Two long-lost siblings have been reunited after finding each other at Wal-Mart.
John Maixner and and Buddine Bullinger are biological brother and sister who were adopted and have now met each other for the first time in 50 years. When they met for the first time, they realised they had seen each other for years at the local Wal-Mart.
Buddine, 56, has worked at the Wal-Mart in Dickinson, N.D for 25 years. She knew who her biological mother was, but never tried contacting her until her obituary appeared in a local newspaper, which mentioned another daughter that Buddine did not know existed.
The funeral home eventually put Buddine in touch with her sister, Deidre Handtmann.
"From the moment I called her, it was wonderful! We were six years apart, so we wondered if there were any siblings between us."
So the sisters contacted the adoption agency, and found out they had three other siblings; a brother in California, a sister in Tennesee and another brother who lived close to Buddine.
When Deirdre met up with their local brother and showed him a picture of Buddine, he couldn't believe his eyes.
"All I could say was - I know this lady! I've spoken to her for years at the Wal-Mart!"
Buddine said: "He looked familiar to me, because he was a regular, but I didn't know it was him. None of us were looking for anybody."
All five siblings had a reunion in Bismarck last October and now stay in regular contact. John spent Christmas with Buddine's parents and children this year, after losing his adoptive parents and they now meet at the Wal-Mart and have lunch there regularly.
"We are happy to play a part in bringing customers and associates together." said Kayla Whaling, a spokeswoman for Wal-Mart.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
