We got him! The father Melonie Dodaro is looking for currently lives as Colin Young in Pattaya.
Who knows who my father is? Melonie Dodaro, a 46-year-old Canadian, posted that call on Facebook last weekend. She had heard from her mother that her father was called Cees de Jong, came from the Dutch town of Zwolle and was born around 1947. De Stentor devoted an article to it in Tuesday's newspaper, after which various news sites took over the call. In the comments on one of the sites, someone commented that she knew Cees de Jong and that his stage name was Colin Young.
And let's have a booklet about Colin Young on the Stentor editorial board... In it he describes his wonderful life, from his childhood in Zwolle to his current existence in Thailand. With adventures in between, including Chile (where he took part in an international Eurovision Song Contest on behalf of the Netherlands), the United States (where he performed as an Elvis impersonator) and Canada (where he painted houses, which Melonie's mother also remembered). Young's year of birth is similar to that of the Cees de Jong seeking Melonie, and the time he spent in Canada is exactly the time she must have been conceived. Colin Young's booklet contains a dedication to Hans Borrel from Zwolle: 'FOR A SPECIAL DUTCHMAN.' Borrel, who ran a catering empire for a long time and knew just about all of Zwolle, says he is still in contact with his former friend by telephone. “Colin Young is his stage name, his real name was Cees de Jong.
He now lives with his young wife and their children in Thailand.” The term 'colourful' is an understatement for the life Cees de Jong/Colin Young has led. He performed with artists such as Bonnie St Clair, Patty Brard and Tineke de Nooij, smashed his kneecap with a hammer to be rejected for military service, was in a coma in Spain after being run over by a bus, boxed for money, played in a movie about Thailand, and so on. His booklet contains a special chapter on 'wives and girlfriends'. In 33 pages a colorful procession of beauties passes by, including a Miss Belgium. Unfortunately, a girlfriend from Canada is missing; perhaps that affair was so short that Cees did not think it was worth remembering.
The Stentor calls Melonie Dodaro on Tuesday afternoon to say that we have traced Cees de Jong from Zwolle, who according to her mother is her father. "What?" she yells into the phone. "I'm all shaking!" She had already understood from reactions to her Facebook call that her father had a stage name. “De Jong is the most common name in the Netherlands, and then also a second name: I never find that, I thought. This is amazing!” Later in the day we also manage to get Young/De Jong on the phone.
After being advised to sit down, we tell him that a 46-year-old woman in Canada claims he is her father. His dry answer: “That could just be.” He had a girlfriend in Canada who was two months pregnant when he had to return to the Netherlands, says Young. "We tried to keep in touch, but unfortunately we didn't succeed." He has often wondered if he had a child wandering around Canada. “I tried again to look up my former girlfriend, but I couldn't find her anywhere. That was not so easy in the days before the internet.” Would he like to have contact with his Canadian daughter? "Absolute! I would love that!” We call Melonie: we have your father's 06 number, you can call him! “Oh dear!” she responds, “I find that much too scary!” So we call Colin again and give him Melonie's number.
Late in the evening Colin calls the Stentor: „It worked, we talked. It was fantastic. I invited her to come to Thailand.” Melonie responds via Facebook: “I found my dad! I'm on cloud 9 right now. Love to you all!”
Source: The Stentor
Well Congratulations Collin and Melonie! It's nice that the internet makes searching a bit easier. 🙂
This is really wonderful for both
Make it a good time now, because you will still have a lot to say to each other.
This is heartwarming news.
Congratulations Melonie on your successful search and of course also for the father Colin
Melonie that's great, your dad is a nice guy I've known him for 15 years he even sang at my wedding in bangkok
Hello Colin'
Just told you a week ago that you're not a dime a dozen.
Congratulations!!!!
Do we have more conversation material Haha'
Regards Pieter Udon Thani
Such things make a person happy, so I am very happy for Cees.
Very good luck with the reunion
Hi Meloni and Colin,
Congratulations both of you.
melon,
I think that this is the shortest time that a child found her father.
Boy Meloni, you will stay on cloud nine for a while right?
And yuck, you'll be nervous right, before you meet him.
But dear, just take a bottle of bubbles on the plain and just think about the world as your own living room..
Maybe it helps a little, but i'll be thinking of you.
And please, when you're in Thailand, will you ask your father to change his picture on Thai Blog???
With a big smile this time.
Enjoy your father and the time you can spend with him and of course also enjoy Thailand.
Hi Colin,
Ok, having a daughter of 46 is nothing special right?
We have one as well.
But in your case you see her for the first time after 46 years, and that's something else.
I hope you will let the TB-ers know a little of your meeting with your daughter.
I wish you all the luck and happiness.
I honestly wouldn't know how I would react.
Me, big mouth, small heart.
I think in no time may make-up would be running along my cheeks and look like a witch after one minute.
Enjoy, hug and love your daughter/father.
LOUISE
Colin very great for you that your daughter found you
40 years ago it was almost impossible for anyone to find people.
I often watch the program “detection” and I often see the problem of people finding each other in person, because it is not so easy despite the fact that the internet is now available
So that your daughter has found you again is really cool and I wish you the best of luck when she comes to Thailand….
Collin is top for me and many others. Beautiful good nice congratulations
Thank you all dear people who grant me this great happiness. I have now had 3 fantastic conversations on the telephone with my beautiful and intelligent 46 year old daughter Melonie. Rarely have I encountered such a nice and spontaneous person. She screamed with the words My dad, my dad etc and we cried out of joy for a while. In 1985 I sang at an Int. Eurovision Song Contest in Chile where I came 2nd and ended up in 2 earthquakes. Then an emergency landing in Toronto where I immediately took a taxi to the city hall and later to the main police station, where I offered the police officers 1000 dollars to look for my child, because I didn't know whether I had a son or daughter. Didn't work and went home very disillusioned. Was met by eleven journalists in the VIP room at Schiphol but could not get excited, despite my 2nd prize and rescuing a woman and baby from a collapsed house, for which I refused an award from Pinochet. I called all the people with the same last name, but most were not related except for one, who wanted nothing to do with my ex. The brute tried to explain that it was my child, whom I desperately wanted to see, but he threw the hook at him. How tough can you be? However, luck smiled twice as Melonie also had a 27-year-old son who was a well-known musician and was in the final of a Canadian talent show. Just received a call from my daughter that the American ABC TV program twenty-twenty wants to make a TV special about this in Thailand in August, and the entire family has been promised a first class ticket. Melonie always flies first-class for her lectures at conferences and has lectures in Manchester, London and Copenhagen in July. I will be counting the days, but fortunately I have daily contact by email and Skype with this fantastically spontaneous new family.
Congratulations, Colin, what a wonderful moment in your life that must be. The news has now gone into the world, I have seen it on many news sites - especially Canadian ones of course.
Nice also that news from ABC TV, but you keep us informed, don't you, on our modest thailand blog!
Wonderful for you Colin!
I think I can conclude that you will fit together perfectly in terms of status and modest character. All the luck in the future.
Great Colin, that this is happening to you. Life is full of surprises. See you in Pattaya
What wonderful news this is. I hope Colin and Melonie that you still have a lot of time together to enjoy each other. A lot of luck. And I will read the sequel.
Great Colin, you're already so busy, busy, busy and sometimes you even want to turn off your phone. But now we're looking forward to every phone call from your loved ones there/ Good luck, you're very welcome!!!
A whole change in your life Colin, so in one fell swoop not only a daughter but also a grandson, I wish you good luck for now and in the future.
Indeed William.
And as an extra, a grandson with the grandfather's talents!
Little story of the apple and the tree?
What a story, just beautiful!
What a beautiful happy ending Colin. A lot of luck.
colin what a story. with all your work, a new child. you have not been idle either. (located) gr dries and liesbeth see you in february i hope at rens.