The siblings unknowingly moved into the same facility two years apart
Credit: WKYC Channel 3/Youtube
NEED TO KNOW
- Becky Gibson, 82, and her brother Ralph Slawter, 75, reunited at Rose Lane Nursing and Rehabilitation in Massillon, Ohio after 30 years apart
- The siblings grew up in Manchester, Ohio, according to local outlet WJW
- Slawter, a Vietnam veteran who served as a combat medic and was awarded a Purple Heart and Silver Star, moved into the facility in January, while Gibson has lived there since 2024 since retiring from nursing
A brother and sister had an unexpected reunion at an Ohio retirement home, 30 years after they last saw each other.
Becky Gibson dedicated her life to nursing before retiring in 2024 and moving into the Rose Lane Nursing and Rehabilitation in Massillon, Ohio, local outlet WJW reports. She lost touch with her younger brother Ralph Slawter for 30 years.
Slawter, 75, a Vietnam War veteran who was awarded a Purple Heart and Silver Star, moved into the facility in January—not knowing his sister was living there, per WJW.
Slawter served as a combat medic during Vietnam, earning him the nickname "Doc," WKYC reports.
Gibson, 82, and Slawter, 75, grew up together in Manchester, Ohio, according to the outlet. They corresponded via letters when Slawter was first deployed to Vietnam, but later lost contact.
Following the Vietnam War, Slawter moved to Kentucky when he got married, and later to Florida, where he worked as a canoe and kayak tour guide on the Crooked River, WKYC reports.
The siblings' respective daughters, who are cousins, initially discovered that the pair would be reunited through a Facebook post, per WJW.
“I posted it on Facebook saying we got dad all tucked away in Rose Lane,” Slawter's daughter, Josie Hagy, told WJW. “My cousin saw it and said, ‘Hey, are you in Massillon, Ohio now? Is he in Massillon, Ohio now?' And I said yes, and she said, ‘Well, mom is there too.'”
Gibson was delighted and surprised to learn that she would be living under the same roof as her brother again. “I was in shock and said, ‘You've got to be kidding me,'” Gibson told the outlet.
"We went down there, my grandson took me down there and there she was, and she knew me," Slawter said of the moment he saw his sister for the first time in three decades, per WKYC.
"It felt pretty good. Yeah, it did. Inspiring," Slawter added ,"And we've been together every day since. I didn't know I'd ever see her again, and here we ended up here together."
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"Don't wait so long to see your relatives," Slawter added. "Try not to wait that long. That's a long time."
PEOPLE has reached out to Rose Lane Nursing and Rehabilitation for comment.
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