James Bishop

“But the love will have been enough; all those impulses of love return to the love that made them. Even memory is not necessary for love. There is a land of the living and a land of the dead and the bridge is love, the only survival, the only meaning.”

― Thornton Wilder, The Bridge of San Luis Rey

James Bishop, born to George Bishop and Ann Marie Dennison, on October 10, 1931. The second son to George and Ann Marie, Jim grew up in Falls Creek, Pennsylvania. After the untimely passing of his parents—his mother to childbirth and his father to black lung disease—Jim was raised by his aunt Dorothy and uncle Howard. At the age of nine, he settled on their farm in Clearfield, Pennsylvania. As an adult, Jim moved to New York where he met his future wife, Mary Ann Bracken. Jim and Mary Ann married in 1956 and had two sons, the late William Bishop and Robert Bishop. (Mary Ann would forever dote on Jim, frequently asking her sons and grandchildren, “Isn’t Grandpa the best?” “Aren’t I lucky?” She would follow this up with, “We’re all very lucky to have such a nice Grandpa.” And so, we were.) The couple raised their two boys on Long Island where Jim worked as a highschool teacher, teaching both english and history. The family would spend summers in Sheffield, MA, where Mary Ann’s family has a home. His son, Robert, would give him five grandchildren.

During his time as a teacher, Jim used his photography skills for the school yearbook, developing the photos they took in a darkroom he set up in the highschool. After thirty years, he would retire from teaching, but he took his teaching skills with him into his family life. Jim never missed an opportunity to help out with his grandchildren’s school reports (his oldest granddaughter, whom he passed onto a lifelong love of literature, recalls getting an A+ on a sixth grade book report written with her grandfather’s help) or engage in some particularly spirited political debate (a penchant he passed onto his two boys). During school holidays, Jim would take his grandsons up to Sheffield to spend time in the countryside. Jim shared a love of hound dogs—specifically beagles (which he pronounced more like “bagel”)—with his second oldest granddaughter who would adopt several beagles and beagle mixes (all of whom would spend their visits sitting happily on Jim’s lap). An accomplished home cook, Jim, made the best—and perhaps only—escarole soup his grandchildren have ever had (when there was no escarole soup to be made, Jim would make sure to run to Costco’s to bring back far more food than his grandchildren could eat). He never missed an opportunity to celebrate holidays and birthdays with his son’s family which always became an occasion to celebrate with copious amounts of food and wine—always drunk from a proper wine glass, of course. In his later years, Jim delighted in spending time with his son’s wife and youngest grandchild (Jim would bond with the youngest of his grandchildren over a mutual love for squirrels and playing Bingo).

Jim is survived by his wife, Mary Ann Bishop; his son Robert Bishop and his wife Mari Bishop; his five grandchildren, Ashley Bishop, Brittany Bishop, Thomas Bishop, James Bishop, and Carolina Bishop; his sister, Dorothy Ivanic; and his two cats, Bandit Bishop and Cali Bishop.

Services are private. The family asks that flowers be sent to the family’s home at 11 W Hollow Road, Brewster, NY 10509.