Reconnecting with family can be difficult at times, which is why Ally Gogush is calling on lakecity and Cariboo residents for information on the identity of her biological father.
Gogush, born Alizha Wertman, is a 35-year-old new mother who currently lives in the District of Lake Country four hours south of Williams Lake. The recent birth of her child has made Gogush want to reconnect with her biological father and his family, after losing contact with them shortly after the death of her mother and her adoption.
Born and raised in North Vancouver to Deborah Wertman, a professional dancer of some fame in 1984, Gogush was eventually adopted.
After her mother, who she stayed in some contact with, passed away, a woman contacted her about her biography, which included her, and this gave Gogush the ambition to track down her birth father one day.
“[Since] I was born my mom and my adopted family [have] been friends with my biological family all my life, so they know everybody. My biological and adopted mum [were] in contact with my father’s parents, according to the story my father was maybe an MMA fighter or a kickboxer, something like that and so he travelled lots,” Gogush recalled.
She only ever saw him twice, both times as a baby, but she knows that he’s roughly about six foot seven inches tall and that his last name was possibly McMahon.
From what Gogush knows, his parents had lived in the Williams Lake area for at least 20 years before her family lost contact with them in the 1960s to 1980s. As her mom was 22 when she had her, Gogush assumes her father would be in his mid to late 60s today.
Read More: Annual Father’s Day Powwow hosts dozens of dancers from across western Canada
When she was younger she’d receive the occasional gifts from them, including princess dresses, which makes her feel there may be a desire to get to know who she is today. While she’d love to make contact, she is completely fine with them choosing not to reach out. Any information, however, would mean the world to Gogush.
“I thought it’d be nice to know if I had any siblings because I was born an only child,” Gogush said. “You’re always missing something, you look in the mirror and you just see features that don’t belong to your mum and you just kind of wonder where these personality traits come from. It’d be neat to see what our commonalities are and connect and tell our stories.”
As a child, she said she was super outgoing and made friends with everybody and she would talk to people just to put a smile on their face. Today, Gogush describes herself as a tomboy with a love for mechanics, traits not shared by either of her other parents.
Anyone with any information on her father is welcome to reach out to Gogush via Facebook or e-mail at Ally Gogush on Facebook and allygogush@gmail.com for e-mail.
“I really hope someone out there can help me, that would be awesome,” Gogush said.
patrick.davies@wltribune.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
