Bakken, James (Jim), former Ford Motor Company Senior Vice President and important contributor to Ford?s turn-around in the ?80?s, passed away Wednesday, November 26, 2014 at the age of 90.
Mr. Bakken was born April 17, 1924, in Mt. Horeb, WI and was recruited from the University of Wisconsin in 1945. In 1963 he received an Alfred Sloan Fellowship to pursue a Masters Degree in Industrial Management at M.I.T. He remained with the company until his retirement in 1989. During that time he served as General Manager of Metal Stamping, General Products, Climate Control, Plastics, Electrical, and Electronics. His mantra seemed to be, ?Don?t say ?can?t?. Ask yourself, ?How??? As Vice President of the Company, he headed North America?s Body and Assembly, Tractor division, and Operations Support Staffs for Corporate Quality, Manufacturing, and Purchasing and Plant Engineering.
During his career, Mr. Bakken was recognized with a Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Wisconsin, awarded a Beta Gamma Sigma Honorary and in 1984 received the Society of Manufacturing Engineer?s Eli Whitney Award for manufacturing and organizational restructuring. Four years later he was appointed to the first judges? panel for the Malcolm Balridge Award which recognized quality and improvement and joined President Reagan at the awards ceremony.
Mr. Bakken remained active professionally following his retirement. He served on many Boards of Directors including the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, Oakwood Hospital, the Conference Board of the N.Y. Quality Management Center, Simpson Industries, Aetna Industries, Livernois Engineering and the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences.
Mr. Bakken was living in Dearborn and is survived by his wife of 68 years, Jeanne DeBerard Bakken. Also his children Claudia Nickel of Dearborn, James Bakken Jr. (Kathy) of Sarasota, FL, David Bakken (Amy) of Stevens Pt, WI, Jennifer Geiger (Mark) of West Bloomfield, and Mary Ellen Ellis (Brett) of Farmington Hills. Also survived by 13 grandchildren and two great grandsons.
Memorial service Wednesday 11:00 am at Guardian Lutheran Church, 24544 Cherry Hill St, Dearborn.
In lieu of flowers, contributions welcome to Guardian Lutheran Church or Oakwood Hospital Foundation in his memory.
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