Melody Anne Bakken 1966 - 2020

BAKKEN, RANEY, CARTER

Posted By: Connie Swearingen (email)
Date: 7/13/2020 at 23:02:26

Sioux City Journal
19 May 2020

Melody A. Bakken

North Liberty, Iowa, formerly Sioux City

Melody Anne Bakken, 53, of North Liberty, formerly of Sioux City, passed away peacefully on Thursday, May 7, 2020, at her home, following a courageous nine-year battle with osteosarcoma. She was surrounded by her loving family.

To celebrate her life just as she wanted, services will be held at Terry Trueblood Recreation Area after the coronavirus pandemic restrictions have been lifted. Please share a memory of Melody or send your condolences to the family at www.lensingfuneral.com, where service details will be posted when a date has been set.

Melody was born on Oct. 24, 1966, in Sioux City, to Richard Jr. and Sallie (Raney) Carter. She was raised in Sioux City, where she also graduated from Sioux City North High School in 1985 before attending Buena Vista College in Storm Lake, Iowa, where she met the love of her life.

After graduating in 1989 with her bachelor's degree from Buena Vista, she continued her education at the University of Iowa to obtain her dream job of becoming an embryologist. In 1990, Melody began work as a public health microbiologist at the State Hygienic Lab in Coralville, Iowa. Six years later, Melody began working as an embryologist at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, where she worked until she passed.

Melody married the love of her life, Jeff Allan Bakken, on June 23, 1990, in Northwood, Iowa. The couple lived in Cedar Rapids for 11 years before settling in North Liberty for the last 20 years. Becoming a mother to her three children, Jakeb, Jaclyn, and Jayson, was the best gift that she could have ever asked for.

Melody was dedicated to her role as an embryologist, working for the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics for 24 years.

If you knew Melody, you know that no matter what cancer threw at her, it didn't stop her from working. Even in her final weeks, Melody spoke in hope of returning to work. She loved her job, the families she formed, and the friends she made during her time as an embryologist.

She loved working with her husband around their house to make it a home for their family, spending time on the phone every morning with her oldest son, shopping with her daughter, and watching Marvel movies with her youngest son.

Aside from the things she loved doing with her family, she also loved being outdoors, traveling to the Wisconsin Dells and Lake Okoboji in her children's early ages, flying to Cancun or Punta Cana for spring breaks, attending games at Wrigley Field to support the Chicago Cubs, reading any and all books she could get her hands on, and keeping her home clean.

Above all, Melody loved her family and time spent with them brought her so much joy. No matter how ill cancer made her, she never missed a school or sporting event. In fact, during her years as a softball coach, she still made it to all games and practices even while undergoing chemotherapy. Melody was always the loudest parent in the stands and supported her children wholeheartedly in anything they put their minds to.

She was always the first person her children would turn to in times of good and bad news. She was their person and they were hers. Her family will continue to live out through Melody by asking themselves, ”what would Melody do?”

She leaves behind a legacy which will live on in her loving family, her husband, Jeff Bakken of North Liberty; their children, Jakeb Bakken of Ames, Iowa, Jaclyn Bakken, and Jayson Bakken, both of North Liberty; three brothers, Richard Carter of Hawthorne, Wis., Robin (Cindy) Carter of Omaha, and Russell (Anne) Carter of Fernandina Beach, Fla.; four sisters, Dawn Hoberg of Surprise, Ariz. Eve Carter of Phoenix, Ariz., Honey (Skip) Yates of Underwood, Iowa, and Wendy (Jerry) Solberg of Des Moines; her in-laws, Jerry and Bonnie Bakken of Northwood, Iowa; two sister-in-laws, Julie (Bill) Cooney of Clear Lake, Iowa, and Jennifer (Tim) Haugebak of Anthem, Ariz.; along with numerous nieces, nephews, grandnieces, and grandnephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be directed to the family to be distributed to organizations that were important to Melody.