Gerald "Gerry" Bakken was quick with a joke. More specifically, his were "pop jokes," the affectionate term for his punny quips that more often elicited an eye roll or groan instead of a laugh.
Bakken, a longtime gym teacher in St. Louis Park, was also a hobby photographer and often titled his works to reflect his humor. A rather artsy-looking photograph of a coiled telephone cord against a blue background, for example, was named "cordon bleu" because, well, it was a cord. On blue.
Bakken kept his sense of playfulness right up until his final days, even making cracks about inflation ("What's up?" Answer: "The cost of milk.") from his hospital bed. He died May 24 at Methodist Hospital from what his family believes was heart failure amid a series of health complications, including prostate cancer. He was 82.
"He was a very special man who could make you feel very special," said Sammy Miller, one of his grandchildren.
Miller works as an educational assistant and credits Bakken for inspiring a desire to work with children. Bakken loved teaching physical education at Aquila Elementary and was especially proud of helping his students find a love for being active.
On Facebook, comments from Bakken's former students confirm that he did just that: "Mr. Bakken was great!" read one comment. "Made gym a fun class."
Bakken was born in 1940 in Duluth and raised in Proctor, Minn. He attended the University of Minnesota Duluth where he received his bachelor's degree in physical education.
In 1964, he married his high school sweetheart, Judith. After more than a half century of marriage, he could still recall the first time he saw her, deciding in that moment that he needed to talk to the cute girl with the blond ponytail.
