Please click on the video tribute below to view Jan's memorial service.

Janice Medona Bakken, 84, died peacefully at home on Sunday, June 5, 2022 surrounded by her family who loved her so much.

She was born on May 22, 1938 to Theodore & Eva (Blackstad) Knutson in Crookston, MN.

Jan was a member of Concordia Lutheran Church.

In 1957, the day before Jan was to attend nurses training in Crookston, Donnie said to her, "Why don't you stay home and we'll get married!" She replied, "OK!" And their 62-year love story began.

She was the first waitress at the Top Notch Steak House in Fertile and that is where she fell in love with Donnie. Jan was united in marriage to Donald Bakken on February 6, 1958.

Jan drove gravel truck and was the bookkeeper for Bakken Trucking. She worked for Larry & Val Burslie in their home-based tax office for 10 years, and then worked 4 years at the Stuhaug & Smeby Tax Office.

At the age of 50, she graduated from nursing school and worked as an Registered Nurse for 29 years in Minnesota and Arizona.

Don & Jan lived most of their married lives in Fertile. The last 16 years were spent in Arizona. In 2021, after Donnie's death, Jan moved to Maple Grove and lived with her son Brian and his wife, Vickie.

In 1975 Jan accepted Jesus Christ as her personal Lord and Savior and began to openly live out her faith by speaking in churches, holding faith-based teachings in her home and being instrumental in starting the Lutheran Teens Encounter Christ program. Jan touched many lives. She always continued to grow in her faith and remained an inspiration to her family and all who knew her.

She is survived by her 4 children, Brian (Vickie), Maple Grove, MN, Renae (Brian) Lindberg, Crosslake MN, Heidi (Kurt) Larson, Mentor, MN, and Brent (Sara), Webster, TX; 17 grandchildren; and 14 great grandchildren.

She is preceded in death by her husband, Donnie; parents, 3 siblings, Kerwin, Duane and Aloma; and several sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law.

Memorial Service: 11:00 AM, Thursday, June 30, 2022 at Concordia Lutheran Church, Fertile, MN.

Visitation: 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM, Wednesday, June 29, 2022 at Concordia Lutheran Church, Fertile, MN, with a prayer service to begin at 7:00 PM.

Inurnment: Concordia Lutheran Cemetery, Fertile, MN.

Please view our guestbook and share condolences online for the family.