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01st Apr 2021

Retiring couple adopt seven siblings after parents pass away suddenly

Sarah McKenna Barry

Amazingly, the parents had five spare bedrooms ready for the children.

An American couple in their 50s have adopted seven siblings after their parents were killed in a car accident.

Pam Willis and her husband Gary heard about the children who were in need of a permanent home while scrolling through social media.

The couple – who already have five adult children – were moved by their story and wanted to offer them a new home. They fostered many children over the years, but these were the first they adopted.

In an emotional post on Instagram, the Californian mother spoke about how she knew deep down that she should take care of them.

“They had been in foster care for a year since their parents had been killed in the car accident that they all had miraculously survived.

“Who would have the space for them? Who would have the time, and the love, and the patience for their trauma? The answer was clear. We would.

“Why else did we have a six-bedroom house that was about to have its last child’s bedroom vacated? Why else would our nest that had raised our first five babies be empty just in time?”

Pam and Gary spoke to Today about life with their new children. They learned during the screening process that they had a difficult childhood – food was scarce, and they often lived in homeless encampments.

“It was easy to connect with the little ones,” Pam said. “They were just desperately craving permanency. The older two were a little trickier.”

She continued: “I think they didn’t quite trust that we were real. Like maybe we were going to go away. I think it’s so hard to trust when so much has been taken from your life.”

The family told the publication that they welcomed their newest members in an emotional adoption ceremony last August.

“It was awesome,” Pam said. “There was so much love.”