Julia W. Bishop

A gentle soul has left this earth. Julia W. Bishop passed away peacefully with family by her side on March 2, 2021, a few days before her 95th birthday. Julie was born in Chicago, IL to Chester and Clara (Barton) Wright. After living in many states with a growing family, she settled in East Lansing in 1964. She completed her BA in Psychology at MSU. Throughout her life, she valued gaining new skills and learning about other cultures. She was a loving mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, aunt, friend, pet owner, and caretaker to the world. Julie raised 6 children; she was proud of her children and considered them to be her greatest accomplishment. She loved gatherings with family and friends and sharing meals with them. She enjoyed her sweet treats and maintained that cheesecake was "relatively virtuous" and could be eaten at any time of day without guilt! Julie shared her love of books, music, cats and dogs, gardening, orchids, beautiful art, and tasty food with everyone she cared about. Her talent for shopping for meaningful gifts for family and friends, for art, and for people in need was amazing. She paid attention to what people enjoyed or needed; nobody escaped her generosity! This included decades of shopping for people in need so they could have something new to call their own. She also was a generous donor to local, national, and international groups. Julie was an activist and inspired many with her life of service and her tireless dedication to peace, social justice, and the environment. She was a member of many organizations that supported these ideals and continued to attend marches, demonstrations and protests into her 90's. As a member of Edgewood United Church for over 55 years, she contributed to committees, taskforces, education, and supported the missions of the church in multiple ways. Family and friends will remember her as a woman of quiet strength, compassion, integrity, intelligence, and resilience. She met the challenge of increasing health problems with grace, courage, and humor. There was a side to Julie that many people never knew - determined, independent, quirky, and stubborn - that led her to do things like ride her bike from Chicago to Florida when she was 19 years old, and travel to Nicaragua in her 60's to be a witness to the political situation. She never stopped believing in possibilities, hope, and dreams.

Julie was preceded in death by her parents, sister Kathy, brother Ned, and son Mark. She is survived by her children Becca (Greg), Christopher (Doris), Brian, Andrea (Tom), and Lucinda; grandchildren Sean, Nick, Moriah, and Sasha; step-grandchildren Mary Helen, Tom, Seth, Morgan, and Benjamin; great-granddaughter Kimmy; her nieces; many long-time friends; and her cats. A celebration of Julie's life will be held at a later date; details will be on family members' Facebook pages, or at the East Lansing Gorsline Runciman webpage. Those wanting to honor Julie's memory can reach out to help someone, plant some flowers, or donate to an organization that supports peace, justice, or another cause that she valued. Hers was a life well lived, full of people who loved and respected her and the way she made the world a better place. Julie had the kind of heart and spirit that this world needs. Her memory will light our lives and our way forward. We are blessed to have known her.

A memorial service for Julie Bishop now scheduled for Saturday, July 17, 2021 at 1 pm at Edgewood United Church, 469 N. Hagadorn Road, East Lansing, MI. 48823. Plans for the celebration of her life include music, stories and memories. Prior to the service, at 12:30, will be a community sing of a variety of songs representative of her joy in life. Please plan to join us and remember this lovely person.