Gavin Glynn, a great father's day story.

[ColbertWatcher]

Dozens gathered for a memorial service organized by the youngsters’ foster father to honor the memory of Katherine Lee, the mother of 15-year-old twins Shane and Patrick; Emily, 14; and Grace, 12.

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Lee, a 46-year-old employee of a Venice moving and storage company, was stricken with a heart attack at the family’s North Hollywood home. Although the children quickly called 911 and Patrick followed directions from the emergency operator and performed CPR until paramedics arrived, their mother died later at UCLA Medical Center.

A family friend took in the four children until her landlord demanded that they leave by Feb. 1. The eviction order prompted a counselor at Fairfax High School, where Shane and Patrick are students, to launch a frantic campaign to find a place for the four to live before they were swept into the county’s 51,000-child foster-care system.

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Within a few days, the search turned up Glynn, who heard about the children through a gay fathers support group called Pop Luck. Because the 41-year-old television writer was already adopting an 8-year-son, Iby, he was certified as a foster father. The Lee children moved immediately into his five-bedroom West Adams District home.

--http://articles.latimes.com/2002/sep/15/local/me-orphans15">Los Angeles Times, 2002

Defying all odds, they have remained a family.

The four Lee siblings were together again in the rambling West Adams district house they’ve come to call home. The elder three had come back from college to celebrate the 18th birthday of their youngest sister – and to celebrate their good fortune at being rescued by total strangers when they were orphaned six years ago.

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“We stayed a family. That’s the most important thing. We became a strong family,” said Shane, now 21 and a junior majoring in communications at San Francisco State. “We used to be individuals. Our dad helped our bond as a family grow.”

--http://articles.latimes.com/2007/dec/08/local/me-orphans8">Los Angeles Times, 2007

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