Ernie Bakke passed away on September 3rd, 2014 at 12:45 a.m. at Pattaya Memorial Hospital after being diagnosed with having two brain tumors. He was 67 years old at the time of his death.
Ernie’s cremation rites were held on September 7th, 2014 at Wat Chaiyapruek, Phetchabun. He is survived by his wife Bin here in Thailand and son Troy, brother Billy and other relatives back in Canada.
Ernie Bakke 1947 – 2014
One of his favorite pastimes on his returns to Pattaya was going on the PH3 Monday runs. Here is a recent quote from Billy “Kidney Wiper” Sheal: “First was a minute’s silence and toast to our lately departed and much loved Uncle Pervy. A true icon of the Pattaya Hash House Harriers and one of the longest attending members. We will always remember how he held sway on the tailgate of his truck, dishing out copious amounts of home brew as we sat comfortably in the chairs he always brought along. I think we solved every problem of the world, and some, sitting there. It was also great to see his brother Golden Dildo (and his daughter Laura Lee) managed to make it to the hash this Monday.”
Ernie was also a member of TOFFS H3 and would participate in their weekly Wednesday “runs” in and around Pattaya.
Ernie also made his presence known on the local Pattaya golf scene. He was one of the original members of the World Famous Pattaya Golf Dream Team, along with fellow “golfers” Wayne Tishburn, Kurt Farnham and Jack Levy. What made this foursome famous was that they could play the fastest round of golf while accumulating the highest number of strokes in the tournament.
Every now and then some strange things happen and a member of the Dream Team will come up a winner. Ernie once won a “knotted putter” trophy for the longest drive in the Rabbits division during the TAGGS Invitational 2002 Championships.
He was also one of the co-founders of the Hoser Goofing Golf Tournament in Khon Kaen which attracted a number of local Pattaya golfers and helped keep this event going after Hoser’s death in 2011.
As a number of Ernie’s friends could not attend his cremation in Phetchabun, plans to hold a final get together here in Pattaya are in progress now and we will make this information available later.