( image: McAlister-Smith Funeral and Cremation)
Funeral services were held over the weekend for a longtime Monticello High School coach. Richard Bakke passed away June 7th at the age of 86 after a lengthy battle with Parkinson’s Disease.
Richard grew up in St. James, Minnesota, and graduated from St. James High School where he excelled at both football and track. He later graduated from Gustavus Adolphus College.
He and his wife, Alice, resided in Belview, Minnesota where Richard began his teaching and coaching career. They then moved to Monticello where Richard took the high school head football coaching position, coaching his teams to 100 wins, 17 losses and 3 ties, with 10 Wright County Conference Championships from 1965 to 1977. Richard was also an avid outdoorsman.
Services for Richard “Coach” Bakke were held August 8th at the Trinity Lutheran Church of Monticello. The family asks for memorials to the Michael J. Fox Parkinson’s Foundation.
