German woman reunites with father in St. Clair County after decades-long search

Susanna Egida Frank's lifelong quest for identity culminated in a moving courtroom reunion with her biological father in Illinois, reshaping their lives and futures.

ST. CLAIR COUNTY, Ill. — For decades, Susanna Egida Frank, 60, felt an inexplicable void while growing up in Germany. Adopted at a young age, Frank, who is Black, often felt out of place in her environment.

“So there I started to search because I knew that I was different,” Frank said. “The hair, the color, the acting, dancing, smiling, happiness, you know?”

That search for identity spanned thousands of miles and eventually led her to a courtroom Tuesday in St. Clair County, Illinois, where she was officially adopted by her biological father, 83-year-old Claudious Brooks Jr.

The road to the courthouse began years ago when Frank located her birth mother. Her mother claimed her father’s name was James Frazier but refused to help her locate him. With that limited information, the trail went cold until Frank turned to a commercial DNA kit.

“And finally, after six weeks, I had an email, and they told me that I have a match, a big match,” she said.

The match was a cousin living in St. Louis. When Frank inquired about family ties to Germany, the cousin connected her with his uncle, Brooks.

“When I first got on the phone, she asked me if I had been in Germany. I said, ‘Yeah, I have.’ I said, ‘I was stationed right outside of Coburg,’” Brooks said.

During his time in the Army, Brooks had a friend named James Frazier. However, the timelines suggested that Frazier could not have been the father.

“When we got separated was when they pulled me up to go to Vietnam, and I lost track of him. I don't know what happened to him either,” Brooks said.

Frank and Brooks continued to speak over the phone for several days, piecing together dates and locations.

“We talked to each other a short time, and he asked me after a couple of days the questions and what's the name of my mother and where I'm born, and then he said I think I know who your father is,” Frank said. “And I said, ‘Oh, really?’ So after a couple of days, he told me, ‘I'm your father.’ And I couldn't believe it.”

The realization prompted an emotional release for the pair, who had been separated by an ocean and a lifetime.

“And after that, I think we both cried, or I was crying, and I said, ‘Oh my God.’ I said, ‘I found my lost child,’” Brooks said.

Following months of phone calls and visits, the two formalized their bond this week before a judge. Frank is now working toward dual citizenship and plans to spend more time with her father.

“And he gave me, in three years, my whole life back. And there I really must say, ‘Father, I thank you from my heart. I love you to death,'” Frank said.

For Brooks, the reunion has been a blessing.

“I'm the luckiest man in the world right now today. God bless. Yes, indeed. I'm truly happy,” he said.

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