I was very busy while my children were growing up, and I didn't have any time to write . . . much less visit.''
A care worker in a nursing home and the mother of three boys, Torous also led a busy life.
It took their cousin, Doreen Fegraeus, to bring them back together. Like Murphy, Fegraeus had married an American serviceman after the war and immigrated to the United States. She and her husband live in Duluth, Minn.
During the years, she, too, had lost track of the sisters. But in 1988, during a visit home to England, Fegraeus decided to look up her cousin in Peterborough, even though she had no idea where Torous was. As luck would have it, she found her.
After returning to Duluth, Fegraeus began searching for Murphy, intent on bringing the sisters back together.
``I knew she was in Norfolk, but I didn't know where,'' Fegraeus said of her cousin. ``So I started calling all the Murphys in the area.''
Eventually, she located the right one.
I couldn't believe she found her,'' Rene said. ``I thought Kathleen was dead.''
Fegraeus arranged for the two sisters to talk, via a trans-Atlantic phone call.
``Tears were flowing here in Norfolk; tears were flowing in England,'' Murphy recalled. ``It was something.''
Since then, the sisters and their cousin have keep in touch with calls and letters but had not been able to arrange a visit in person.
But when the Murphys' children began planning a 50th wedding anniversary party for their parents this May, they came up with the idea to fly Torous over for the celebration. Although the plans hadbeen in the works for 15 months, no one told told Murphy about the surprise visit until a few days before her sister arrived.
``I couldn't believe it,'' Murphy said. ``I was so happy to see her.''
A few days later, she got hit with another surprise. Fegraeus and her husband arrived in Norfolk to join some 100 friends and family members, gathering for the anniversary celebration.
``I would not have missed this for the world,'' Fegraeus said. ``I wanted to see them one more time before I kicked the bucket.''
Added Kathleen, looking at her long-lost relatives: ``I never thought this day would arrive. It's just wonderful to be with them again.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by GARY C. KNAPP
Kathleen Murphy, center, has been reunited with her sister, Rene
Torous, right, and her cousin, Doreen Fegraeous, left.
by CNB