A mother and her daughter, ages 100 and 79, who had thought the other was dead, have finally reunited after learning that they are both alive and well. Furthermore, they lived just two hours away from each other in South Florida.

Joanne Loewenstern had been told her entire life that her mother had died giving birth to her. She says she never really felt like that was true. “I had a feeling she was alive somehow,” said Joanne. “I just felt that I didn’t believe it for some reason.”

She made earlier attempts to find her mother, but never had any luck. She finally gave up ever finding her mother. Then she started watching the TLC show “Long Lost Family” and her hope of finding her mother was renewed.

Her daugher-in-law, Shelley, encouraged Joanne to submit a DNA sample to an ancestry analysis site. On May 13, Shelley got a message that there was a match for Joanne. Her biological brother named Sam Ciminieri was part of the database too.

Sam reached out to Shelley and revealed that not only was Joanne’s mother alive and well, she lived just 70 miles away from her. The families acted quickly and within no time, Joanne was on her way to meet her mother for the first time.

The meeting was awkward at first because Joanne’s mother, Lillian, has dementia. She wasn’t sure if she would understand who Joanne really was. With a little encouragement and a hug or two, eventually Lillian smiled and said, “This is my daughter.”

Joanne learned that her mother had been a single mom when she gave birth to her and had been told the baby died during birth. Joanne says it was at that moment that she found out both women had been lied to for years.

Joanne has been back to visit Lillian since their first meeting and the two have bonded over a mutual love of coloring. What an amazing story!

Be sure to share this heartwarming story with your family and friends. It is a reminder to never give up hope.