Dani Bates

Financially: Denny tried annually to get life insurance but did not qualify due to his severe Crohn’s disease. It is a misconception that suicide nullifies life insurance. Without the Crohn’s disease, Dani would have been able to get a substantial amount of money to help her continue to mostly stay home with her girls and work only part time. Dani and her daughters need as much time as possible to heal from this trauma and to find some consistency, balance, and peace before she can return towork. To read more about the life insurance situation, click here . Venmo- @DaniEBates GoFundMe Emotional Support:   From Dani’s Facebook: “Friends and Family, we are trying to gather as many pictures and videos of Denny Bates as possible. If you could please send them to dennybatespictures@gmail.com.  We also want to start gathering stories. You are welcome to email written stories or recordings of your voice. The absolute best option would be a video of you telling th...

Yesterday was hard but beautiful. There were so many there. I am just in awe. And they weren’t just there because they loved Denny (although that is also true), but so many of his friends who I haven’t even met expressed their love for me and my cute girls. Losing Denny has broken me. But there are so many things that are helping me put the pieces back together and his friends are one of them. They are accepting me as one of them and sharing with me all of the ways they want to help and be involved for years to come. Denny was blessed with amazing friends. And clearly, he blessed their lives and was there for many of them. I’m humbled and grateful to receive that friendship directly.  Another thing that is helping me is watching the influence that the obituary and my original post from last Sunday have had. The Mortuary said they have never had so many shares, comments, and views on a post ever. As of yesterday, the post had been viewed over 5x the amount of the previously mos...

Today will be difficult. Today will be one week since my husband took his own life. All of the days have been difficult but the funeral makes it seem so final.  This has been the hardest week I’ve ever had. This is the hardest thing I’ve ever been through. Combine everything I’ve been through before and multiply it by 100 and it’s still not as painful.  Most of the time I can at least keep my composure. But I often break down and fall apart. The hardest thing has been my girls. Winnie seems to get it way more than I thought she would. When I said “Daddy had some owies in his head and in his heart so he died and went to heaven.” She said “No, Daddy died because his heart broked.” Very true.  I took two days to figure out how to explain it to her before I said anything and talked to several people who can relate somehow for advice. I decided to be open with her and use some of the exact words. Of course she doesn’t understand what suicide is, and won’t for seve...

Dennis George Bates II 1983 ~ 2019 Dennis “Denny” George Bates II unexpectedly took his own life on March 23rd, 2019. He was born in Ames, Iowa on October 14, 1983, to Esther Bates-Baker and Dennis Bates. Denny was raised in the small town of Mount Pleasant where everyone knew him and his funny, eccentric personality. He had six siblings who adored him, just as he adored them. As the eldest brother, he took it upon himself to tease and annoy these siblings as much as possible, but he would loyally protect them from anyone else.  Growing up, Denny played the trombone, was on student government, and was the life of every party. He sang in the top choirs in school, played soccer for a season, and was an Eagle Scout and a Seminary graduate. He began college at Iowa Wesleyan University, then moved out to Utah and completed his Business degree at Utah Valley University.  Denny spent the last 15 years here in Utah, making friends everywhere he went. He was someon...

The funeral for Denny Bates will be held on Saturday, March 30 at our church building, 1251 W 900 N in Lehi, UT 84043. A viewing will be held from 9:30 am-11:30 am, then the funeral will begin at Noon. All are welcome.  I need to express my gratitude for all of the support I have already received in just 2 days. Whether it’s visits, comments on my post, messages, offering help for the funeral or with my children, the financial contributions, the parties people want to throw in Denny’s honor, helping me with my home and cleaning and snacks for my kids and food.... You guys. I can keep it together most of the day. I’m being given strength from heaven, from Denny, and from the shock and adrenaline. But once I am alone with my girls is when it hits. I find myself constantly shaking my head because when I have a moment to think, I cannot believe this is real. I just keep thinking “No no no no no no.” That’s when it is so scary and it hurts the most. And I am doing everything I ...

This post has been one of the most “helpful” for people. This was the post I shared less that 24 hours after I found out what had happened to my husband. I hope it continues to help people, somehow. PLEASE take a few minutes  to read this if you are a friend of mine or a friend of Denny ❤️ I don’t exactly know what to say but I feel like i need to say something. I am broken. My husband, Denny, very unexpectedly took his own life yesterday. I am not afraid of the word suicide and I’m not ashamed to say that is what happened. Denny was the best man. I knew more about him than anyone in this world. But even then, he struggled with depression and anxiety that I had absolutely no idea about. He has dealt with this on and off his entire life and was so good at hiding it to protect those around him. He was not struggling even a week ago and just in very recent days showed there was some internal turmoil. He was brutally honest in every way except this one, because he was trying to...