Bakken, Kaia Pearl (Nelson) -- 1912 - 2000

HOFFLAND, NELSON, BAKKEN

Posted By: IA GenWeb Volunteer
Date: 6/22/2010 at 18:20:10

Decorah Public Opinion, Tuesday, March 21, 2000

Kaia Pearl Bakken

Kaia Bakken, 88, of Decorah, died Wednesday, March 15, 2000, at the Winneshiek County Memorial Hospital.

Funeral services were held Saturday, March 18, at 11 a.m., at First Lutheran Church in Decorah with the Rev. Steven Jacobsen officiating.

The Rev. Marion Pruitt Miller was the organist. Congregational singing included "Rock of Ages" and "Old Rugged Cross."

Casket bearers were grandchildren David Hanson, William Bakken, Alan Bakken, Anthony Bakken, Elaine Abbott, Jeffrey Swenson, Erica Brumley and Murial Bakken. Honorary bearers were the remaining grandchildren.

Burial was at the Lutheran Cemetery in Decorah. The Fjelstul Funeral Home handled arrangements.

Kaia Pearl (Nelson) Bakken was born Feb. 26, 1912, in Madison Township, Winneshiek County, the daughter of Albert and Clara (Hoffland) Nelson.

She attended Decorah Schools and graduated with the Class of 1931.

Kaia was married to Henry Olvin Bakken Aug. 13, 1934, in Minneapolis, Minn. To this union 10 children were born.

She was a longtime employee of Wapsie Produce in Decorah and a long time member of First Lutheran Church in Decorah.

Kaia enjoyed playing bingo with friends and making quilts and afghans for all of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Survivors include four daughters and four sons, Dorothy and Duane Hanson of Faribault, Minn., Arlin and Marion Bakken of Decorah, Merlin Bakken of Decorah, Shirley and Wendell Abbott of Tulsa, Okla., Hubert and Judy Bakken of Decorah, Durwin and Jean Bakken of Decorah, Katherine Swenson of Decorah, and Linda and Doug Martin of Decorah.

Also surviving are 29 grandchildren; 44 great-grandchildren; one great-greatgrandchild; two sisters, Verna Anderson of Rochester, Minn., and Mildred and Tom Larson of Omaha, Neb.; one brother, Alvan and Gladys Nelson of Ellenboro, W. Va.; two sisters-in-law, Alta Nelson of Decorah and Betty Bakken of Rockford, IL; one brother-in-law, Robert Bakken of Springville; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Kaia Bakken was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Henry O. Bakken, who died April 24, 1979; an infant daughter, Muriel; a son, Donald; four brothers, Jessie, Russell, Austin and Clare Nelson; one sister, Belinda Meade; one infant granddaughter, Danielle Swenson; and one infant great-grandson, Ryan Brumley.

Transcribed by an IA GenWeb Volunteer from obituaries found in the Howard-Winneshiek Genealogy Society Library, Cresco, Iowa.