For as long as I have known Ron, he has been searching for his two children, Ronald, Jr. and Tikeira.

His relationship with his daughter JaBoria who lives in Houston was very precious to him. JaBoria came to see Ron on a regular basis and let Ron be part of her life just as he was part of hers. However, he had two more children, Tikeira being the oldest of the three, Ronald the youngest. Their mother had left Texas with them years ago and Ron had no way of getting in touch. It has been Ron's dream to see his all of his children - now teenagers! - together and to be a part of their life. One of his fears was that he would die without them ever having the chance to get to know him; they might never know what type of man he was and be left only with impressions they might find in the newspaper.

In recent years we had discussed several times how we might get in touch with the two kids. As they were under the custody of Child Protective Services in Nevada, Ron did not have any rights when it came to knowing the whereabouts of his children and therefore had no way of getting in contact with them. He had tried contacting the children in numerous ways over the years but did not have any success.

One of our only hopes was to post something on the website stating that Ron was looking for his children. We posted the message but, especially with Ron's execution date looming, we were not exactly optimistic that he would get in touch with Tikeira and Ronald before it was too late. Of course we were always hopeful. Ron and I always talked about how if you do not keep up hope, then you have nothing, so he was always hopeful about everything, no matter how poor the odds were.

Then, only three weeks before Ron's execution date, something incredible happens: Ronald, Jr. finds the website. He reads firsthand about his father's situation and sees that he had been searching for himself and his sister. Ronald, Jr. notifies his teachers that he had seen the website and lets them know that he wants to meet his father. A short while later, Kara, the counselor who had been looking after Ronald and Tikeira since they came into CPS custody, and Agnes-Lisa begin discussing via E-mail if it might be possible, at that late date, to arrange for Ronald and Tikeira to meet their father.

Ordinarily, scheduling a visit with Ron would have been very difficult, as he would need to put them on his visitation list and get approval from the warden, but as his final week was coming, Ron was to be allowed unlimited visits and visitors, so the possibility of the children meeting him was there. Of course there were other hurdles to overcome. First, Kara and her colleagues had never experienced a situation quite like this and were unsure if it would be right for the children to meet their father given where he was and what might happen to him in the near future. Second, as it was just over a week before Ron's scheduled execution, plane tickets were at a premium; fortunately, money had been raised (thanks to donations from supporters from around the world) for Ron's case, so we believed it was in everyone's best interest to use that money to help fly out the children, their counselors, and Marie, Tikeira's adoptive mother (hopefully soon to be Ron, Jr's adoptive mother as well).

At first we weren't sure if we should tell Ron that this visit might happen; with so much on his mind in that coming week the last thing we wanted to do was get his hopes up only to let them come crashing down. We kept quiet until Kara confirmed that she would be bringing the children out to see Ron.

The Saturday before the meeting was to happen, Tracé visits Ron and tells him the good news. Ron's response: "Don't play with me!" He can't believe that he would finally get to see the two children who he had not seen in over a dozen years since they were mere babies. At first he can only assume that it is a joke, it is almost unthinkable, but then when he realizes that Tracé is telling the truth he is overwhelmed with joy...

Monday comes. It is the 3rd of October and the first day of open visitation with Ron. A number of family members and close friends have come to spend the day with Ron. We are all of the impression that the children would come to visit Tuesday and Wednesday; we are all talking about the coming visit and Ron has the biggest smile on his face. That morning, while Ron is out with us in the visitation room, the guards deliver a letter to him. Inside are letters from Ron, Jr., a drawing that he had done for his Dad, and a recent school picture. Ron has tears in his eyes and makes a point to show it to everyone. He is a truly proud and happy father. And at one point, he says "So God is still in the miracle-making business."

It is going to be a family reunion on a massive scale as his grandmother, mother, brother, sister, daughter JaBoria, aunts and cousins are all going to be there to meet their long lost kin. Of course everyone is in for yet another surprise...The children show up that Monday! Ron is visiting with everyone when he looks over his shoulder and sees two teenagers walking into the visitation room. He looks at young Ronald, back to the picture that is in his hand, and back again at his son. "That's him!" Ron is the first one to recognize the children and he alerts everyone that they are there. Finally, the two children come over and stand before him; Ron's wish has come true. His children would spend the next few hours along with four hours on Tuesday visiting with Ron, his family and friends.

Unfortunately myself and a number of other people were not in the room to see the start of the reunion. Of course this might have been a good thing because there are only a limited number of people allowed in at a time and we might not have been notified if Ron had visitors waiting outside and they were not allowed to come in. I had gone down to Houston for the day to take care of some business on Ron's behalf, so when I heard later that night that the children had come a day earlier than we expected I was in shock; I wish I had been there to see the look of joy on Ron's face. Fortunately, the next day I return to Livingston and am able to meet the children and see just how happy Ron is.

JaBoria comes to visit that day and Ron's three children take instantly to one another, playing around with one another as though they had never been apart. Ron's brother Wilbert spends a lot of time talking with Ronald, Jr. and later Tikeira, telling them about where they came from. He is Uncle Wil and so happy to see his nephew and niece. Everyone is having a great time being witness to this miracle, especially in a time and situation so threatening and hard to bear. We all get a little noisy and are warned a number of times to keep it down, but you can't quiet joy. The children take turns talking with their Dad and talking with the family; both kids have a wonderful sense of humor, making Ron and everyone laugh and grin. Some great pictures are taken of Ron with his children and later with the family outside.

The end of the visit comes too soon; everyone exchanges addresses and phone numbers; it is Ron's hope that they will be in contact for a long time to come (there was even some talk that Tikeira might get to spend next summer with her family in Houston).

I spoke with Ron the next day about the visit and he was beaming with joy. He had a new wish then, that he would live past Thursday and continue getting to know his children. Unfortunately for all that was not the case. Ron was so thankful for the opportunity to finally meet his children. He is at peace in Heaven now.

JaBoria, Ronald, Tikeira: You are the light of your Dad's life. Never did a day go by that he didn't think of you. Please know, always, that he loves you very much. He is smiling down upon you now.

by Greg