Michael John Bakula

Our loving, kind and generous father passed away peacefully on November 22, 2020 at the age of 90. Dad was born in Sacramento, CA to Steve and Lucretia Bakula. His formative years were spent at St. Francis Parochial School, Christian Brothers and C.K. McClatchy High Schools before moving on to his college studies. He attended Sacramento Junior College, Oregon State College and the University of California, San Francisco, College of Pharmacy. Dad was drafted into the United States Army and stationed at Fort Lewis, where he was assigned to Madigan Army Hospital, September 1953 – September 1955. He met our mom, Jo Helen Usorac, on a blind date in 1955 at the USO. They married on June 9, 1956 and enjoyed 56 loving years of marriage together. Dad owned and operated Failor Pharmacy for 24 years before retiring in 1996 from his pharmacy career. His retirement was spent spending time with his grandchildren, fine-tuning his chef skills, reading legal thrillers and crime fiction, planning and executing detailed train trips, and rooting on his beloved Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco Giants. Dad enjoyed going out with family for a good meal and a glass of wine. He loved his dream home and took pride in his view of the Sound, his bird feeders, his captain’s chair and the fine art of pondering about life. Forever the optimist, he lived by the mantra, “It’s not the age, it’s the attitude.”

Dad was a long-time member of Holy Cross Catholic Church. He was preceded in death by his parents, his loving wife, his sisters, Mary Johnson and Frances Borba, and granddaughter Alexandra Tanksley. He is survived by his three daughters, Julie Mehegan (Terry), Laurie Vitt (Tom) and Brenda Tanksley, his four grandchildren, Jillian, Kelli, Daniel and David, and one great-grandchild, Erin. He is also survived by his brother, Anthony Bakula of Sacramento, CA, and several nieces and nephews.

Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Thursday, December 3, 2020, 11:00 a.m. at Holy Cross Catholic Church. Due to Pandemic restrictions, registration is required. Please call the Parish at 253-759-3368 to register your attendance. No reception will follow. The Rosary will be recited Wednesday, December 2, 2020, at 7:00 p.m. at Gaffney Funeral Home Chapel, with viewing beginning at 1:00 p.m. Private Interment at Calvary Cemetery. The family suggests memorials to Holy Cross Catholic Church or CHI Franciscan Hospice & Palliative Care. 

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