Joann (Oftebro) Bakken

Aug. 27, 1938 - Dec. 29, 2019 San Jose, CA

On December 29, 2019, God’s faithful servant, Joan Marie Oftebro Bakken, was called home to bask in the glow of heaven’s delight. Joan was born in Williston, North Dakota, on August 27, 1938. At an early age, Joan upheld God’s long-term plan of servanthood in the faith. She and her parents, Ken and Millie, moved to Northern California’s fruitful Salinas valley in the early 1950s. There, she, along with her parents, newly born brother, Ron, and grandparents, developed a strong bond for family.

Joan graduated from Salinas High School in the Spring of 1956 and attended Hartnell College before heading off to Pacific Lutheran College (now named Pacific Lutheran University) in Tacoma, Washington. There she developed a skill for teaching. She graduated with her teaching degree in the Spring of 1960.

She met and married Army Bronze Star recipient Orley Bakken on February 11, 1962. They settled in Concord, then, Milpitas, California, where they created their own family. Son, Stephen, was born in 1963, daughter, Cheryl, in 1965, and son, David, in 1967.

Joan passed peacefully on December 29, 2019, after a three-year battle with stroke and dementia-related trauma with her son, Stephen, at her side. She is survived by her oldest son, Stephen, his wife, Kari (Lohre), and three children, Kirk, Kenny Jens, and Kristian Bakken. She is also survived by a daughter, Cheryl (Rositano), and son, Christopher, and his wife, Maddi (Boyer), and daughter, Megan. Lastly, she is survived by her youngest son, David, his wife, Rosemarie (Estioko), and daughter, Kristina, and son, Rikky, and his wife, Bailey (McNab). She is also survived by her brother, Ronald, his wife, Dale (Mapp), and their three children and families. There are innumerable cousins as well.

Services for Joan will be held at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church; 121 S. White Road; San Jose, CA 95127 on Saturday, January 11, 2020, at 12:15. In place of gifts, donations to Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, with a designation to the Forward in Faith Campaign, which funds the Luther Hall renovation, can be made in her honor.

Joan, you are now in the glorious presence of God, our Father, and Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Well done, good and faithful servant!