Who Are These people?
Watch the video below to hear how Ilene Alexander, while searching for information about her ancestors, became part of a “Not Parent Expected” category of people whose DNA test brought unexpected discoveries.
A paternity surprise
Wed, Sep 3, 2025, 10am
You are invited to join the UMRA Family History Interest Group meeting from 10 to 11 a.m. on Wednesday, September 3, via Zoom for a presentation by UMRA member Ilene Dawn “Ida” Alexander titled “Who are these people?” or “How did a slew of Ancestry matches to descendants of the three wives of a Mormon convert, banished from his Iowa family, let me begin to acknowledge—on what would have been my raising-up father’s 88th birthday—that my genetic makeup included a paternity surprise?”
Here’s a bit more about what to expect, in our presenter’s own words:
“In 2018, rather than joining my dad’s cousin in learning about descendants of my third great-grandparents’ siblings, who’d stayed in Wales, I became part of a then, still rather new, “Not Parent Expected” category of people whose DNA spit test brought unexpected discoveries.
“In this presentation, I’ll explore how and why returning to my trees made it possible for me to understand myself among the other people who had [not] gone missing from my raising-up, maternal, and ‘bio-dude’ family genealogical stories across multiple generations.”
A Zoom invite will be sent to all UMRA members one month and again one week before the program. We hope you can join us.
—Lynn C. Anderson and Craig Swan, co-chairs, Family History Interest Group
Upcoming Events
We will gather in the Waterfall Room for an in-person, summer social and luncheon for UMRA members and guests on June 24th. Our event will include social time; a plated, seated lunch; and the always popular Summer Social Trivia Game with quizmasters Dave Dorman and Mark Jenson.
This event will include social time; a plated, seated lunch; and the Summer Social Trivia Game.
There are three entree options - all include dessert (or GF desert) and a choice of sodas, lemonade, and coffee or water.
Cash bar available inside the Dock & Paddle.
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Kayaking at Lake Bde Maka Ska.
UMRA Book Club I will discuss The Silent Patient, a psychological thriller and debut novel by Alex Michaelides, when it meets via Zoom on Friday, July 17.
Two major conferences, one organized by the Association of Retirement Organizations in Higher Education (AROHE) and the other by the Big Ten Retirees Association (BTRA), will take place this year. The AROHE conference will be held in Florida and the BTRA conference will be hosted by UMRA on the UMN campus.
The AROHE conference invites all interested retirees and university faculty and staff to reimagine retirement. You are invited to register if interested at https://www.arohe.org/2026-Conference.
The BTRA is being hosted by UMRA this year. Leadership of retiree organizations around the US will convene to share competencies. Attendance is restricted.
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