Stephen A. Elliott

Stephen Elliott, age 76 of Howard Lake, formerly of Villard died Saturday, June 14, 2025 at the Good Samaritan Home in Howard Lake. Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 26th at the Hoplin-Hitchcock Funeral Home in Glenwood. Visitation will be from noon until the service at 2:00 p.m. Interment will be in the Lake Amelia Cemetery in Villard. Arrangements are with the Hoplin-Hitchcock Funeral Home in Glenwood.

Stephen Elliott, son of Cecil A. and Emily May (Tolbert) Elliott, was born October 8, 1948, in Glenwood, MN.  Stephen, along with his three younger brothers, grew up on a farm north of Lake Villard in Pope County, on land adjacent to Cecil’s parents, Ezra and Florence (Holman) Elliott, where they farmed grain and raised pigs.  Stephen always remembered the day that Ezra and Florence sold their work horse team after buying their first tractor.  He also remembered the day they got their first television.

Stephen attended Villard High School, where he sang in the choir, played trombone in the band, and played eight-man football (guard) and baseball.  He graduated as Valedictorian of the 28 people in the class of 1966. Yoyos were trendy at the time, and Stephen and his friends would compete to show off their fanciest moves. His high school pictures demonstrate that Brylcreem was also in fashion.

Stephen continued his education at Moorhead State University where he earned a degree in Music Education in 1970. As a freshman, he successfully auditioned for the award-winning MSU stage band. The band was led by director Al Noice, and they once got to play backup for Doc Severinson when his own band was delayed. Stephen protested the Vietnam War, but reluctantly because he disliked drawing attention to himself. He also attended the “Midwestern Woodstock” in Zap, ND. Stephen later admitted that he probably should have spent more time on his college classes and less time drinking beer with his friends.

Stephen married Ruth Pepple in 1969 and after college graduation, they moved to Fenelon Falls, Ontario, for his first post as a music teacher. Next was Browns Valley, MN, where their son Brent was born in 1971.  Stephen taught for one more year in Max, ND, and their daughter, Erin, was born in 1974. 

Stephen missed working outside, so he moved his family back to Villard and took over part of his parents’ farm. He and Ruth built a house on the original homestead next to his grandparents and about a half mile from his folks. He loved farming, farm machinery, and working with his hands, but he got less enjoyment out of repairing the equipment when it broke. In addition to farming, Stephen took a job with the Pope County Highway Department in Glenwood, where he spent winters driving snow plow, and the rest of the year farming and repairing and maintaining county roads.

In 1979, Stephen married Vicki Justice, and her son Bobby (1977) was added to the family. Their youngest son, Michael, was born in 1980.  Stephen’s household was somewhat bohemian with few rules but lots of joy and love, books, and music. He was a naturally curious person who absorbed magazines about current events, science, engineering, and nature, and he had a large collection of paperback science fiction. With encouragement from Steve, his parents, and his brothers, the kids in the next generation have become engineers, high-tech workers, readers, and musicians.

The family attended the United Methodist Church in Villard, where Stephen’s baritone voice was an anchor for the choir and the church. He believed that the most important part of church was the coffee after, when the community would visit and support one another. He also had faith that quietly doing the right thing would speak for itself, and may not have known that he was a role model for many.

Stephen met his significant other, Jane Wicklander, while teaching math in an adult education program in Alexandria. Jane was a Media Specialist in the Alexandria school system. They were together for 25 years. Stephen retired in 2011 and Jane in 2010, and they filled their time with concerts, plays, and travel. Stephen bought a Mustang convertible, which was his first-ever new car. There was hardly a place in the U.S. that they didn’t visit: several trips to Florida, many trips to visit the grandkids in Wyoming, they drove all the way around the Great Lakes, saw the tall ships in Duluth, looped out to Seattle and back, toured Zion and Arches national parks in Utah, went down to New Orleans, saw Nashville, Baltimore, and more. They also went to Iceland and to Cancun, Playa del Carmen, and Cozumel in Mexico. They attended the State Fair every year, and particularly loved Itasca State Park.

When home, Stephen enjoyed mowing his property and landscaping with his skidsteer. After surgery for a heart pump in 2017, his first question for the surgeons was how long it would be until he could run his chainsaw again. He loved the view out of the bay window in the living room, overlooking the fields and slough to the south. He adored his grandkids, and loved having the entire family visit on Sundays. He was never happier than at Christmas when all the grandkids were running around with the new Nerf guns that he handed out every year.

Stephen had heart trouble, but his strength of character always showed through. After a stroke in late 2022, he went to the Good Samaritan Center in Howard Lake, where he visited with everyone, sang with the pastor on Sundays, and charmed the entire staff. Stephen’s life was an example of always making the best of things and finding joy wherever it can be found.

Stephen is survived by his partner, Jane Wicklander; his children, Brent and Jennifer Elliott, Erin Elliott and Craig Smith, Bobby and Shawn Olson, and Michael Elliott; by 13 grandchildren; along with his brother and sister-in-law, Rob and Mimi Elliott.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Cecil and Emily Elliott; his brother, Paul; and his baby brother, Ronald.

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