Long Lost Family’s oldest searcher says he can now die happy after finally finding the daughter he has spent decades hoping to meet.
Roy David, 87, had last seen Cheryl as a six-year-old in the Bronx, New York.
He told the Mirror: “If the creator called me home tomorrow or even now, I would leave this planet as a man who is completely fulfilled.
“Because this is what I wanted and what I have been searching for, for years”
Their reunion is one of the most heart-warming seen on the ITV show.
Roy admits he couldn’t believe it when the programme discovered Cheryl, 64, was living in Queens, not far from the Bronx, where she lived as a child.
He said: “It took me at least five minutes to come to my senses.
“I saw a picture of her at present and a picture of her from back then. I said ‘Oh, God, how many years have I missed from her life?’’ Roy was born in Guyana, South America, and spent his life in the merchant navy.
In the 1950s, aged 19, he arrived in New York and met student nurse Sylvia.
When she became pregnant, the couple married and moved in with Sylvia’s mother to save money.
Roy remembers taking Cheryl out in her pram and changing nappies. He says fondly: “She was a lovely child. I felt very good as a father.”
Sadly, with Roy spending long spells at sea, there were tensions. Sylvia and her mother asked Roy to leave.
He remembers: “Looking back now, I think my wife Sylvia had wanted me to stand up to her mother but I didn’t, I caved in. I made a mistake.”
For five years, whenever Roy returned from sea, he would visit his daughter – until, one day, they had moved.
Roy recalls: “She just disappeared into thin air. They made sure they left no trail.”
Roy finally settled in England and married Itha.
Cheryl, whose mother died in 1991, says that no one spoke about her dad while she was growing up.
Cheryl writes in a letter to Roy: “Tonight, for the first time in a long time, I will allow myself the joy and happiness of knowing I have been loved all these years”. When he reads it, Roy says it is worth “all the tea in China”.
When Covid restrictions finally ease enough Cheryl meets Roy in a London park.
As soon as they see each other, they fall into each other’s arms. Cheryl says afterwards: “I could just stay like that for the whole night, like I’m a little girl and I got my daddy.”
Cheryl was also delighted to find she has a half-brother, Gerald, 60, who lives near her in Long Island. They were thrilled to discover that they both look like their long-lost father.
Cheryl’s daughter Derisse, 47, who came to London with her, was also incredibly moved by the occasion.
She said: “I had no grandad for 47 years but I have one now. It’s overwhelming and lovely.”
Roy said it had been his wife’s idea to contact the show and added: “She has encouraged me all the way.”
Since meeting, Roy and Cheryl have spoken every week on the phone and he plans to visit her as soon as travel restrictions lift.
*Long Lost Family, Tuesday August 31, ITV, 9pm
