The Riverside Press-Enterprise
Temecula resident meets half sister from France, thanks to ancestor search
Bonnie Krehbiel and Annick Pisano are talking. Unless they use a translating device, they can’t understand each other. But that’s OK. So why was Krehbiel, who speaks English, with Pisano, who uses French, in Old Town Temecula?
They just learned they are sisters.
They have the same father, who served in the Army in northern France in September 1945.
They believe their father had a quick romance with Pisano’s biological mother while on a base at which the woman worked.
About nine months later, Pisano was born. She was given up for adoption because her mother couldn’t provide for a child. Her adopted mom was apparently disappointed because she wanted a more docile child.
“There is no docile in any of us girls,” Krehbiel proudly said of her five siblings.
Fast forward the rest of Pisano’s life to when she did an ancestor search and came up with her biological father. After more digging, Pisano, 75, discovered she had five half sisters in the United States, including Krehbiel, a longtime Temecula resident.
She had to see them. Never mind that she’d never been to the United States, that she’d never been on a plane, that she lives in the smallest of towns (just 250 people) and the idea of coming to bustling Southern California had to be daunting, and, finally, that she’s of limited means.
“It cost me dearly, but it was OK because it’s very important to find out who I’m related to,” Pisano said.
In other words, there was no question about the trip.
Speaking of questions, the necklace Pisano wears signifies why the visit is so important.
Dangling from the necklace is an upside down question mark. To her it means, “Who am I?”
When she first saw the jewelry and was told what it represented, Krehbiel said, “Wow.”
Her new sister arrived at LAX on Nov. 30, Krehbiel’s birthday.
“This is really a cool birthday present,” she said.
The next two weeks were focused on seeing Pisano’s new, halfway around-the-world family, with lots of socializing and dining. Something all cultures enjoy. Krehbiel was surprised that the French take so long to eat — up to two hours — while we Americans are anything but slow. The visitor even experienced a buffet.
“She is realizing that EVERYTHING in America is HUGE,” Krehbiel wrote on her Facebook page, where she chronicled their adventures to much fanfare from her social media friends. “It does kind of make me realize we are a little obsessive in this country.”
Do you think? Pisano has really enjoyed meeting her new family. “They are very nice to me,” she said. “They welcome me as if they had always known me.”
The girlfriend of Pisano’s son said in one social media post after looking at the trip photos: “I’ve never seen her so happy.”
As much fun as Pisano had, she doesn’t think she could live here. It’s understandable, having lived in France her whole life and only traveling a little in Europe until this venture.
The sisters have gotten to know each other well and shared a number of laughs while hanging out in Old Town, no matter the language barrier. They especially enjoyed Le Coffee Shop in Temecula, where French-speaking employees translated.
“Temecula does not have a lot of Frenchspeaking people,” Krehbiel said.
They chuckled about their father, who died in 2003, and it’s clear Krehbiel loves her dad, even if he was a philanderer. They even joked about the pickup line he possibly used to seduce Pisano’s mother.
Krehbiel showed a photograph of her five sisters taken long ago. She has photoshopped in a picture of Pisano to complete their family. It’s beautiful.
To return to France, Piasno had to pay for a rapid COVID-19 test, which was $300, money she didn’t have. No problem. Krehbiel paid for it. Her new sister cried.
Asked if she’s glad she came, Pisano said: “It’s wonderful. It’s a miracle for me … I can die in peace.”