Real Name: James Burke
Case: Lost Father
Location: California
Date: 1961
Case[]
Details: Jim Burke is the biological father of Bill O’Neill and Karen Althaus, and they are searching for him. Bill, Karen, and their four half-siblings live in southern California. They are six happy, well-adjusted adults. No one could have guessed that their early years were wracked by trauma. In 1958, the untimely death of the O’Neill children’s father, Hugh “Paul” O’Neill, precipitated the first in a series of family secrets that would haunt the children for years.
Within every family that harbors deep secrets, it seems there is someone determined to uncover the truth. The O’Neills are no different. For Bill, the youngest son, this quest would lead him through a tangled web of intrigue woven out of desperation by his mother, Lynn. Eventually, he would unravel the mysteries of his family’s past and begin a remarkable search – first for the sister he thought was lost forever, and now for his natural father.
Bill’s personal odyssey began in adolescence. Throughout his childhood, he was plagued by a nagging, inexplicable loneliness. He says he kept to himself as a child and had few friends. He spent most of his time watching TV. For as long as he could remember, he was told that Paul was his father and that he was the last child born by Paul before he passed away.
While growing up, Bill felt he was slightly different from his four older siblings. While everyone else had bright blue eyes, he had hazel eyes. His skin was more of an olive complexion, while the rest were fairer. He says that no one ever said or did anything to him to make him feel like he was different from his siblings. For example, his mother did not treat him any differently. He just had a feeling inside, like something was lost.
Years passed. The O’Neill children grew up and started their own families. In 1983, Bill’s older brother, Tim, journeyed to Chicago with his wife and child to visit Paul’s gravesite for the first time. Tim says that when they got there, they realized that Paul’s death date was December 20, 1958. This made it impossible for Bill to be one of his children, as he had died two years before Bill was born.
When he returned to California, Tim went to see the only person who could sort out the baffling discrepancy: their mother, Lynn. She told him that she did not want Bill or anyone else in the family to know about this. In fact, she had planned to take this information to the grave. She did not want anybody to know about what had transpired years ago. Against his better judgment, Tim respected her wishes and kept her secret to himself.
But by 1986, Tim had decided to tell Bill the truth. He was stunned to discover that Bill had always suspected he had a different father than his siblings. Bill says that when he was told this, he felt that his feelings and suspicions had finally been confirmed. He then began to wonder what he was going to do from there. He says he felt empty, like he was going into shock.
That night, Bill confronted Lynn about Paul not being his father. Although she asked where he had heard this information, she did not deny it. He says their conversation went well; he did not have animosity toward her. That night, she told him about meeting Paul in 1953. He was twenty-nine, and she was only twenty. It was love at first sight, and they were married the next summer. Over the next four years, they had three children and bought a house on Chicago’s South Side.
Their happiness, however, would not last. Paul was a World War II veteran and suffered from a chronic kidney ailment. By November 1958, Lynn was eight months pregnant with their fourth child, and Paul was spending most of his time in Chicago’s Veterans Administration hospital. On one visit, Lynn met another veteran named Jim Burke; he was a divorced father of four and a good friend of Paul’s. Sadly, within a month, Paul would die.
It was not long before Jim became a familiar presence in the O’Neill household. Bill’s sister, Maureen O’Neill-Irvine, remembers Jim being at their house. She recalls that he had dark, wavy hair and dark eyes. She could not “put a name” to him, but she remembers feeling comfortable that he was there.
During the summer of 1959, Jim moved to Southern California. Lynn and her children soon followed. A year later, in September 1960, she gave birth to Bill. The following year, she became pregnant again. But her relationship with Jim began to deteriorate. By the time the child – a daughter named Peggy – was born, he was completely out of the picture.
Maureen believes that Lynn and Jim did not get along well and did not see “eye to eye” on many things. She believes that it was a rough time for them. However, to Maureen’s knowledge, Jim did not leave just because he wanted to leave. He left because he and Lynn mutually decided that they should separate.
Lynn struggled to support all six children by herself. Compounding the difficulties were Peggy’s health problems. She suffered from an ailment called “failure to thrive” and constantly needed medical attention. When Peggy was eleven months old, Lynn told the other children that she was sending her to the hospital. But Peggy would never come home. Tim says that Lynn told him that the doctors would keep Peggy for a while to observe her. The children accepted that story.
Later on, the children were told that Peggy had passed away. In 1990, Lynn revealed another shocking family secret. Peggy had not died. She had been given away. At Peggy’s request, her adoptive parents had contacted Lynn, who now felt compelled to tell Bill the entire story. He says that Lynn laid a bombshell on him that night. The only thing that went through his head was that he wanted to meet Peggy. He says that he felt good inside.
Gerry and Richard Colvin of Sylmar, California, had adopted Peggy. They named her Karen and raised her in a stable and loving home. She and Bill soon made plans to meet each other. Lynn also gave Bill the Colvins’ phone number. He wanted to talk to them and find out more about Karen.
With mounting anticipation, Bill called Karen’s parents. He never expected that she would answer the phone. When she told him that she was his sister, he told her that he was not ready to talk to her yet. He was not sure what to say to her. She says that when they talked, she felt that she was finally able to put a voice to a person. She was able to make the connection that Bill did, in fact, exist.
In the three years since Bill and Karen were reunited, they have become as close as any brother and sister. In fact, the entire O’Neill family has welcomed Karen with open arms. But now she and Bill have set their sights on one final goal: finding their natural father, Jim. She says it is like a jigsaw puzzle with one piece missing. And Jim is that missing piece. She says that as a mother, she cannot imagine not knowing where her child is.
Bill says that he does not want to get into Jim’s life to tear it apart or anything like that. He just wants to meet him and get to know him. He also wants Jim to know that he and Karen are okay.
Extra Notes:
- This case first aired (most likely) in a late Season 5 episode in 1993; the exact airdate is unknown. It was updated on the November 3, 1993 episode.
- No photographs of Jim were shown during the broadcast.
Results: Solved - On the night of the broadcast, a woman named Eileen Esler of New Lenox, Illinois, called the telecenter and identified herself as one of Jim’s four children from his previous marriage. Bill and Karen were saddened to learn that Jim had passed away in 1988. But they were overjoyed that Eileen and another half-sister, Sheila Anne Haskins, were anxious to meet them.
A week later, Bill, Karen, and their families gathered at Karen’s house, where they were reunited with Eileen and Sheila Anne. Bill says that when he reached out and hugged them, he felt a definite connection with them. He says that he did not think that he would be as emotionally tied as he ended up feeling. Karen says she felt the same way.
For Eileen and Sheila Anne, the bond was just as strong. Sheila Anne says that as soon as she saw Bill, there was no doubt in her mind that he was her brother. Eileen says that she felt wonderful. She says she just wanted to touch them and have that “baby brother and sister” feeling.
Later that afternoon, Bill and Karen sat down with Eileen and Sheila Anne to learn about Jim. Karen says that she has wondered about her family her entire life. She always wanted to know about her parents and whether she had any siblings. She says it is exciting to see her long-lost sisters and get to know them.
The reunion was especially poignant for Bill. His lifelong feelings of isolation were replaced with a new sense of belonging. He says that he initially thought they were just going to meet with Eileen and Sheila Anne and get some information about Jim. But when he actually met them, it was not like that at all. He says it was more of an “inside, warm feeling” that everything was now completed.
This was just the first of many gatherings for Bill, Karen, Eileen, and Sheila Anne. Shortly after the initial reunion, Bill and Karen met one of their half-brothers. In March 1994, they met their other half-brother at a family wedding in Illinois. Also in attendance were a grandmother, an aunt, and twelve cousins.
Sadly, Bill and Karen’s paternal half-brother, Denis Burke, passed away in 2006 at the age of fifty-eight. Their maternal half-brother, Tim O’Neill, has also since passed away.
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