Lee J Bate

Lee J. “Bud” Bate graduated from mortality on Tuesday, July 14, 2026 at the age of 88, with his beloved wife by his side, and can now tinker without the sun setting on him, forever and ever.

Lee was born March 21, 1938 to Lee H. Bate and Grace Lee Bate in San Andreas, California, where his father was stationed with the Civilian Conservation Corp. He was the youngest child of three and enjoyed lifelong, treasured friendships with his two older sisters and their husbands, Roberta (Gordon) Smith and Bonnie (Chuck) Dalton.

When Lee was 4 years old, his family returned to Springville, Utah, where his parents were born and raised and where Lee spent most of the rest of his life. As a young man, he spent several summers in the Sawtooth Mountains in Idaho working for the forest service and had a love of nature, especially cutting wood whenever he could. He also was a self-taught master mechanic, inventor, and fixer-upper. From a young age and continuing throughout his life, Lee could weld, build, sew, and fix pretty much anything.

Lee graduated from Springville High School in 1956 and then attended Brigham Young University before serving as a full-time missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served in the London England Mission during the time in which the Preston, England temple was dedicated. Shortly after returning from his mission, Lee met Mary Mae Johnson, also from Springville, while teaching a Sunday School class. They married soon after on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, 1961 in the Salt Lake City LDS Temple.

After a short time in Logan, Utah, where Lee studied in the forestry program at Utah State University, the couple made their home in Springville, where they raised their four children and served in their community together for the next 65 years. Lee was always proud of the family home he helped build where he and his boys constructed a beautiful rock wall (epic family lore) and maintained a beautifully manicured yard.

During that time, Lee became the Director of Transportation for Nebo School District, a position he held for 30 years. As the person responsible for the transportation of thousands of school-aged children throughout the county, he pored over bus routes, schedules, and driver assignments—all without the assistance of today’s computer technologies—and even drove many routes himself to make sure every student arrived to and from school safely. He was well-respected by the many bus drivers, technicians, and district employees he worked with over the years.

He didn’t rest long after his retirement, but instead provided essential support to Mary in her growing travel business. Together, they traveled the world over the next 15 years, accompanying hundreds of student and family groups to many countries throughout Europe and Asia. He remained very active in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served in various callings throughout his life, including Young Men’s president, Elders Quorum president, bishopric counselor, and bishop of a young single adult ward at BYU.

The contents of his garage suggest he had many hobbies—perhaps all of them—and he was particularly fond of fishing, hunting, camping, 4-wheeling, and spending time with his family in the outdoors. His grandchildren have fond memories of campouts in the backyard, where Grandpa provided every piece of equipment anyone could possibly need. He was an avid tinkerer and prolific collector and took great joy in having exactly what was needed to fix anything and everything. Even as his health deteriorated, he could still often be seen on his riding lawn-mower throughout the neighborhood, helping neighbors with their lawns or snow removal.

His wit and humor will be missed. A person with a good sense of humor is always willing to laugh at themselves, and he endured quite a bit of teasing from his family who liked to joke about many of his quirks and traits—always taking it in stride knowing that it was only because we truly loved him.

Lee was so proud of every one of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren and would often comment and marvel with Mary about what gifted, talented, and hard-working people they all are.

Lee is survived by his beloved wife, Mary; three of his children and their spouses, David (Jeannie) Bate; Maralee (Rich) Jensen; Bud (Kelly) Bate; daughter-in-law, Cherie Bate; 15 grandchildren (and many spouses); 28 great-grandchildren (plus 5 more on the way); and his sister, Bonnie Dalton. He was preceded in death by his parents, his son Brian, and his sister, Roberta Smith.

The family would like to give special thanks to Cami Jensen and Kyla Millar from icare home health and hospice for taking such good care of Lee for the past few months.

Funeral services will be held Monday, July 20, 2026, at 11:00 am at the LDS Chapel at 600 East 245 South (Kolob Circle), Springville, UT. Viewings will be held Sunday, July 19th from 6-8 pm at Wheeler Mortuary at 211 East 200 South, Springville, UT and Monday from 9:30-10:30 a.m. prior to the services at the church. The services will also be transmitted via live broadcast on YouTube at the following link: https://youtube.com/live/LQyusxMw_EY?feature=share  Burial will be in the Springville Evergreen Cemetery immediately following the funeral.

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