Bernice Bateman Dillree of Boise, Idaho, passed away Aug. 19, 2008, at age 84, surrounded by her loving family. Bernice and her twin brother, Bryce, were born Sept. 4, 1923, in Elsinore, Utah. She was the eighth child of Joseph Alberto and Ada Gunn Bateman. She was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She spent her childhood in Salt Lake City, Utah, and graduated from South High School in 1940. In 1942, she worked for the Remington Arms Company in Utah which manufactured ammunition for the World War II effort. After that, she worked at Hill Field cleaning airplane parts by blasting them with wheat instead of sand. From 1944 to 1945, she moved to San Diego, Calif., where she worked at the Naval Air Station. In 1946, she worked for Western Union in Portland, Ore. On June 1, 1946, she married Jack Douglas Dillree in Portland. They had two children, Bryce and Barbara, and lived in Portland until 1964 at which time the family moved to Boise. Bernice worked for several years in various Boise schools in the school lunch program. Bernice was an avid water skier in her younger years. She had been a member of pinochle groups and loved games and cards. She was active in the Boise Senior Citizens group. Jack and Bernice moved to Ocean Park, Washington, for a period of 10 years and returned to the area in 1996. Bernice had 11 grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, Joseph A. and Ada Bateman; infant twin brothers, Joseph and Thomas; brothers, Max Bateman and Bryce Bateman; sisters, Virginia Wilson and Bertha Heath. She is survived by her husband, Jack Dillree; her son, Bryce (Donna) Dillree of Boise; daughter, Barbara (Nolan) Boyle of Victor, Idaho; and a brother, Fred Bateman of Salt Lake City, Utah. Funeral services will be at 11 a.m., Saturday, Aug. 23, 2008 at Relyea Funeral Chapel, 318 N. Latah, Boise, Idaho. Interment will be at the Idaho State Veteran's Cemetery, Boise, Idaho. www.relyeafuneralchapel.com.
Published in the Idaho Statesman on 8/22/2008