Margaret “Meg” Bakke passed away in her home on Nov. 13, 2020 in Stanwood, Wash., due to complications from lymphoma. This was her seventh cancer diagnosis and even though she wanted to fight as she had done many times before, she was unable to recover.

Meg was born July 15, 1933 in The Bronx, N.Y., to her parents, Morris and Hani Malek. Meg didn’t start talking until age 3. Her nickname was “Tish Tash” after a comic book character who didn’t talk.

In kindergarten, she was able to write in cursive and wrote her first poem. Meg received the “All Around Camper” award at the age of 15 while attending Camp Wayne, where she spent many wonderful summers as a camper and later as a counselor. She graduated from William Taft High School and also from Brooklyn College, where she received a degree in romance languages.

After taking a road trip across the country with her parents in a 1954 DeSoto to visit her sister in Seattle, Meg decided to move west. She met her husband-to-be, Everett Bakke, after joining The Mountaineers and they were married three months later, in 1956.

Meg and Everett lived in Seattle, Wash., where their first three children were born. Everett worked as a sanitarian for the Seattle Health Department and Meg worked part-time as a medical transcriber. Years later, Ev secured a higher position in a Health Department close to family in Long Beach, Calif., where Meg and Ev volunteered with The Boy Scouts of America. Ev was the Scoutmaster and Meg was their son’s den mother. In 1971, another job opportunity for Ev took the family to Bountiful, Utah, where they had their fourth child. While in Utah, they also purchased a Montgomery Ward store, in which Meg worked full time.

In 1974, Ev was hired as Director of Health for Island County, and they moved the family back to Washington state. They later established ESCO Graphics in Oak Harbor, Wash. Meg enjoyed the relationships she developed while working at the front counter of their stores. She was a “people person” and loved the conversations that she had with customers, friends and family. Meg loved music and was an active member of Oak Harbor’s Community Concert program that brought musical acts in from around the world. She was also an avid reader and made it a goal to make people smile and laugh wherever she went. She loved picnics at Deception Pass State Park and the beauty of the Pacific Northwest.

Meg is survived by her son Peter and daughter-in-law Karla Bakke; son Eric and daughter-in-law Linda Bakke; daughter Karen Bakke; daughter Janet and son-in-law Willy Hughes; four grandchildren; one great grandchild; sister Gerri Schulman; and brother David Malek.

She was preceded in death by her beloved husband Everett, brother Jack Malek and her parents.

Meg will be buried with her husband Everett, on Whidbey Island. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Stanwood Senior Center.