Love Story: The Bakkens were so in love, they married twice

If Gary Bakken hadn’t been such an attentive son, he might never have met the love of his life.

His mother sold clothes at Savon’s, a store in the then brand-new NorthTown shopping center. On Fridays, she worked late.

“Every Friday, Gary came in to go out to dinner with his mother,” Glenda Bakken, 86, recalled. “I thought that was really special. His mother introduced us.”

Glenda worked at Savon’s while attending Whitworth University (then Whitworth College). Gary was a senior at the college, but their paths hadn’t crossed.

That changed after his mother introduced them.

“I sort of chased him down,” said Glenda. “I was so smitten with him!”

Gary, 87, grinned.

“She stalked me!’

Glenda went to the campus administration building and discovered what classes he was taking. Then, she’d just happened to be passing by several of his classrooms as he was entering or exiting.

He didn’t get the hint.

“I was shy,” he said.

When Savon’s hosted a New Year’s Eve party, he escorted Glenda – and another girl.

“I was so miffed when he dropped me off first,” she recalled.

She attended his graduation and greeted Gary’s family. His mother suggested he invite Glenda to the party afterward. He did. And then he asked her to a movie at the Auto Vue Drive-In on North Division.

Three-and-a-half weeks later, they were engaged.

“I hadn’t dated much, and this hit me smack between the eyes,” Gary said. “It was pretty instantaneous.”

On the Fourth of July, they went to his family’s Priest Lake cabin, and he took her out in his uncle’s boat and proposed. Then, they told the family.

“His mother was a little startled,” Glenda said.

She’d dated other guys and even had been engaged, but no one checked all the boxes like Gary.

“He had a good family,” Glenda said. “I loved how he treated his mom, and we shared a strong faith.”

Plus, he’d already been accepted to dental school at the University of Washington, so she knew he’d be a good provider. When he moved to Seattle for school, Glenda quickly followed.

“We’d already decided I wouldn’t continue at Whitworth,” she said. “By then, I was working for a financial firm, and they had a Seattle office.”

He’d borrow a car to drive to her little apartment, and saying goodbye each night proved difficult.

Their wedding invitations were mailed, and the church booked, but the couple decided not to wait. On Feb. 17, 1960, they went to a judge’s office and tied the knot.

“We got married before we got married,” said Glenda, laughing.

One month later, on March 19, they were wed in Glenda’s family’s church. They didn’t tell their parents about their previous ceremony until their 30th anniversary.

“They cracked up!” she said. “They thought it was so funny!”

After graduating from dental school, Gary joined the Army.

“We were broke,” he explained. “I knew I could go in as a captain.”

Glenda had suffered a series of miscarriages, but while stationed at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, their first son was born.

“He died a day later,” she said. “He had hyaline membrane disease. Jackie Kennedy had lost her son to the same thing the month before.”

Despite their grief, they found joy in military life. They had regular paychecks and made good friends. Gary got to practice all kinds of dentistry.

“I did a lot of specialized things I hadn’t done in dental school.”

And in April 1965, their daughter, Christina, was born.

“We got to go home with a baby girl,” Glenda said.

After he completed his stint in the Army, Gary hung his shingle at an office on Central Avenue and Division Street and hoped patients would find him.

“We weren’t allowed to advertise,” he explained.

Thirteen months after their daughter’s birth, their son Eric completed their family. They raised their kids on Green Bluff, where they lived for 32 years.

That’s where Glenda discovered art.

“I didn’t start painting until I was 50,” she said. “I paint impressionistic oils. I sold and had shows. I was a five-year wonder.”

Meanwhile, Gary and several other dentists had an office building constructed on Cascade Way, where he enjoyed a thriving practice.

“I love the people,” he said. “The first person who walked through my door was still a patient when I retired 37 years later.”

As they celebrate 65 years of marriage, Gary is still crazy about the girl he married twice.

“I love her so much!”

He wishes more couples could know the joy of lifelong love.

“People give up too easily – they quit too soon,” he said.

It wasn’t always easy, but they learned from each other.

“He’s the kindest person I know,” Glenda said. “It’s better to be kind than to be right. I had trouble with that. I had to be right.”

She offers this piece of advice: “Be continually grateful for what you have.”

Even when she was annoyed, Gary could crack her up.

“You can’t be mad at somebody when they make you laugh!” she said. “I’m still in love with him. He’s my best friend.”

Contact Cindy Hval at dchval@juno.com.