Ancestry DNA Test Connects Aging Veteran With Son He Never Knew

A group of North Texas volunteers rallied to help a father and veteran live out his final years with the family he never knew he had.

Mark Elliott says he hopes his family's story inspires others to advocate for aging veterans who need help accessing critical resources.

For most of his life, Elliott never knew his father.

"I remember, you know, as a child, and I just cried and I said, 'God, how come I didn't get a dad?' You know, 'how come I didn't get to have that relationship,'" Elliott said.

Before Elliott's mother died, she shared the name of a man he'd never get to meet. But in January of this year, results from an ancestry DNA test didn't return with any connection to that man. Instead, the results led Elliott and his wife, Sherry, to relatives of Arley Bewley. They helped connect Elliott and Bewley over the phone.

"I said, 'sir, please don't hang up,'" Elliott said, recalling the first time he spoke to his father.

"And his words were, 'I think you might be my father.' So naturally, I had to hear the rest of that," Bewley said, explaining what he remembered from that first call.

Mark and Sherry went to Lufkin to meet Bewley the next day. They say that what they saw there, left them determined to help Bewley.

"We walked into his house and immediately, it was very hard, because of the situation that he was living in. We literally had to knock mice and rats off the bed," said Mark Elliott.

"This is someone who served our country. This is a senior citizen that deserves livable conditions," said Sherry Elliott.

The Elliotts bought a shed to put on their property in Forney and volunteers from several groups, including the Veterans' Resource and Outreach Center, 2 Gals Construction, Third Watch Motorcycle Club, Military Plumbing and The Home Depot, all pitched in to turn it into Bewley's new home.

"I was shocked of how many people were so selfless through this process," said Sherry Elliott.

Within seven months, the now 88-year-old veteran went from living alone, homebound due to health issues, to living right next door to his newfound family and dedicated caretakers.

"I now have five grandchildren, two great-grandchildren," Bewley said. "It's hard to describe how important the two of them and their family has been in my life. I hope that I'm able to live a little bit longer, where we're going to enjoy it."

After all those years apart, Elliott says each day together is a prayer answered.

"I remembered Mark saying, 'when I was a kid, I would lay in bed and pray for a dad,' and now he gets to pray with his dad," Sherry Elliott said.

The family says they're working to redeem the years lost and hope their story highlights the need to support aging veterans, especially those who may struggle to use technology to access services.

The organization Combined Arms helps connect veterans and their families to vetted service organizations with resources to support their needs. You can learn more about their services here.