Deena is a Search Angel. As a little girl, Deena loved sitting with her parents and grandmother learning about their family history. She memorized the stories until she could tell them just as if she had been there. In the late 1990’s, Deena began her search in earnest. She combed through books and documents chronicling her family’s history. Many vacations were planned around visits to old cemeteries. For Deena, genealogy is more than just names and dates. She wants to know the stories about their lives. She wants to walk the places they walked. She treasures the legends passed down from our ancestors.
Deena’s husband, Bobby, was adopted as a newborn. He had never really wanted to know anything about his birth family until a random find in a keepsake box. Their daughter found the name bracelet he had when his adopted parents took him home from the hospital. Something about the discovery piqued his attention. Deena was quick to start the search. Court records were opened, his original birth certificate retrieved, and records searched. She quickly identified her husband’s birth mother. Deena also assisted her husband’s adopted brother in finding his birth mother at the same time.
In 2017, a friend approached Deena about assisting another woman in locating her biological family. Deena was reluctant at first. She eventually agreed to help. Within hours, she had found the biological mother. That was the beginning of Deena’s passion. She finds it very rewarding to help someone find their biological truth. She is honored every time someone allows her to be part of their search.
Initially, those she assisted would tell others about her help and they would contact Deena to help them, Deena assisted anybody who asked. Deena began officially volunteering as a Search Angel in 2018. She joined DNAngels in 2023.
Deena and her husband have 5 children and one grandson. Deena is a Licensed Practical Nurse by training. Deena and her family enjoy the time they spend every week working with the children at their local church.
