Rev. Halver Elias Nelson Bakke (1885-1954)

BAKKE, ERICKSON, NELSON, MALAND, HOLTAN

Posted By: Dorian Myhre (email)
Date: 5/17/2021 at 16:53:13

From Nevada Evening Journal January 8, 1955 (page 4)

Many People Pay Last Respect To Rev. H. N. Bakke

McCallsburg--The last rites for Rev. H. N. Bakke were held Monday afternoon, Jan. 3 at the Bethany Lutheran church in McCallsburg which was filled to capacity with relatives and friends from far and near who came to pay their respects to the deceased.

Burial was in the McCallsburg cemetery.

Rev. P. R. Heller officiated. The sermon was given by Rev. Olaf Holen of Roland. Other Pastors participating in the services were Rev. V. T. Jordahl, South Central District President, Rev. I. B. Sorenson, President of the Story City Pastoral Conference, Rev. P. O. Wee, Windom, Minn., Rev. T. J. Alvestad, Story City, Rev. A. I. Kvamme, Radcliffe. There were other pastors present.

The casket bearers were Henry Aasheim, Andrew Bergland, Clyde Baumgardner, Frank Beran, Peter Johnson and Osmond Ritland.

Mrs. Carroll Lura was organist. A duet "My God and I" was sung by Mrs. B. A. Imsland and Mrs. G. E. DuBois. Soloist Roger Holtan of Thor sang a Norwegian song "Den Store Vide Flock Ve Ser."

The many floral gifts were in charge of Mrs. Orville Ellingson and Mrs. Delmer Helland. There were a great number of memorial gifts for missions and various projects.

Obituary

Halver Elias Nelson Bakke, son of Nels Halverson Bakke and Kari Erickson, was born September 6, 1885 in Sunds parish near Bergen, Norway. He was confirmed in Sunds church in the fall of 1900. In the spring of 1901 he came to America to an uncle living near Hatton, North Dakota. He attended Bruflat Academy Portland, North Dakota the winters 1901 and 1902. The fall of 1903 he became a student at Red Wing Seminary at Red Wing, Minnesota.

In the spring of 1908 he graduated from the Junior College of Red Wing Seminary, and after ordination he accepted a call to Cando, North Dakota. He was united in marriage in 1910 to Rose Amelia Nelson of Eagle Bend, Minnesota. To this union were born three children, Harold of Suisun, California; Milford of Eagle Bend, Minn., and Mildred who died in infancy.

He also served parishes in Bontineau, North Dakota; Immanuel in St. Paul, Minn. and Peterson, Minn. While serving in Peterson his first wife passed away.

In 1922 he was united in marriage to Inger Marie Maland of Peterson, Minn. and to them four children were born Erlin, who preceded him in death in 1951, Richard of Kearney, Nebraska, Cora Mae of Minneapolis and Lois, Mrs. Richard Holtan, of Thor, Iowa.

In 1928 he accepted a call to the Bethany Lutheran church in McCallsburg, and Zion, a country parish southwest of Garden City and served these two congregations until January, 1954. He retired at that time after forty-one years in the ministry of which twenty five were in the McCallsburg and Zion churches.

Pastor Bakke had been in ill health since July 1953 when he suffered a stroke. Death came very suddenly from a heart attack Thursday evening, December 30, 1954 jut a week after the family had moved to their new home at Story City.

Surviving him are his wife, five children and four grandchildren.