It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Andrea Hauge Bacon, who peacefully left us at the age of 92 in Ripon, WI on October 15th, 2024. Andrea was a guiding light in our community, dedicating two decades of her life as the Director of the Elaine Bacon Literacy Program and remaining an active, beloved member of International Neighbors.
Throughout her life, Andrea embodied the spirit of service and compassion. She was deeply committed to helping others, particularly through her tireless work in literacy education. Under her leadership, the Elaine Bacon Literacy Program flourished, providing invaluable opportunities for countless individuals to gain essential language skills and open doors to brighter futures.
Even beyond her formal roles, Andrea continued to make a meaningful impact wherever she could. Whether mentoring new volunteers, greeting friends with warmth, or participating in community events, she brought joy, wisdom, and kindness to everyone she encountered.
Her love for an active life was evident in everything she did—Andrea believed in the power of connection, lifelong learning, and giving back. These values were central to her personal journey, leaving a legacy that will live on in the hearts of those she touched. We will miss her dearly, but her memory will forever inspire us to live with the same dedication, kindness, and generosity that she so gracefully demonstrated.
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Eulogy from Beth Flynn:
Andrea was director of the Elaine Bacon Literacy Program when I retired from the Department of Humanities at Michigan Tech in 2013. I contacted her in 2014 after I had taken a much- needed break from teaching to see if I might tutor in the program. Always welcoming and generous, she invited me to her home where she was tutoring three students using the newspaper News for You. I said I’d like to try it and was given Tuesdays in the Tech library. Mondays were covered by Linda Dresch and Fridays by Mariana Ewert. Later, Frann Grossman took Wednesdays. On Thursdays students were encouraged to attend International Neighbors at Portage Lake United Church.
After we were evicted from the Tech library because we were not a Tech organization, we arranged to tutor in the choir room of Portage Lake United Church, just across the street from Tech.
Andrea took an active part at International Neighbors so I got to know her there. Soon I was on the EBLP board and got to get to know her even better since she, as director of the program, ran board meetings. She would bring freshly baked zucchini bread to those meetings at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, and we would have tea. There was a plaque on the wall of the community room we used thanking Andrea for her years of service to the church. She was well-organized and so warm and appreciative that I began to wonder what my career would have been like had my supervisors at Tech been like Andrea. Though in her early eighties, she had News for You delivered to her home and then she brought it into town for us, rain, shine, or snow. She lived some distance from town. She retired from the program in 2019 and moved to her son’s in Wisconsin.
Her retirement party was a big bash with singing by students (and sometimes their children), refreshments, and remembrances of Andrea by many who so revered her. We’ve been trying to fill the hole she left ever since. It hasn’t been easy.
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Eulogy from Denise Heikinen, Co-Director of Elaine Bacon Literacy Program
I first met Andrea in the late 70s, when I joined her noontime community exercise program at Suomi College, where she was the Athletic Director. Her teaching method was to encourage each participant’s effort to be healthy. It was my pleasure to cross paths with her repeatedly over the years in other activities too: book club, a couples discussion group, and, finally, as English language tutors. I sometimes suspect she got me into tutoring by pretending she needed my help to make a breakthrough with a young student named Yule. Andrea’s patience helped Yule blossom into an excellent English speaker, and her same gentle leadership taught me to love tutoring.
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Rest in peace, Andrea. Your legacy will live on in the lives you uplifted and the community you nurtured.
Elaine Bacon Literacy Program 
I first met Andrea in the late 70s, when I joined her noontime community exercise program at Suomi College, where she was Athletic Director. Her teaching method, then as always, involved catching people when they performed well and encouraging them. It was my pleasure to cross paths with her repeatedly over the years in other activities too: book club, a couples discussion group, and, finally, as English language tutors. I sometimes suspect she got me into tutoring by pretending she needed my help to make a breakthrough with a young student named Yule. Andrea’s patience helped Yule blossom into an excellent English speaker, and that same gentle leadership taught me to love tutoring.
Denise Heikinen