Woman's Search for Biological Mother Leads To Royal Oak

In 1954, Betty Canon was in trouble.  At 24 years old, she gave birth to Judy Ann while serving time in jail for a probation violation. Two years later, she would give the girl up for adoption.

For more than 40 years, Judy Ann Piotrowski, 59, looked for her biological mother—a search that would lead to a Royal Oak woman.

“I got an email from Judy and I thought, ‘this is bizarre,’” said Laura Spern, 51. After talking to Piotrowski by phone, the two women determined their mothers were sisters.

“When we figured out we were related, she started to cry,” Spern said. “I always wanted a cousin that was close to my age. And, she’s from my mom’s side of the family so that was special, too.”

At age 16, Spern's mother died. After her death, there was  very little interaction with her mother’s family, Spern said.

“When I looked at Judy, I could see my mother’s sisters in her." 

Looking for someone 'that made a mistake'

Piotrowski, who grew up in Allen Park, began her search for Betty Cannon before the Internet existed.

“I thought I was looking for a young girl that made a mistake,” she said.

She was able to obtain a copy of her adoption decree, which listed her name as Judy Ann Cannon.

“The agency told me I was born while my mother was in prison and I was given her age, height, weight and the number of siblings she had.”

Searching prison logs, Piotrowski discovered Cannon was involved in an unarmed robbery. 

Cannon and another women were in a bar in Detroit when they noticed a man “waving around a lot of cash,” Piotrowski said. The two women led the man into an alley where two men were waiting to jump and rob him.

The other woman in the incident cooperated with police. The two men served prison time and Cannon was given probation, which stipulated she was “to stay away from the bar district.” But Cannon had “trouble with the bottle” and couldn’t, Piotrowski said.

Cannon went to jail for violating her probation in December 1953; Piotrowski was born in April 1954 and Cannon was released two months later in June.

“I had to digest that for a long time,” Piotrowski said. “My mother was 5-months pregnant with me and in a bar. And I was born in a jail.”

Piotrowski was put into foster care. It took two years to track down Cannon to sign paperwork so the toddler could be placed with Ted and Minnie Gracie, a couple in their 40s from Allen Park.

Cannon died in 1967 of cirrhosis of the liver, before Piotrowski began looking for her.

A godsend

“When I think of what my life could have been, I know my parents were a godsend,” Piotrowski said. “They treated me like one of their own and I turned out fine.”

Ted Gracie passed in 1997, Minnie Gracie in 2002.

Searching through 1940 census data online, Piotrowski found a record of Betty Cannon in Ferndale. The siblings listed matched the information she had from the adoption agency. Researching Gladys Cannon led to Spern.

Piotrowski and Spern met face-to-face for the first time last week in Royal Oak. Spern, who barely remembered her aunt, was able to give Piotrowski six photographs of Cannon.

"My Aunt Betty used to tell people she had a daughter in prison, but no one believed her. They didn't trust her," Spern said.

Piotrowski was delighted Spern welcomed her into her home when it would have been easier for her cousin to just ignore her, she said. 

“I stared at Laura for a long time,” she said. “I never saw anyone that I was related to by blood other than my son.” Piotrowski has an adopted daughter, 24, and a biological son, 23.

“And I finally saw what my biological mother looked like. There was a picture of her with a purse and she looked so much like me.”

Spern posted a photograph of her cousin’s visit on Facebook.

“Without saying anything about it, one of the first comments was ‘you look like sisters,’” Spern said.