PEORIA - Richard "Dick" B. Bishop, 81, of Bradenton, Fla., formerly of Peoria, passed away Thursday, Nov. 21, 2013, after a long illness.
Mr. Bishop was born July 9, 1932, in Lewistown, Ill., to Robert R. and Mary D. (McWilliams) Bishop. His family settled in Peoria, Ill., where he graduated from Peoria Central High School in 1950. On June 6, 1953, he married the love of his life, Arlene Pfeiffer, in Fort Riley, Kan. Three daughters were born to their union, Deborah, Cynthia and Patricia.
After high school he worked in his father's construction business, until enlisting in the U.S. Army in 1953, serving until 1955. He returned to the construction business, starting his own company in Kansas City, Kan. He later worked for the Hyster Company, living in Peoria. Ill. The Bishop family relocated to Decatur, Ill., in 1972, where he started a gravel quarry, Macon County Materials. He ran the quarry until his retirement in 1983, when he and Arlene moved to Sarasota. In Florida, he became a land developer in Manatee County, overseeing the building of the Bayou Estates and The Inlets subdivisions.
Mr. Bishop was an inventor and held a number of patents for construction equipment, boat lifts, and most recently, for a hurricane-proof safe room, the StormRider.
In his younger years, he was an avid boater and golfer. He was a lifelong lover of reading, good food and collecting rare books and curios.
He was preceded in death by his parents and stepfather, B.R. Russ Morlock.
He is survived by his wife, Arlene Bishop of Bradenton; his daughters, Debi Heinz and husband, Jerry of Peoria Heights, Ill., Cindy Niebur and husband, Brett of Omaha, Neb., and Patty Stonecipher of Mount Zion, Ill.; seven grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; one great-great-grandchild; his brother, Charles Bishop of Ballwin, Mo.; and his sister, Diane Schroeder of Brown Summit, N.C.
A memorial gathering will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2013, with services to follow at 11 a.m. at Brown & Sons Funeral Homes & Crematory 43rd Street Chapel, with the Rev. Max Smith officiating. Burial will be at a later date at Sarasota National Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Moffitt Cancer Center Foundation, P.O. Box 23827, Tampa, FL 33623-3827.
Condolences to www.brownandsonsfuneral.com.
"What is this I hear of sorrow and weariness, anger, discontent and drooping hopes?...it takes life to love life." Edgar Lee Masters, author of The Spoon River Anthology. (https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/126468.Edgar_Lee_Masters)
