Lorine Delores (Imhoff) Okken passed away peacefully at the age of 84 on December 22, 2019, at the Good Samaritan Society Nursing Home in Mott, ND.  She was born on February 17, 1935 on her parents' farm north of Burt in Hettinger County, N.D.

She is survived by her son Allan Okken and his children Brett and April Okken, (Jeremiah, Kathleen and Matthias), Sonya and David Riffel, (Gabriel, Gracelynn, and Gavin); daughter Donnette and Mike Martin, children John, Joshua, Justin; son Terry and Christine Okken, children Emily, Ethan, Noah; and son Craig and Noelle Okken, children Pierce, Beatrice, Amarise, Vera, Savanna, Gideon and Serenity.  She is also survived by her brother Albert Imhoff, along with many nieces and nephews and their children, as well as many from the New Leipzig Baptist Church that Don and Lorine adopted as grandchildren along the way. Preceding her in death are her parents, Jacob and Christiana Imhoff, 4 sisters: Lydia (Reich), Elsie (Ganthner), Esther (Haase), Emma (Lillethun); 6 brothers: Emil, Otto, Christian, Johnnie and infant twins John and Albert; and recently, husband of 65 years Donald Okken.

The funeral service will take place at 2:00pm on Monday, December 30, 2019 at New Leipzig Baptist Church.  Visitation is from 1:00 - 2:00pm at New Leipzig Baptist Church. Following the service, interment will be at the New Leipzig Baptist Cemetery, and a reception will be held at the church.  In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to either "New Leipzig Baptist Church: White Cross" or "The Good Samaritan Society: Mott".

Lorine was the last of the 12 children born to Jacob and Christiana (Iszler) Imhoff in the rural Burt area.  She reminisced of going to the bustling town of Burt to roller skate on their indoor rink and developed strong arms and a tenacity for life during her upbringing on the farm.  Being the youngest of 12 siblings, she learned the remarkable German work ethic early as she helped out with all the farm chores. She remembers carrying lots of water to the house and collecting goose feathers for the down pillows her mom would make from their flock of geese.  Her grandchildren were amazed to learn that grandma grew up needing to use kerosene lamps to be able to do her homework as the house had no electricity.

After walking a mile and a half to the rural school each day throughout elementary and junior high, Lorine boarded a room in town to attend New Leipzig High School. She enjoyed applying herself in school and got top grades.   After graduating in 1953, she married Donald Okken on Oct. 1, 1954. Her work from then on included assisting Don in providing for the family while raising their 4 children that were born to them over the span of 18 years. She applied at the First State Bank in New Leipzig to work part time as a teller and worked there for 11 years.  She also worked at the grocery store part-time. Eventually, she went full time as an employee at Farmer's State Bank in Elgin. She was employed in the banking industry for over 40 years.

Lorine was an avid crafter.  She never crocheted by a pattern, but could look at a piece and figure it out in her head.  Besides her craft projects, she could be found cooking in her kitchen, whipping up delicious recipes that she knew by heart.

She was also known for her generosity in volunteering her time with the New Leipzig Baptist church.  She faithfully attended the women's Bible study group throughout the years, which provided the accountability she needed to stay in God's Word to strengthen her faith. She took care of Don at home until his dementia required round the clock monitoring. When she herself entered the nursing home to be with him, her Bible was often found open in her room.  She continued to find comfort from God's Word as she watched her husband's battle with dementia. When his battle was finished, she decided that hers was also and went to join Don in heaven on Sunday, December 22nd.

Lorine was a faithful friend, a loyal spouse and a loving mother to many.  She will be dearly missed. Till we meet again . . .

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