Bakke, Dorothy Virginia

Dorothy Virginia Bakke, 89, of Postville, formerly of Lake Mills, died Sunday, Sept. 5, 2010, at the Good Samaritan Center, Postville. Funeral Services will be held at 11:30 a.m. Friday at the Normandale Lutheran Church in Edina, Minn. Burial will follow in the Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis, Minn. Visitation will be held one hour before services Friday at the church. Schutte-Grau Funeral Home and Cremation Service of Postville, Iowa, is in charge of arrangements.Survivors include her three children, Stephen (Lois) Bakke of Edina, Minn., Rebecca (Peter) Olafsen of Monona, and Kathleen (Eric) Peterson of Winona, Minn.; five grandchildren, Jeff Bakke, Jason Bakke, Phil Olafsen, Cory Peterson and Nate Olafsen; five great-grandchildren, Benjamin, Grace and Charlotte Bakke, and Jacob and Jackson Bakke; one sister, Geneva Linington; and two brothers-in-law, Donovan (Irene) Bakke and Patrick Morrissey.Dorothy was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Lewis Bakke in 1988; and two sisters, Phylis Facey and Deloris Morrisey.Dorothy was born on Sept. 24, 1920, in Mayville, N.D., to A.C. (Clem) and Emma (Skarnes) Parke. She was baptized and confirmed in Mayville Lutheran Church in Mayville, N.D.She attended public school in Mayville and then moved to Inkster, N.D., where she graduated from high school. She received her bachelor's degree from Mayville State Teachers College in Mayville. Dorothy taught in Steven, Minn., while her fiance, Lewis Emmett Bakke, served in the Navy during World War II.Dorothy and Lewis were united in marriage on August 26, 1945, in Lakota, N.D. Three children were born to this union. Dorothy worked at the Luther Theological Seminary in St. Paul, Minn., while Lewy attended. They moved to rural Robinson, Kan., in 1949, where Lewis accepted the call to Upper Wolf Evangelical Lutheran Church. In 1958, they moved to Lake Mills, Iowa, where her husband served two rural Lutheran parishes, Beaver Creek and Bethel. In 2003, Dorothy moved to Forest Plaza Assisted Living in Forest City, Iowa. She became a resident at the Good Samaritan Center in Postville, Iowa, in 2007.Dorothy made it her crusade to make others laugh and visit shut-ins. She had a marriage devoted to loving and caring for her husband who had multiple sclerosis and assisting him in his ministry. She will be greatly missed by all who knew her.Memorials may be directed to M.S. Society, Salem Lutheran Church, Lake Mills, Iowa, and Alzheimer's Association.Condolences may be left with: