North Carolina Department of Correction - Correction News - February 1999

Father and son reunite after 47 years

CLINTON — After 47 years apart, Steve Muller, superintendent of Sampson Correctional Institution, and his father, Seldon Nichols, were finally reunited Jan. 6 at the Mullers’ home in Clinton.

Traveling from their home in Canada, Nichols and his wife, Evelyn, stopped in North Carolina to visit Muller and his wife, Vicki, on their way to Florida. Father and son had planned the visit when they spoke for the first time over the phone in November after Muller’s cousin and half-sister tracked him down via the Internet. "This is something I dreamed of that I never thought would happen," Nichols said of the reunion with his first-born son. "I thought I would go the rest of my life without seeing him."

Only six-weeks-old the last time he saw his father, Muller was thrilled that he was finally getting the chance to sit down and talk with his father, face-to-face, for the first time in his life.

"I just needed to see him, to see what he looks like and to see if he accepts me," Muller said. "He said that he’s real proud of what I’ve become, and that’s just a good feeling to hear that from a parent."

Muller’s father and mother separated when he was just a baby, and fear of rejection prevented the two men from locating one another before now. Acceptance now replaces that fear, and father and son are looking forward to catching up.

"We are trying to pack in 47 years," Muller said. "We’ll get to share a lot of things that we didn’t know about each other. It’s like making a new friend. I’m sure it’s going to be an exciting and emotional time." u


NC DOC Homepage
NC DOC News
NC DOC WEB Index
E-mail NC DOC