Gerald Lee Bishop, loving husband, father, brother, uncle, grandfather and great grandfather passed away on July 29th 2024 at the age of 82. Gerald was born July 25th 1942 to Olive and Arthur Bishop of Chimacum WA. At the age of 16 Gerald quit school to follow his passion and began farming with his parents' full time. He was a determined hard working young man always finding ways to improve his family farm.
At the age of 19 Gerald married his wife Delores Rae Thompson and had three children; Jerry, Terri and Traci. As of his death they were still married and would have celebrated their 63rd wedding anniversary this coming September.
Upon the death of his parents Gerald inherited the family farm and continued farming with his brothers, his grandson Austin his nephews Javan, Billy and Ron along with many others. In 2007 the family farm switched from Dairy gold to Organic Valley. After obtaining an injury in 2016 from a Holstein bull Gerald decided in 2017 to sell 103 dairy cows ending a 60-year career as a dairy farmer. Gerald and Austin decided to try their hand at raising black Angus cattle and selling hay. Today Austin along with his wife Tyler and children Marley and Myles are the owners of the family farm and are continuing Gerald's legacy.
One of Geralds wishes was to hear and see his D7 Cat run again. As it was a big part in clearing the farm land that was nothing but trees and marsh. Several people made attempts with no success. Austin and son Myles were determined to get it started for him before Christmas day. On December 24th, 2021 Gerald could hear the rumble of what he knew was his D7 coming back to life after sitting in the barn for over 13 years. Gerald was left with the biggest smile you had ever seen.
Gerald was preceded in death by his 2 daughters Terri and Traci, his parents Art and Olive, his sister Darlene Strain and brother Ron. He is survived by his Wife Delores Rae Bishop; his son Jerry (Rick Bean). His Brother Wayne, His Nephew Javan (Chrissy) His Grandson Austin (Tyler) Justin (Kristina) Great Grandsons Myles, Collin, Hunter and Halston, and most importantly his one and only Great Granddaughter Marley Mae. Along with other numerous nieces and nephews.
We want to thank everyone that has help us through this difficult time including the Fire dept., Sheriff's office and especially David Bradley of Bradley-Kosec Funeral Home.
A private burial will be held at a later date with a potluck for friends & family held at the farm.
The following is a heartfelt message from Wayne Bishop, Gerald's younger brother.
"Gerald was not a real social person but he loved to talk about his farm and the love of the land as he maintained his cows. He did believe in God and one of his favorite scriptures was the Lord's prayer. His favorite part of the prayer was, thy will be done; on hearth as it was in the beginning. One of the highlights of his life was when he supported his father in giving a small piece of land off the egg & I rd. to the Jehovah's witness to build a kingdom hall. The faith that Gerald was taught by his mother and his family. He strongly believed and knew he would see his daughters that were tragically taken in a car accident in the late 80's. Gerald believed according to god's word that some people would go to heaven and some would live in hell on earth. That was strictly gods' decision of who that would be. Until the decision was to be mankind would be in a death like sleep. Only God through his only begotten son could waken them. The foundation of most of the Christian religion was resurrection, hope, and that was Gerald's hope."
