By Terri T. Johnson

Staff writer

ttjohnso@observer-reporter.com

CANONSBURG - This year, for the first time in his 82 years, Frank Catanese will celebrate Father's Day as a dad.

The fact he has a son came as a complete surprise about six months ago when a woman he casually dated 45 years ago left a brief message on his answering machine.

A recent paternity test confirmed Catanese, of Canonsburg, is the biological father of 44-year-old Bradley Jones of Cleveland, S.C.

The two met for three hours in April, before the test, for the first and only time in a Bridgeville family restaurant. The resemblance between father and son is amazing. Catanese said they now talk on the telephone about once a week and are planning a longer visit this summer, when he and Jones will travel to Ohio to meet the rest of the family.

Catanese, originally from Carnegie, married and divorced but never had children. He retired from working in construction and as a food broker, and moved to Canonsburg, where he continues to work part-time in the food court of the Shop 'n Save supermarket.

Life was somewhat uneventful until he received telephone messages from a woman in Florida whose name he did not recognize. He ignored the calls until she left a message using her maiden name.

"I thought, 'The past is catching up with me,' and I called her back," Catanese said as he sat in the food court before his Thursday shift.

He vaguely remembers the woman, whose name he did not reveal. She was from the Pittsburgh area, and he said they dated but were not in a serious relationship when she suddenly moved to Florida 45 years ago.

Once she left, there was no communication and Catanese moved on.

More than four decades later, she called.

"She said, 'I need a very special favor. I need a DNA test.' I said, 'What are you talking about?' I didn't know what to think," Catanese said.

He put off making any decisions for a few months to adjust to the news he could be a father. His family encouraged him to have the test.

Catanese learned the woman went to Florida upon learning she was pregnant and gave the newborn son up for adoption without contacting him.

She later married and raised a family without their knowledge of Jones. Mother and son were reconnected through the Internet. She contacted Catanese after tests confirmed she is Jones' mother.

As for the first meeting in April, Catanese said his son and his biological mother were already seated when he walked into the restaurant.

"I recognized her," Catanese said. Then he saw the man he thought was his son. "I was so impressed."

Jones said, "You must be it."

After the meeting, Catanese decided to have the paternity test.

"When I first met him, I didn't know what to do with him," Catanese said. "I thought, 'Is he my son or not?' Even now, I don't know how to react."

If the test had ruled out Catanese as the father, he said he would have kept in touch with Jones.

He harbors no animosity toward his son's mother. It was a different time, and he understands her actions.

After receiving the call from the woman, Catanese said he experienced every emotion an 82-year-old childless man can have when learning he may be a father.

Ignoring the possibility was an option.

"But I thought that if there was a part of me walking around, I should know about it," he said with a lilt to his voice.

The first meeting was relaxed, but, at first, somewhat awkward.

"He not a little boy," Catanese said. "He called me Frank."

He's sorry he wasn't the one to take his son to Kennywood or to teach him to ride a bike. But he's happy to have found Jones and to have him as a friend.

The two would like to spend more time together, but the drive between Canonsburg and South Carolina is seven hours and Jones travels in his job selling industrial electrical equipment. Jones is currently in Oregon on business and could not be contacted last week.

Even though Catanese learned he is a dad, he is not a grandfather. Jones is widowed and has no children.

Catanese is not certain whether he will receive his first Father's Day card, as Jones' adoptive father is alive. His adoptive mother died a few years ago.

"I keep repeating, 'I still don't know how to handle this,' but I'm happy and excited," Catanese said.

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