States findings of the Legislature and honors the lifetime achievements of Linden Bateman, the author, sponsor, and successful advocate for the law designating “Idaho Day.”

LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO Sixty-eighth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2026 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 31 BY WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION1 STATING FINDINGS OF THE LEGISLATURE AND RECOGNIZING AND COMMENDING THE LIFE-2 TIME ACHIEVEMENTS OF LINDEN B. BATEMAN, FOUNDER OF IDAHO DAY, WHO SERVED3 IN THE IDAHO HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES WITH HONOR AND DISTINCTION.4 Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:5 WHEREAS, Linden B. Bateman was born on July 11, 1940, in Salt Lake City,6 Utah and spent his life in Idaho Falls, Idaho. He graduated from Idaho Falls7 High School in the Class of 1958; and8 WHEREAS, Linden obtained a degree in political science from Brigham9 Young University in 1962 and then served a mission for the Church of Jesus10 Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) in Northern Germany from 1962-1965; and11 WHEREAS, Linden's mission inspired a lifelong love for Germany, the12 German people, culture, and language. Linden spoke and read German and re-13 turned to Germany several times to visit friends he made while living there;14 and15 WHEREAS, while at Brigham Young University, Linden met Deann Willes of16 Maywood, California. They were married on January 19, 1965 in the Switzer-17 land LDS Temple. Linden and Deann celebrated their 61st anniversary on Jan-18 uary 19, 2026; and19 WHEREAS, while living near Iona, Linden raised Clydesdale horses and20 showed horses at fairs throughout the region, treasuring the memories of21 horse-drawn carriage rides at Christmastime; and22 WHEREAS, Linden was a member of the first faculty at Skyline High School23 when it opened in 1966 and later taught government and history at Bonneville24 High School for 34 years; and25 WHEREAS, Linden's passion for American government and history and his26 love of Idaho were enthusiastically shared with his students during his long27 teaching career, leaving a lasting positive impact on thousands of lives;28 and29 WHEREAS, after retiring from teaching, Linden worked for seven years as30 a supervisor of student teachers at BYU-Idaho and Idaho State University;31 and32 WHEREAS, Linden volunteered hundreds of hours of service in the emer-33 gency room at the Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center; and34 WHEREAS, Linden loved Idaho and local history. He was a charter member35 of the Bonneville County Historical Society, which evolved into the "Museum36 of Idaho," one of the state's premier history museums; and37 WHEREAS, Linden was elected to the Idaho House of Representatives for38 six terms from 1976 to 1986 and three terms from 2010 to 2016. He was elected39 for two terms in House leadership as House Majority Caucus Chairman; and40 WHEREAS, Linden had beautiful handwriting and wrote hundreds of richly41 illustrated letters using vintage-style pens, stationery, and old postage42

2 stamps. In 2014, he sponsored legislation to restore the teaching of cursive1 handwriting in public schools; and2 WHEREAS, Linden published numerous articles on topics of local and3 Idaho history. He was an enthusiastic collector of historical memorabilia4 and was known throughout Idaho as "Mr. History;" and5 WHEREAS, Linden drew humorous political cartoons and caricatures of his6 legislative colleagues, some of which were featured in Idaho newspapers; and7 WHEREAS, Linden received many commendations for his teaching and public8 service, including an award from the 7th District Bar Association, recogniz-9 ing his creative excellence in the teaching of American Government; and10 WHEREAS, Linden was the author, sponsor, and successful advocate for11 the law designating March 4th as "Idaho Day," remembering Abraham Lincoln's12 creation of Idaho Territory on that day in 1863; and13 WHEREAS, Linden was a guest speaker in the House and Senate Idaho Day14 celebrations every year; and15 WHEREAS, Linden Bateman passed away in Idaho Falls on January 22, 2026.16 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the members of the Second Regular Ses-17 sion of the Sixty-eighth Idaho Legislature, the House of Representatives and18 the Senate concurring therein, that the lifetime achievements of Linden B.19 Bateman, founder of "Idaho Day," be recognized and commended.20