Phillip E. Batt, a former governor of Idaho, died the morning of March 4, 2023, which was his 96th birthday.
Batt served in Idaho’s House of Representatives and the Idaho Senate in the 1960s and 70s, and served as Idaho’s Lt. Governor from 1979 – 1983. Batt served in the Senate again during the 1980s, and was elected Chair of the state’s Republican Party from 1991 – 1993.
Batt was elected Governor of Idaho in 1994 and served one term, from 1995 – 1999. Batt stated he chose not to run for re-election because of his age (71).
Born in Wilder, Idaho in 1927, Batt served in the Army Air Corps at Lowry Field, Colorado for 16 months during World War II. He then studied chemical engineering at the University of Idaho, and married Jacque Fallis in 1948, remaining married to her until her death in 2014. Batt married Francee Reilly in 2015.
It is reported that Batt died peacefully in his home. Coincidentally, the date of Batt’s birth and death (March 4) is also the anniversary of when Idaho was established as a U.S. Territory in 1863.
