Arika Elliot, daughter-in-law of the late Bob Elliot, hugs his card-playing buddy Marv Stenberg. (Photo/Farmstead Living.)

Julie Babler

Marvin Stenberg first met Robert “Bob” Elliot when he moved into assisted living in 2018 at Farmstead Living in Moorhead. Bob was tall in stature, and Marv, a little less so — still, they always seemed to see eye to eye. Both were born and raised in the area, and they could often be seen reminiscing about old times. Both served in the military; Marvin spent three years in the Army and 19 in the Air Force; Bob was in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Korean Conflict.

Most of all, they both loved playing cards. Bob was known to bend the rules, depending on what cards he was holding, but Marv didn’t seem to mind. “We were tremendous friends. Our families didn’t really get together. It was just him and me. We had great conversations. He was a great person. A fine person,” said Stenberg of Elliot.

Sadly, the games ended when Bob passed away on July 29.

A month after Bob’s death, his daughter-in-law, Arika Elliot, was organizing for a rummage sale. In between the teacups and t-shirts, she stumbled upon a pair of Air Force dog tags. “I had no idea where they came from, but it’s important to my family to honor our veterans,” Arika said. “I knew I had to return them.”

After hours of research, Arika stumbled across a 90th birthday announcement for a Marvin Stenberg, the very name on the tags. What’s more, the celebration had happened at Farmstead. Arika knew a lot of Bob’s Farmstead friends, but she didn’t recognize Stenberg’s name. But now she was able to connect the dots back to her father-in-law’s Farmstead neighborhood.

Arika called Stenberg’s wife, Cora, to arrange to return the tags. Cora asked her if she was related to Bob Elliot, then Cora told her that the two often played cards together at the living center. “I was shocked,” Cora commented. “Bob had just passed in July. It was like finding a piece of him.” 

Returning the tags to Marv was an emotional moment for Elliot: “It just gave us another connection to my father-in-law and brought us back to Farmstead so soon after his passing. Just a surreal moment.”

Marv, too, was emotional … and a bit perplexed. “I didn’t know they were gone,” he said. “There was no way anyone else would have a pair.”

If only the dog tags could talk. They would, no doubt, have many stories to tell.