Dena Bickhardt

Dena Jane Bickhardt, resident of Morgan, Minnesota, passed away at the age of 77 at Flagstaff Medical Center in Flagstaff, Arizona in the very early hours of Wednesday, March 26, 2025. A Celebration of Life will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 3, 2025, at Morgan United Methodist Church in Morgan, with burial to follow in the Morgan City Cemetery. A visitation will be held one hour prior to her service from 10 until 11 a.m. at the church in Morgan.

Arrangements are with Nelson-Hillestad Funeral and Cremation Services of Redwood Falls and Morgan. E-mail condolences may be sent via www.nelson-hillestad.com.

Born Dena Jane Vollmer on April 27, 1947 in Minneapolis, Minnesota to Louis and Ula Vollmer, she graduated from Brainerd High School in 1965. After high school, Dena had a career in banking.

Dena married the love of her life, Philip LeRoy Bickhardt in Brainerd on August 9, 1969 and spent almost the last 56 years together. Dena, being a big city girl, wasn’t so sure about marrying a farmer, but soon learned to love the small town/farm life.

Together, Dena and Philip raised two wonderful children, Pam and Adam, who brought immense joy to their lives. Dena’s warm spirit and vibrant personality will be cherished by her family and all who knew her.

In addition to working in the bank, Dena kept herself busy by being on the Cedar Mountain School Board, working on the Morgan City Celebration committee, Decision Hills Bible Camp, staying very active with Friends of Gilfillan, working for Farm Fest, and volunteering with the Cedar Mountain Alumni Scholarship Fund.

Dena loved to travel. Together, Dena and Philip took various adventures around the world to Germany, Norway, Spain, Alaska, and nearly every state from the West Coast to the East Coast and Canada border to the Mexico border. She even took a solo trip to China where she climbed the Great Wall.

Dena was a very strong independent individual who always had to keep busy. If she wasn’t working or volunteering, she was working on her art projects creating beautiful pieces using stained glass, fused glass, woodworking, shining her cars and driving them fast.

Around 2010, Dena and Philip transitioned to the Snow Bird life, spending their winters in Cornville, Arizona. Dena loved to go jeeping and hiking and truly enjoyed seeing and taking photographs of the beautiful scenery of the Sedona area mountains and deserts. After a Jeeping accident in Cornville, Arizona on April 24, 2014 that left Dena completely blind, she continued Jeeping and hiking. She was so good with directions that she often had to help the sighted figure out where they were and how to get home. No longer able to see what she was working on; she turned her attention to an art that she could feel – clay work and pottery. This is where she found her true calling. Dena learned how to sculpt and use the pottery wheel where she created so many gallery-worthy pieces.

Dena loved her family, her friends, her art projects, music and attending church as a faithful member of United Methodist Church in Morgan and Cornerstone Bible Church in Sedona, AZ. She loved to dance and sing and live life to the fullest.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Ula and Louis Vollmer, brothers Linus and Virgil Vollmer, in-laws, Roy and Zeda Bickhardt, Faith and Arden Arlt, and Kathy Pelkey.

Dena is survived by her soulmate Philip Bickhardt, children - Pam Suapaia and Adam Bickhardt (Jennifer), grandchildren – Kipeni, Matatia, Taiana, Aleigha, Wallace, Wesley, Wyatt, Alle and Juju, great-grandchildren – Amelia and Akeakamai, siblings – Steve Vollmer (Jaci), Pam McCarty, and John Vollmer, sister-in-law – Suzy Wennerberg (Gary) and brother-in-law Gary Pelkey, foreign student exchange brother, Anker (Trine) of Olso, Norway, foreign student exchange daughter, Raquel Abeid of Rio de Janeiro and several nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Alumni Scholarship Fund, Cedar Mountain School, 310 Somerville Ave, PO Box 188, Morgan, MN 56266.