Donna M. Bach

Donna Marie Bach (Knauf), 92, formerly of Grand Forks, passed away peacefully on January 3, 2019.  Donna was married to Colonel Lawrence (Bud) V. Bach Jr. (retired) and spent over thirty years of her life touring the world as a military wife.  They raised their twelve children all over the United States and Europe:  Sue Bach, McHenry, IL, Michael Bach (Marian) Ft. Walton Beach, FL, Terry Bach MD. (Liz), Portland, OR, James Bach (Lyn), Plano, TX, Carol Linden (Ken), Frisco, TX, Diane Bach, McHenry, IL, Anne Stroh (Terry), Grafton, ND, Dr. Robert Bach (Debra), Belding, MI, Barbara Seykora (John), Flower Mound, TX, Lawrence V. Bach III (Ellen), Medina, MN, William Bach (Melissa), San Antonio, TX, Jeanne Shane (Matthew), Carlsbad, CA. Donna was blessed with 32 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren.

Donna was born in Fargo to John and Adelaide Knauf and soon thereafter relocated to Grand Forks.  With her sister Joan and younger brothers John and Jim, moved into a home in the Riverside Park area of Grand Forks.  She graduated from Central High where she met her future husband, Bud.

As a young bride, with her first four children in tow, Donna was challenged with the fact that Bud had been shot down over North Korea and was missing.  She had no idea of his status until she received his letter from the Red Cross months later.  He ended up being a prisoner of war for almost three years.  While Bud was gone, Donna went back to school at the University of North Dakota and earned her degree.   When Bud returned all of North Dakota celebrated “Bud Bach Day” with Donna.

After Bud’s return, Donna’s full time job was that of a homemaker, but she became an expert at moving a large household which she did over twenty times with Bud. They were fortunate to live in places all over the world and the United States.  The lived in England and Spain, as far west as California, as far east as Virginia, in the south in Alabama and Texas, as far north as Duluth, Minnesota and right in the middle in places like Missouri. Donna liked California most of all, and they had four different homes there over 28 years.

Donna loved cooking, snowmobiling, duck hunting and gardening and cats.  She and Bud had a remote cabin in Ontario, Canada which they visited in both summer and winter where they would fish, boat, ski, snowmobile, explore and relax with friends.  They made some of their longest and closest friendships with other lake denizens.  The most memorable outings were their annual New Year’s Eve Party with friends at the cabin with outside temperatures usually at 30 below.

After a long military career, Donna and Bud returned to Grand Forks where they both resettled, expecting to spend their senescent years with longtime friends, relatives and grandchildren.  Then came the Great GF Flood which drove them out to live in Bemidji, MN.  Unfortunately, Bud passed away in 2004 and Donna later came to Texas to spend her final years.

Donna was known for her delicious meals, her love of the outdoors, and her ability to spend Minnesota and North Dakota winters in open-toed sandals, both indoors and out.  We will miss her cheetah-print stylish clothes and her ability to tell everyone just what was on her mind.

Visiting hour in Amundson Funeral Home, 2975 South 42^nd Street, Grand Forks, will be on Thursday, January 10, 2019 at 1 p.m. followed by a Funeral Service at 2 p.m.  Interment will be at Calvary Cemetery in Grand Forks in the Spring.