Leona (Hanson) Bakken age 91 of East Grand Forks, MN, died unexpectedly on Wednesday, June 16, 2021 at Altru Hospital, Grand Forks, ND.

Leona was born January 20, 1930 in Crookston, MN to Carl and Mary (Kuhn) Hanson.  She attended Crookston Public Schools and graduated in 1948.  On June 30, 1949 she married her neighborhood high school sweetheart, Alfred "Buck" Bakken Jr. whom she loved dearly and was married to for 57 years.  They moved to East Grand Forks and began raising their seven children.  Leona was a stay at home mom.  She invested heavily in her children mentally, physically, and spiritually.  She was a prayer warrior for her children, grandchildren, family and friends.  Leona was an active member of Our Savior's Lutheran Church for many years.  She would be found leading Bible Study, working in the kitchen, loving and supporting others.  Volunteering was an active job for her.  She was playground supervisor at Valley Elementary, hospital front desk, Home Delivered Meals, Eagles Auxiliary and many other areas when needed.  She felt blessed by God and wanted to bless others.  She loved a good conversation, reading, learning, gardening, and canning (especially Dill Pickles), baking cookies and buns, traveling and being with family and friends.  She will be dearly missed by her family and friends.

May God richly bless the memory of Leona Bakken

She is survived by one daughter and four sons:  Linda Coons of Argusville, ND, Glenn (Darla) Bakken of Warren, MN, Wayne (Jan) Bakken of East Grand Forks, MN, Michael A. (Raelene) Bakken of Brandon, MN and Keith (Mary) Bakken of St. Paul, MN; a sister, Shirley (Ed) Strander of Cass Lake, MN and brother Dale (Marlene) Hanson of Hallock, MN and daughter-in-law, Linda Bakken of East Grand Forks, MN; 21 grandchildren; 43 great-grandchildren and 7 great-great-grandchildren plus lots of others who called her grandma.

Leona is preceded in death by her husband, Buck; and infant daughter Sandy; one son, Bruce; her parents; one sister Ginny and two granddaughters, Sande and Debbie.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to Our Savior's Lutheran Church Bakken Scholarship or Our Savior's Lutheran Radio Fund.

Funeral Service: 11:00 AM on Tuesday, June 22, 2021 in Our Savior's Lutheran Church, 1515 5 ^th Ave. NW, East Grand Forks, MN

Funeral Service will be livestreamed on Dahl Funeral Home Website and Our Savior's Lutheran Church Website

Visitation: 5:00 to 7:00 with a 7:00 PM Prayer Service on Monday, June 21, 2021 in Dahl Funeral Home, 2029 Central Ave. NW, East Grand Forks, MN and also 1 hour prior Funeral Service on Tuesday in Our Savior's Lutheran Church.

Interment: Resurrection Cemetery ~ East Grand Forks, MN.