The Christmas season can get a little hectic at the Dyer house, but that just comes with the territory of having 11 kids.
Roy and Glenda Dyer raised five kids of their own before adopting six more and fostering countless others over the years. So when the family gets together for the holidays, along with grandkids and great-grandkids, it is quite the event.
“It’s a madhouse, but I sit back and I love it,” Glenda said.
Roy and Glenda Dyer’s kids, Michael, Mark, Brian, Keisha, Ashley, were still growing up when they adopted Matt. His mother was someone Roy Dyer had encountered and arrested several times while on patrol with the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office.
Knowing she couldn’t take care of the baby, Roy and Glenda came to the decision to take Matt in as soon as he was born.
Around 14 years later, when Matt was a teenager, the family began serving as foster parents through the Department of Social Services. They have since adopted five more children and cared for about 40 foster kids.
“It was when the kids got grown and started marrying off and getting gone, all of a sudden we had an empty house and rooms. That’s when it dawned on us,” Roy said.
“It was just meant to be,” Glenda said.
Joey, Katie and Alli joined the family after Matt. Roy and Glenda most recently finalized adoptions with siblings Justus and Jenny in September.
Following the family path
It was Roy’s service in law enforcement that brought Matt into the fold and opened the family up to how important adoption can be.
Matt has since followed in his father’s footsteps. He spent three years with the Shelby Police Department and now, like his father, serves in the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office.
Roy said seeing Matt follow his path into law enforcement has given him a sense of pride.
Though he grew up in the Dyer home, Matt believes his family history is a link he has to kids who might come from difficult family situations. It was that connection, and his biological mother’s struggle with drug addiction, that inspired Matt to become Drug Abuse Resistance Education certified.
Matt now hopes to step into the D.A.R.E. program to help kids in the community.
“I think my strong point is community relations and hopefully reaching kids before they get to the point where they’re doing drugs,” Matt said. “In my opinion, it’s just as important to try to steer kids into the right direction as it is catching the adults doing crime.”
Matt isn’t the only child to follow in the footsteps of the parents, albeit in a completely different way.
Two of Roy and Glenda's daughters have gone on to adopt children of their own, and one of their sons is currently going through the process. Matt said he and his wife plan to adopt once their two kids are a little older.
“I think once people can actually see inside and see what it’s like to adopt, then they’re much more open to it,” Roy Dyer said.
By the numbers
Allison Clark, program manager over adoption and foster care at the Cleveland County Department of Social Services, said it isn’t uncommon to see families adopt multiple times, and their team enjoys when it happens.
To Clark, repeat families show how things can go right for the families and the kids who take part in the process. She said the Dyer family is an example of how meaningful adoption can be.
“It is wonderful to see someone open their heart to that extent,” Clark said. “They just pour everything they have into those children.”
There are currently 62 children cleared for adoption in Cleveland County. Only nine of those children are not in an adoptive home already.
Between July 2017 and June 2018, the Department of Social Services oversaw 14 adoptions in Cleveland County. The department has already finalized 16 adoptions since July of this year.
“That’s wonderful,” Clark said. “What that says is we’ve identified those forever families and the courts and social workers and attorneys have worked really diligently to make sure those things are finalized.”
Not slowing down
Over his years as a father, Roy has been known for lugging along a video camera and documenting the lives of all 11 kids, from holidays to losing their first teeth to getting their drivers’ licenses.
A collection of nearly 180 DVDs in the Dyer home documents the special moments in the lives of their children.
Though the kids despised the camera at the time, Roy said their oldest children are now excited to look back at the memories the family has shared over the years.
“Now when they come over at Christmas or Thanksgiving, the first thing they want to do is pull out the videos,” he said.
The whole family gets a chance to come together during the holidays, with Roy and Glenda’s adopted and biological kids spanning decades in age.
Though they are now in their late 60s, Roy and Glenda both say they want to continue helping kids for as long as they can. In addition to their adopted kids still at home, the couple currently houses two foster children.
“A lot of people when they get older and they get close to retirement age, they get to thinking about wanting to retire and do and do and do and enjoy, enjoy, enjoy. That ain’t ever been for us,” Roy said. “We just still enjoy having kids around.”
Casey White can be reached at 704-669-3339 or cwhite@shelbystar.com.