Jill Dunn

JILL BATEMAN DUNN

Jill Bateman Schwendiman Dunn passed peacefully on April 23, 2026, after a decline in health due to dementia. She remained her sweet, fun, and kind self to the end of her life.

Connie Jill Bateman was born July 9, 1941, in Ogden, Utah, to Horald Morgan Bateman and Afton Sena (Bingham) Bateman. Jill was born the 2nd of 5 children. Her mother wrote in her baby book they always planned to call her Jill.

She graduated from Ogden High School, attended Weber College for two years, then graduated with a B.S. and M.S. in Physical Education from Utah State University. She taught Physical Education at Ogden High, then at Brigham Young University and later in Lincoln, Nebraska. She loved being active from a small child to an adult. She performed as a tumbler when she was a toddler, traveling to perform during halftime at basketball games. She enjoyed her time on the drill team at Ogden High, drill team and flag twirling at Weber College, Sponsor Corps and Aggiette drill team at Utah State University, as well as putting on synchronized swimming water shows at the Ogden Golf and Country Club and Brigham Young University.

She was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served in many capacities including 28 years as ward or stake Young Women’s President, and Young Women’s Camp Director, which she loved. She served as Relief Society President, Scout Committee member, Activity Committee Chairman, and Temple patron. Jill loved her Savior, Jesus Christ. She led with love and example, and let others find their way to Him.

She married Gary Schwendiman in the Salt Lake LDS Temple, June 3, 1966. They lived in Utah, West Virginia, and Michigan before settling in Nebraska. During their 19 years together, they welcomed one son and four daughters. She loved being a mother to her five children. She was a wonderful, fun, incredibly loving Mom. She taught all the kids to make her famous chocolate chip cookies by the time they were 6. She enjoyed having parties, especially with food, games, and puzzles. Jill loved to play games and host her kids and friends to come play games at their house on Calvert Street in Lincoln, Nebraska. Many late nights with music and fun and laughs, sometimes ending the night by driving the kids in the station wagon to TP someone’s house. Jill was an instant friend to so many and had a wonderful support system in Nebraska. After her divorce in 1986, her life was full as she worked teaching PE again and stayed more than busy with all the kids’ sporting events, dance lessons and recitals, music events, neighborhood parties, church activities and dances.

Years later, through dear friends, Jill was set up on a blind date with Joel Dunn while visiting her mother in Odgen, Utah. They quickly knew it was meant to be and he was soon her “sweetie.”

She married Joel James Dunn in the Salt Lake LDS Temple December 30, 1994. Together they served a proselyting mission for the Church from l997-98 in Leeds, England. They also served as Temple Missionaries in Nauvoo, Illinois, from 2005-2006. They cherish the wonderful people they were able to serve and serve with. They had 31 wonderful years together, and they admitted it was much more than they thought they’d be blessed with. What a gift they were to each other. They traveled all over, made friends, and touched lives wherever they went. They certainly had a good time together, and we are thankful for the Dunns and their love and acceptance of Jill in their family.

When Jill and Joel were married, she was thrilled to be able to add Joel’s ten children, their spouses, plus all the grandchildren to their large family. Jill’s children soon added even more grandkids. She loved paying close attention to birthdays and tried to make them special for each person by sending her many, many birthday cards. She loved spending time with the grandkids, painting fingernails, doing curlers in their hair, making “watermelon cookies” and working in the garden with them picking things for dinner. She loved having family and friends over to their home in Tooele for grilling and enjoying their beautiful yard with the hundreds of flowers she and Joel loved to tend to. Joel was in charge of the grill and Jill was in charge of the entertainment.

She loved anytime family was in town to stay up late and play games or do puzzles at their home. As she aged, she loved her domino group at the senior center. Even toward the end of her life, she loved being involved in games, sometimes that was just rolling the dice for Yahtzee, or yelling Rack-O as we held the cards up, as if we had already won. Often she would ask for another reminder of how to play a game, then proceed to beat everyone.

She always had lots of friends and treasured their friendship. She loved hearing about people’s lives and their stories. When Jill and Joel were out anywhere, they planned extra time because they were sure Jill would run into about 5 people she knew, and she’d remember about their family and anything they had coming up.

She enjoyed hosting Christmas Open House parties in Nebraska. Her Banana Slush drink was always a hit, in addition to the delicious food and treats she spent days preparing. She loved Christmas and had a house full of decorations. She and Joel sent hundreds of Christmas cards every year, joking that they kept the Postal Service in business.

She loved dancing, she earned a certificate for learning Hula dancing as a teen, and she also loved learning the fun dance moves her kids did in the 80’s and 90’s at all the Youth dances she chaperoned. She loved watching all kinds of sports. Her Dad took her to many baseball games as a child and taught her how to keep the score and stats. She loved cheering on the Nebraska Cornhuskers or her beloved Utah State Aggies and Utah Jazz. She passed the love of sports and Olympics watching to all her kids, a pastime they loved with her and continue to this day.

She loved country music, especially Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn. She loved Coca-Cola, Twizzlers, Malted Milk Balls, and Popcorn. She loved holiday attire, jewelry, and pins.

As dementia took her abilities away, Jill’s sweet spirit and countenance endured. She loved making sure everyone was taken care of in her home. We wondered how often she would come out of her room to ask if everyone had a place to sleep, or if she could do anything for us. She “mothered” everyone, right to the end. Even as she lost the ability to know who people were, she could feel their goodness and give you a smile. If you offered a sweet kiss on the cheek she always smiled and said “Oh, thank you!” We are so thankful for the extra care given by Dianna and Shane Bergen, as well as other family and friends in Tooele. We are thankful for the Lighthouse group and Our House Memory Care unit for their compassionate service.

What a gift to have her in our lives so long. We are incredibly grateful for her love and life. We will miss her dearly and look forward to the day she’ll be staying up late and waiting by the door for us to arrive and see her again.

She is survived by her husband, Joel James Dunn, her son and her four daughters: Todd Schwendiman of Reston, VA; Heidi Conradt (Jon) of Reston, VA; Wendy Mar (Matt) of Lincoln, NE; Lisa Sullivan (Scott) of Santa Rosa, CA; and Julie Crockett (Sterling) of Belmont, MA; six stepsons and three stepdaughters: Scott Dunn of Saint George, UT; Bruce Dunn (Ruth) of Tooele; Perry Dunn (Cathy) and Clayton Dunn (Laramie), of Stansbury Park; Paul Dunn (Sylvia) of Newman Lake, WA; Curtis Dunn (Lori) of Erda; Jolynn Gubler (Mike), and Dianna Bergen (Shane), both of Tooele; and Paula Call (Larry), of Hurricane, UT. Also, dear friend, Sammy Coats. Jill was blessed with 50 grandchildren and 61 great and great-great-grandchildren.

She is also survived by brothers John Bateman (Gayle) of Highland, UT and Robert Bateman of Ogden UT; brothers-in-law, Edward Bottom of Diamond Bar, CA and Louis Glass (Janet), of Ogden UT; and sister-in-law, Sharon Dunn, of Salt Lake City.

She was preceded in death by her parents, sister Tina Bateman Glass, niece Tiffany Glass, sister Debra Bateman, stepdaughter Sheryl Dunn Aswad, stepdaughter-in-law Kathleen Dunn, step granddaughter Jessica Gubler, sister-in-law Carolyn Dunn Newman (Frank), brother-in-law Loren C. Dunn, and sister-in-law Dixie Bottom.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, May 30th, 2026, at 11am, with a visitation from 9:30-10:45am, at the Tooele South Stake Center, 1025 Southwest Drive, Tooele, UT. Interment will directly follow the funeral at the Tooele City Cemetery.

Friends and family may also watch the service remotely on Jill's obituary page at tatemortuary.com.

In lieu of flowers, the family would suggest donations to:
Lighthouse Adult Care Services
251 E. 1000 N. Suite 171
Tooele, UT 84074
Tax ID # is 82-5172222