NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A local chaplain never had answers about his family's story. There were times he didn't even want to know that story. After 63 years, would it even be possible to get answers if he tried? The story of this chaplain's life has a surprising turn.
"Typically, we're there for people at the worst moments of their lives," said chaplain for TriStar Centennial Medical Center Allen Tanner. "We're there to meet their spiritual needs, to give them hope, to give comfort, to bring light into their lives. I'm called to be in the trenches with people who are broken and hurting and suffering."
Despite that family focus, there's so much Allen didn't know about his own family.
"Never knew my real biological father, never knew my real biological mother," said Allen. "I just heard these horrible stories about abandonment and how they didn't care about me. I had a very traumatic childhood — a lot of abuse in my childhood by an adopted family. Sexual abuse, physical abuse, verbal abuse. I was a runaway at 13 years old, living on the streets, eating out of dumpsters and sleeping in cardboard boxes for a while."
After living through that as a child, Allen didn't ever want to know his biological parents.
"My daughter decided to trace her lineage," he said. "She called me one night. She said, 'I think I found your mom.'"
Allen made the decision to call that woman in Connecticut. Fifteen minutes after leaving a message, he got a call back. After 63 years, he heard his mother's voice on the phone.
"Yeah, it was incredible," said Allen. "I never thought I would."
On Thursday, Allen was joined at his Nashville home by Diana Scalise, his mother.
"I met Allen's father when I was fifteen-and-a-half maybe," said Diana. "I ended up getting pregnant with Allen. My husband was very abusive. I was just a child. He was breaking my jaw and all kinds of things happening to me. I let my mother-in-law adopt my child. I thought he'd have a better chance of life with a family. I always thought about him, always loved him."
"To hear her say, 'I love you,' to hear her say, 'I'm proud of you,' to hear her say these things: it's surreal," said Allen. "There is a bond between a mother and a child that is always there."
"We're here now together as a family," Diana added. "If I could touch one person's life to be as happy as I am right now, that'd be great for me. I'm 80 years old, and I never, ever thought this would happen. I wouldn't give it up for anything in the world."
Allen also managed to contact his father a few years ago. They were able to reconcile before his father died.
