ROCKY HILL, Conn. – Suffering from terminal cancer, 72-year-old Robert Guillemette had one last wish – to be reunited with his brother, whom he had not seen since 1990. Thanks to a newspaper article, his wish has come true.
Guillemette’s family spent months making fruitless phone calls and Internet searches looking for any trace of Raymond Guillemette.
They believed he had been living in Meriden. His lifelong drinking problem had gotten worse and by the 1990s he had lost his life savings and his home. He ended up on the streets collecting bottles and cans to make money.
So Guillemette’s nephew, nieces and other relatives came from all over New England to search Meriden on Saturday. They questioned liquor store owners and homeless people but left believing Raymond Guillemette had died homeless and alone.
A newspaper report turned out to offer hope.
Rich Kunze, a nurse at the State Veterans Hospital in Rocky Hill, saw an article in the Record-Journal of Meriden about the family’s effort, and suspected he knew where the lost relative was – at the adjoining veterans’ home.
“I said, ‘This could be the guy they’re looking for,’” said Kunze, who went to the veterans home on his day off to confirm that the resident was Raymond Guillemette. He had a colleague call the family.
They were reunited Tuesday.
“We’ve been looking for you for a long time,” said Guillemette’s sister, Theresa Richards, 75, as she hugged Guillemette and choked back tears. “It was quite an ordeal, but it was worth it.”
Raymond Guillemette is now on a 28-day visit with his brother.
After signing out from the home, Raymond Guillemette, walking with the aid of a cane, slowly made his way to the family’s sport utility vehicle for the trip to Westford, Mass., and his brother.
“I miss that boy,” he said. “He’s the only brother I got.”
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