Robert Glendon Bakke

Robert G. Bakke, husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather, passed away on March 16, 2026 in Thornton, Colorado. He was born on July 4, 1935 on a farm near Grygla, Minnesota to the late Alfred and Hattie (Holmestad) Bakke.

Bob grew up and attended a country school near Grygla. The family moved to a couple of farms around Grygla, but stayed in the same vicinity so Bob and his siblings were able to stay in the same country school.

He left home at an early age to work at Forsberg Manufacturing. He spent his youth working various jobs and traveled between Minnesota and Montana where he enjoyed spending time and learning new skills with various employers. He settled back in Minnesota after meeting Vivian Prigge whom he married on December 22, 1957. It was only a few months after the wedding that he was drafted into the army. He completed his basic training in Colorado Springs and was subsequently stationed in Oahu, Hawaii which is where his first daughter Kitty (Kathy) was born. He returned to Thief River Falls, Minnesota, where his second daughter (Kelly) was born, and secured a job as a machinist with Dow-Key Co, as well as part-time work at a local dairy farm. In the fall of 1966, Dow-Key transferred to Colorado and Bob and his family settled in Westminster, where his son (Robbie) was born.

When Dow-Key left the state, Bob and his family stayed in Colorado where he continued his career as a machinist with various companies. He had become a skilled mechanic throughout this time, and eventually left his machinist position to work with Mile-Hi Fire Equipment as a mechanic which is where he worked until he retired in 1999. The death of his wife in 2000 was a tremendous loss but he kept busy with part-time work, mechanical repairs and tinkering with various projects.

Bob loved learning new skills and could fix nearly anything that would break. He was the mechanic, handy-man, inventor and all-around Mr. Fix-it for not only his entire family, but for many of his friends as well.

When the kids were young, he enjoyed family road trips in the 1955 converted camper school bus to local lakes and mountains to camp and travels to Minnesota to visit extended family and friends.

Bob enjoyed spending time with his family and grandkids and took on the role of tending to the stray cats of the neighborhood; he always had a soft spot for animals in need.

Bob is survived by a host of family that includes his children Kitty (John) Wood of Arvada, CO; Kelly of Westminster, CO; Robbie (Christi) of Grand Forks, ND; grandchildren Michael, Megan, Liz, Nick, Lauryn, Morgan and Camlyn; great-grandchildren Lilly, Lincoln, Adeline, Wyatt, Kael and Espen and soon to be in June, Vivian; sister Pat (Ron) Braaten of Thief River Falls, MN. In addition to his parents, Bob is preceded in death by his siblings Charles, Harriet, Marian, Jean, Donna, and Byron.

Services will be held on Wednesday, April 8th, and will start with a visitation at 9:00 am followed by services and a reception at Horan and McConaty, 7577 W. 80th Avenue, Arvada, CO. Following the reception, you can join the family at the burial site in the Arvada Cemetery located at 5581 Independence St., Arvada, CO. A procession will start at the gate and proceed to the site.

Please visit horancares.com to share personal condolences and memories with the Bakke family.