Gary A. Haakenson, 74, of Tioga, ND passed away Saturday, July 22, 2023 after his fight with cancer, at the Tioga Medical Center in Tioga, ND.

Gary was born to Art and Glorys (Syverson) Haakenson on May 8, 1949. He was raised, baptized, and confirmed in the Lutheran faith. He attended Tioga Public School where he played the trumpet in band, was in wrestling, basketball and football. People always told us he was one of the best football players to come out of Tioga, but he never felt that way. THS made history in his junior and senior years when the Tioga Pirates were the 1965 & 1966 Northwest Conference Champions. Gary was awarded MVP his senior year.

After graduation he entered the Air Force to become a medic, but after crawling around on the floor for a couple days during training at Fort Leonard Wood they discovered he had an extra vertebra, and he was honorably discharged.

Gary was united in marriage to Gail Ann Halgrimson, September 27, 1969 in McGregor, ND. They became parents to Heather, Heidi, Rick, Amber and Trista.

Over the years he worked for Kelly Coppage, Castle Insurance, R.A. Patel and finally settled back into his hometown of Tioga managing and eventually purchasing the Tioga Motel.

Gary loved sports of all kinds and was fond of watching many different games at one time. That is until the grandkids came along. They were the only ones who could get him to change the channel. We tried at times to steal the remote when he took a nap, even so much as removing it from his hand, but he woke up every time the channel changed. Then the grandkids introduced him to SpongeBob! After that you could always find him watching SpongeBob with them no matter what else was on and sometimes without the grandkids at all!

Gary loved music! He loved listening to the records he collected over the years. He also enjoyed making cassette tapes and CDS for family and friends. He loved going to concerts with Gail where he found a love of collecting autographs and meeting hundreds of artists in person. He had many creative ways of getting autographs.

He also enjoyed playing cards and was very competitive. Cards were always a form of entertainment at our house. People who had come for card night always said we should sell tickets due to entertainment value.

He always loved spur of the moment vacations. Several times we were woken up in the middle of the night packing bags and hitting the road. But his favorite time to take vacations always seemed to be during class reunions to Linda Faye and Kendell’s dismay!

He had a love for old sitcoms like MASH and Andy Griffith. You could also find him watching the History and Discovery Channels. He enjoyed watching movies new and old. He had several favorite movies that he would watch on repeat. Gail was extremely happy the day he got his first pair of TV headphones. We could easily recite several of them word for word.

Gary loved spending time and visiting with his family and friends. He always had a bright smile and contagious laugh.

Gary is survived by his wife, Gail (Halgrimson) Haakenson of Tioga, ND; daughter, Heather (Darren) Hauf and their children, Ean, Brayden, and Carson of Benedict, ND; son, Rick (Annette Lovdahl) Haakenson and their children, Hannah, Katie, Alex and Ryan of McGregor, ND; daughter, Amber Haakenson of Tioga, ND; daughter, Trista Vandermark and her children, Kadin and Rosalie of Tioga, ND; brother, Kirk Haakenson; aunt, Lorella Haakenson of Washington; numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Art and Glorys Haakenson; infant daughter, Heidi Lynne Haakenson (Heather's twin); grandson, Ethan Alex Haakenson; in-laws, Joe and Alvina Halgrimson.