Sisters reunite after decades apart

WARWICK, R.I. (WPRI) -- A pair of sisters adopted by different families are finally back together again.

They actually went to high school together, but were never allowed to talk about their relationship. Now, thanks to Classmates.com, their unbreakable bond is out in the open.

For these two sisters, it was the happiest of reunions. Their story started more than four decades ago at Warwick Veterans Memorial High School.

Mary Yarborough and Judy Bischoff sat next to each other in homeroom in 1965. Both girls knew they were adopted, they knew they were biological sisters, but both were led to believe that the other didn't know about their adoption.

Their adoptive parents told them not to talk about it - and they didn't.

"My mom said 'Do you know Mary?' and I said 'Yeah, why? We're in homeroom together,' and she said well she's your sister, but you can't say anything to her. She doesn't know she's adopted," said Bischoff.

The two girls stayed silent and eventually lost touch. Mary stayed here in Rhode Island, while Judy moved to Arizona.

"I always knew there was something there that was missing," added Bischoff.

Over the years, the long-lost sisters tried to find each other, but with no luck. A bout with breast cancer made Mary search even more.

In April, as a last-ditch effort, Mary logged on to Classmates.com. She found Judy, sent her an e-mail, and got the reply she had been waiting for for nearly half a century.

"I still can't wrap my head around it. It's incredible," said Yarborough.

Now, Judy has been reunited with the extended family that she never knew she had, and the sisters have vowed to make up for lost time.

Judy and Mary don't know if they have the same biological father. They're hoping that Rhode Island's newly-unsealed adoption records may provide an answer to that question.