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Elsie Olson passed away on Sunday, October 10, 2021, at

The social distancing mandates, imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, isolated family members from each other in 2020.  However, it also resulted in some lifelong friendships between people who would have otherwise never met.  In the case of  99-year-old Minnesota resident Mary O'Neill, that person happens to be her two-year-old neighbor, Benjamin Olson. 

There's 98 years between them...and they were the answer to the loneliness of the pandemic for both.

Friend >> whoo! bubbles. >> reporter: mary's grand and great grandkids all live far away but now new photos of benjamin and baby brother. >> the closest thing to grandchildren i have around here >> reporter: and as the pandemic eased its grip benjamin discovered -- >> you're going to open the fence >> reporter: -- the grass is even greener when you can share a friendship same side of the fence >> whoo. that's nice dirt >> reporter: days passed when their yards remained empty >> i missed them when it was too cold for them to come out >> i've never known that, yeah i'm so happy they have each ot...

Pandemic leads to unlikely friendship between toddler and 99-year-old neighbor TODAY 10 hrs ago Rachel Paula Abrahamson The bright spot of the pandemic for Benjamin Olson, a 2-year-old boy in Minnesota, has been becoming best friends with his next-door neighbor. Her name is Mary O’Neill and she will celebrate her 100th birthday in December. “For more than a year, he didn’t see other kids. He didn’t interact with anyone except our family and Mary,” Benjamin’s mom, Sarah Olson, told TODAY Parents. “They ended up forming an incredibly strong bond.” © Sarah Ols...