Until recently, Rick DeBenedetto, 56, did not know much about his father. He knew that back in the 1950’s his mother had had a fling with a musician in Reno, Nevada and after that, she moved back to California alone and pregnant.

The only clue he had was his birth certificate that stated his father’s name was Gilbetto Jiovanni De Benedetto. He never dreamed that he would eventually find his father living under a slightly different name, in a nursing home in Downingtown, 2,630 miles from Reno, writes Justine McDaniel of Philly.com.

For years, Gil DiBenedetto, 87, thought he had no children. The musician settled down in Downingtown in 1968, where he worked as the band director at Mickey Rooney’s famed club for 16 years. Fighting cancer, DiBenedetto was given two months to live last July, but he has held on and it turns out, long enough for his son to find him.

In February, Rick DeBenedetto, who now lives in Spokane, Washington, began searching online for his father and coincidentally, DiBenedetto was recently interviewed by an Inquirer reporter who was writing an article about his life. After reading the article about a Gilly DiBenedetto, although the spelling was different, he realized that this could be the Gil he was looking for.

After getting in touch with two of Gilly’s friends mentioned in the article, DeBenedetto was soon on a flight to Philadelphia. Gilly’s friend, Victor Gabriel, arranged the meeting between father and son in a sandwich shop on February 29th. Over cheesesteaks, DeBenedetto’s first, Gabriel revealed to his friend that he was sitting in front of his son.

“Oh my God,” said DiBenedetto in a raspy voice, “that’s beautiful.”

Gilly never knew about DeBenedetto’s mother’s pregnancy, but had no doubt that he is his son, not just because the facts line up, but other things do as well.

“I love him,” said DiBenedetto “But I don’t deserve him.” The old man smiled and patted his heart, thinking about his son’s next visit.

“It’s just spooky, the resemblances on certain things,” DeBenedetto said. “The nose, the shape of the forehead, the lips, especially the lips. I always wondered where I’d gotten these lips.”

To read more about this heartwarming family reunion, see here.