Just weeks after losing her son in a car accident, Marlene Comunale of Sharon received a surprising gift.

Last month, the daughter she gave up for adoption in 1959 contacted her. On Friday, they met for the first time.

"Nice to meet you!" Heidi Solomon exclaimed moments after her first tearful embrace with the woman she had not seen in 42 years. "This is a miracle."

Mrs. Comunale was still grieving the death of her son, Richard, when she got the call from Mrs. Solomon. On Dec. 27, Richard was on his way to work when his car was hit head-on by another car.

A few weeks later, Mrs. Comunale received a phone call from a woman who said, "I'm Heidi Solomon, and I think you are my birth mother."

"I said, if that's so, you made me very happy," Mrs. Comunale said.

Mrs. Solomon was born Aug. 29, 1959 in Cleveland, where Mrs. Comunale had been living in a home for unwed mothers. She was 22 at the time and had recently been laid off from Westinghouse.

"Forty-two years ago they didn't have the support system (for single mothers) they have now," Mrs. Comunale said.

Mrs. Solomon also contacted her birth father, but he wishes to remain private, Mrs. Comunale said.

Finding her long-lost daughter has helped Mrs. Comunale cope with her son's death.

"Although she will never replace my son, just like my son could never replace her," Mrs. Comunale said. "It's like the best of times and the worst of times."

Mrs. Comunale also has three other daughters: Gina LaCamera, of Farrell; Lisa Zdral of California and Sharon Comunale of Portland, Oregon.

At this time last year Mrs. Comunale had five grandchildren; now, after the birth of Richard's twins a year ago Friday and Mrs. Solomon's three sons, she now has 10.

The reunion between Mrs. Solomon and her birth mother seems to be destiny.

On Jan. 6, Mrs. Solomon was attending her son's basketball game in her hometown in eastern Pennsylvania when she began a conversation with the man sitting next to her.

After chatting for a while, the man found out Mrs. Solomon had been looking for her birth mother for 20 years. All Mrs. Solomon knew about her birth mother was that her name was Marlene and she lived in Sharon.

The man said his ex-wife, Nancy Davis, lived in Sharon. Mrs. Solomon decided to contact her.

With Nancy's help through a search of Sharon high school yearbooks and a phone call to a relative, Mrs. Solomon received Mrs. Comunale's current information.

"Nancy was the link that helped us find each other," Mrs. Solomon said.

Mrs. Solomon found out her birth mother was a professional artist and had recently been honored by the Valley Arts Guild, so she searched for her name on The Herald Web site. There she found Richard's obituary.

After talking on the phone for several weeks, Mrs. Comunale and Mrs. Solomon arranged to meet. Their reunion took place on Friday at the Suburban restaurant in Hermitage, where Mrs. LaCamera and her son and Mrs. Comunale's sister, Deb Appod of Hermitage, were also present.

Mrs. Comunale said she thought about looking for her daughter a few years ago but she didn't have the correct information. She had named her Jill when she was born, so she was looking for a woman named Jill.

"There was a desire to see her," Mrs. Comunale said.

Part of the reason why Mrs. Solomon wanted to find her birth parents was her 5-year-old son was diagnosed with genetic disorder six months ago. He is now hearing impaired.

"At that time I said, this would be the time when it would be good to know some information about my birth parents," Mrs. Solomon said. "For me, it seems like life didn't start until I was 10 days old. A lot of questions will get answered. This will be a great weekend."

The two women have already discussed their similarities, both physical and otherwise. Mrs. Comunale collects turtles; Mrs. Solomon arrived Friday wearing a turtle pin. By coincidence, Mrs. Solomon's adoptive mother's name is also Marlene.

"You often wonder how much of who you are is genetically predisposed and how much is environmental," Mrs. Solomon said. "For me that's going to be a discovery as a I get to know this part of my life."

Mrs. Solomon said she doesn't feel angry with Mrs. Comunale for giving her up. She said she admires her and, since becoming a mother herself, she has gained even greater appreciation for her.

"I couldn't imagine giving away a child ... I always thought she was unselfish for doing that and she did it for me. So how could I be angry?"

You can e-mail Herald Staff Writer Erin Remai at

eremai@sharon-herald.com.