Ann-Elise Bakkum

Ann-Elise Bakkum, 88, of Waukon, IA, died Wednesday, August 11, 2021, at Good Samaritan Center in Waukon. A joint funeral service will be held for her and her daughter DiAnn Bakkum on Sunday, August 22nd, at 1:00 PM at Old West Paint Creek Lutheran Church in rural Waukon, IA, with Pastor Ken Kimball officiating, and burial in the church cemetery. Friends may greet the family from 11:30 AM until the time of services on Sunday at the church. Martin-Grau Funeral Home in Waukon is handling arrangements. In lieu of plants and flowers, the family requests memorials be made to Old West Paint Creek Lutheran Church, Good Samaritan Society, Veterans Memorial Hospital, all in Waukon, or to a hospice of your choice.

Ann-Elise Bakkum was born on November 20, 1932, in Tromsø, Norway (north of the Arctic Circle), the daughter of Sigurd and Georgine (Normann) Hagen, the youngest of four children. She was baptized there and attended school through the 6th grade before going to work cleaning for people. This was during the Nazi occupation, a time when the Nazis invaded homes, forced businesses to close, and rationed food. Ann-Elise almost never spoke of this time period during her later life. Following the end of WWII, Ann-Elise and her family moved to the Norwegian countryside, where she was confirmed, and she also lived with her older sister in Oslo. At 18, her uncle sponsored her to come to the U.S., so without speaking a word of English, Ann-Elise packed up and moved to Waukon, IA, to help her uncle run the Elon Store and to work for local families.

While at the store, she met a regular customer named Orville Raymond Bakkum; they married on December 31, 1951, at Old West Paint Creek Lutheran Church in rural Waukon. They farmed and raised their family in the Elon area. Later, Ann-Elise worked in the dietary department at Good Samaritan Society and at the Uptown Motel in Waukon. A member of Old West, she was active in the ladies' circles and church choir, possessing the ability to hit the high notes.

She enjoyed dancing, playing cards and other games, whistling, and had a wicked sense of humor. She took great pride in her lawn and loved planting flowers. A great baker, Ann-Elise brought treats to everyone she visited. She also loved traveling and made four trips back to Norway and recently could be seen making her way around Waukon on her daily walks. Despite 70+ years in the U.S., Ann-Elise never obtained U.S. citizenship because she was afraid she wouldn't pass the test and couldn't be convinced otherwise.

Ann-Elise is survived by two children: Allan (Beverly) Bakkum of Decorah, IA, and Carol (Richard) Brown of Nevada, IA; grandchildren: Michelle (Robert) Shaw, Eric, Paul, and Alisha Bakkum, Sarah (Matt) Greene, David (Robin) Vowell, Rebecca Schuster, Tasha (Joe) Evola, and Trevor (Briah) Brown; 10 great-grandchildren; and nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents; husband Orville in 1980; daughter DiAnn Bakkum on August 7, 2021; great-grandson Orrin Avery Schuster; her siblings: Margareth Wiig, Sigurd Hagen, and Sonja Westerboten; a sister-in-law and her husband Eleanor and Otto Thorstenson; and father and mother-in-law Arnold and Irene Bakkum.

Ann-Elise's grandchildren will serve as casketbearers.