Byron Bakke

Byron Bakke, 81, of Radium, MN, died on Wednesday evening, March 22, 2023, in North Valley Health Center, Warren, MN.

Byron Douglas Bakke was born on June 1, 1941, to Alfred and Hattie (Holmestad) Bakke in Beltrami County, MN. He was raised on the family farm northeast of Grygla, MN where he did the work of a man from a young age due to his father's illness. Living without the comforts of electricity and running water, Byron did all the outdoor chores before going to Spruce Grove school and finished them up again well after dark. His love of hard work was something he carried with him the rest of his life.

He moved to Minneapolis in 1967, where he worked as a machinist. He was married to Shirley that same year, and later was married to Alice, who died unexpectedly leaving him a widower. In the 1990s, Byron was married to Kathy, and when that fizzled out, married another Kathy in 1994. Byron had a soft heart and was generous to a fault at times.

The main drive in Byron's life was work. After moving back to the area in December of 2020, he was employed with Ericco Manufacturing, where he put his loyalty to his employer first - even scheduling cancer treatments around his work shifts. When he could scrape time away from doing what he truly loved, Byron enjoyed fishing, and reading.

He will be missed by those who knew him best, by his fellow co-workers, and by his church family at the Viking Covenant Church.

In Lieu of Flowers, his family requests that donations be made to
The Pennington County Humane Society or
The American Cancer Society

FUNERAL SERVICE: Wednesday, March 29, 2023, at 10:30 AM, in Viking Covenant Church, Viking, MN.
VISITATION: One hour prior.
INTERMENT: Following luncheon; Greenwood Cemetery, Thief River Falls, MN.