OZARK, Mo. - A family of nine just got a little bit bigger.
But not in the way you might think.
From a DNA test, seven siblings found out they have a half-brother who they've never met until tonight, Nov. 16.
The new half-brother himself, 63-year-old Jimmy Seville, says this realization is 51 years in the making.
"Twelve years old I knew I had a different dad," Seville said. "And then my goal was when I got old enough that I would seek out this person."
In 1995 he thought he accomplished that goal.
"And turned out he wasn't my dad," Seville said. "So I kinda gave up and I start back looking."
He did this for the sake of his two sons.
"You gotta let your sons know their ancestry and plus when I would go to the doctor they would say 'Does your father have any illnesses or anything' and I go 'I don't have a clue,'" Seville said.
This led to Sept. 2019 when Seville got his results back from a DNA test he took with Ancestry.com.
"This boy Dylan Decker comes up and I go 'who's Dylan Decker?' So I call my Mom and said 'Mom, where's Decker connected with me,'" Seville said.
Last month, he got his answer.
"Mom says I need to tell you something," Seville said. "She pulls out a manilla envelope and in that envelope is a picture of a gentleman in a Navy uniform. Young, good-looking, and she says 'this is your dad.'"
Seville says he was irritated, but he decided to be nice.
"My mom's gonna tell me after these many years? Me I was just cool about it and everything and was like thank you Mom I still love you," Seville said.
Shortly after learning his dad's identity, Seville also learned his dad was dead.
"The obituary kinda threw me because usually they put all your siblings and connections and everything and nothing was there," Seville said.
His curiousity took him to Facebook.
"Typed in Roy Lee Decker, and two other pictures popped up on Facebook and those pictures were posted by Natasha Decker," Seville said.
He messaged her and said...
"You know, it's kinda odd that no one was really concerned and she says what's that to you basically," Seville said. "And I said well I've got a story to tell you. She says well you need to talk to my husband Donald Decker."
Donald Decker is Dylan Decker's father.
Their Facebook conversation led them to finally meet in person, on Nov. 15.
"I knew right off the bat that he was my brother," Donald said. "His eyes was just like my father's, his hands had the same hairline."
That's not the only thing they have in common.
"His life led him down the same paths that's led us all of us brothers and siblings in the construction industry, homebuilders," Donald said. "He plays music, we all play music.
"It's a wonderful thing you know. Life has a funny way of working out for people you know. So we're really, really happy to have him in our family."
As for Seville?
"I'm just amazed at how this has all transpired," Seville said. "And I hope I've got another 30 or 40 years to be around."
Seville Says he plans to meet with his new found Missouri family members often.
