Santa surprises young boys with mom’s Air Force homecoming

Tuesday, December 11, 2018
Overjoyed at the sudden appearance of their mom, Gabriel and Braxton Rodgers hug mother Alissa Rodgers for the first time in seven months. Alissa, a member of the U.S. Air Force, had been away for medical training before surprising the boys at the DePauw University children’s holiday party on Saturday.
Courtesy photo

Two children received just about the best surprise imagineable from Santa Claus on Saturday.

The great-grandsons of DePauw University retiree Kathy Priest, Braxton (age 4) and Gabriel (3) Rodgers attended the DePauw children’s holiday party with their dad, Justin Rodgers.

Their mom, Alissa Rodgers, is Priest’s granddaughter, but she was unable to attend. Instead, A1C Rodgers has been away for U.S. Air Force medical training for the last seven months.

Courtesy photo

As part of the festivities, the two boys sat on Santa’s lap and shared their wishes for the upcoming holiday.

Afterward, Santa told the boys he had a special surprise for them and out popped Alissa.

A number of family members were also in attendance to see the surprised and joyful reunion of mom and sons.

Priest, a longtime secretary in the university facilities department, contacted the office of President Mark McCoy about making the surprise happen.

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