In the obituary for Dorothy Belle Van Horn Hunsaker, it states that her parents were Van Horn but that 3 of 4 surviving siblings are Smothers. I could think of only four ways this could occur: the obit was vague or obfuscated; Van Horn fathered her with Smothers' wife; Smothers fathered her with Van Horn's wife; or she was legitimate Smothers and adopted by Van Horn. The last solution best fits the stated facts, and is the least tawdry. I also consider that, having lost his wife when the child was 3 years old, Melvin may have seen putting his daughter up for adoption as the best for her.