A 76-year-old woman who was forced to give up her child for adoption at the age of 15 tells how her teenage boyfriend tracked her down on LinkedIn 50 YEARS later and they have since married and reunited with their daughter.
- Karen Lehmann and Denny Winar fell in love while growing up as teenagers in Minnesota.
- At the age of 14, Karen was sent to a shelter for unmarried girls who became pregnant.
- The couple eventually lost contact, and their daughter Denise was given up for adoption.
- Restored after Danny found Karen on LinkedIn and they were looking for Denise.
A couple who were forced to give their daughter up for adoption after getting pregnant as a teenager before being separated by their parents have revealed how they found love again together more than 50 years later.
Karen Lehmann and Danny Vinar from Minnesotawere high school sweethearts who found out they were expecting a baby in 1961, when Karen was only 15 years old.
She was sent to a shelter for single mothers and forced to give her daughter Denise up for adoption. Karen and Danny stayed together but eventually broke up because Karen’s parents didn’t agree with the union.
After more than five decades of silence, Denny contacted Karen, then a widow, via LinkedIn. When the couple finally met in person, it was love at first sight, and they finally got married after just 36 hours.
“Nothing much seemed to have changed, including his dimples when he smiled and his radiance,” Karen said.
The couple later reunited with their daughter, now named Jean Waxland.
Karen Lehmann and Denny Winar of Minnesota reunited after 53 years apart via LinkedIn and reunited with their daughter Jean Waxland (pictured center)
Danny and Karen (pictured) got married just 36 hours after meeting in person for the first time in over 50 years.
Karen said VKSO how their relationship blossomed in high school, where Danny took her to dances, sports games, and walked her home every day.
Upon learning that she was pregnant, her disapproving parents sent her out of town to a Lutheran social service shelter for single mothers.
Danny continued to visit her and was able to hold his daughter for an hour before she was given up for adoption.
“We took a picture of her and that was the last of our memories of her,” Karen said.
The young couple stayed together when Danny left to serve in the army in Germany. After returning home, he proposed to Karen, who was then about 20 years old.
However, her parents did not approve of this marriage and wanted their daughter to get a degree in interior design from the University of Minnesota.
Karen and Danny (pictured) were able to reconnect with their daughter after the adoption agency contacted Jean.
The couple gradually lost touch after deciding to end the relationship and move on to new partners.
But Danny never stopped thinking about his childhood sweetheart and said that she always had “a corner of his heart.”
In 2014, he decided to find Karen after being asked at a dinner party, “If your doctor gave you 60 days to live, who would you like to talk to or have dinner with?”
Danny found Karen, then living in Washington DC, on LinkedIn and left her a message.
The couple talked for three months before Danny flew out to meet her in person.
Danny said: “It was just magic. She got out of the car, ran around, jumped on me and said, “Baby, you’re home.”
After 36 hours, the couple married and settled in the Twin Cities.
Karen continued, “One day he said, ‘Karen, it took me so long to find you. My life would be complete if we could find our daughter.”
The adoption agency helped them find Jean, who initially ignored contact until she spoke to her husband.
After reuniting, they make up for missed birthdays and years apart.
“The love we have for each other is unparalleled. Today, even today, it’s incredible,” Denny said.