Bill J. Bishop

Bill J. Bishop, Ph.D., CPA of Wimberley, Texas went to be with the Lord on May 9 at the age of 91. He passed away peacefully in his home surrounded by his family.

He was born in Denton, Texas on February 23, 1928 and married Juana Jann in Waco on May 28, 1955. Bill was a devoted husband for 64 years as well as a dedicated father and provider to Juana and their five children. Growing up during the Great Depression, he became a man identifiable by a powerful work ethic with fiscal conservativeness and a deep sense of responsibility.

Bill completed his PhD in accounting from the University of Texas at Austin in 1961 and was a big Texas Longhorn fan throughout his life. Earlier he found that his logical, mathematical mind was a great match for accounting and earned a BBA in accounting from North Texas State University. He then served for two years as an accountant in the US Air Force where he quickly realized he preferred and truly loved teaching. Bill used the GI Bill to obtain his MBA from North Texas State University and then taught accounting at Texas A&M University. After earning his PhD from UT he taught at the University of Missouri, Angelo State University, Texas Tech University and finally Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas.

He was hired at Texas State University in 1971 and served as chairman of the Accounting and Computer Science Department from 1974 to 1982. The School of Business Advisory Council presented him with its first ever Teaching Excellence Award in 1985 but he was particularly proud that he never missed a class due to illness during his 35 year teaching career. Upon his retirement in 1989, the university set up a scholarship in his name benefiting accounting students that demonstrate academic excellence.

Bill was a quiet, strong man who, while exuding an easy going confidence, rarely spoke about his life’s accomplishments. He treated all people with equal respect and strongly preferred to be called Bill over Dr. Bishop. He influenced his children through his lifelong devotion to Juana, his reliable steadfast demeanor, a demonstrated work ethic and his passionate pursuit of interests away from the office.

Outside of teaching, Bill loved building. He spent countless hours studying, designing, planning, and executing his plans with meticulous care. Early in Bill and Juana’s marriage, he built numerous pieces of furniture which are still being used today. In 1971, Bill and Juana bought five acres of rugged hill country land near San Marcos, Texas, cleared the land and started building their first home. Bill would teach at Texas State during the day and build on nights and weekends. This home was an enormous accomplishment with Bill and Juana performing all the designing, planning and nearly 100% of the physical construction of their 6,000 sf home.

After retiring from Texas State in 1989, Bill and Juana spent the next twenty years square dancing all over Texas and other nearby states. Bill loved the mental challenge that came with learning new dance steps while Juana loved both the music and the social interaction.

In 2001, Bill and Juana downsized to a garden home in Austin. After doing all the improvement projects imaginable, he had the urge to build again and started their second and current home in Wimberley at the very young age of

84. He and his oldest son Robert finished that home when Bill was 87, again doing almost all of the work themselves. At age 89 they started a home for Robert on the property next door and Bill continued construction on this home almost right until his death.

In addition to building, Bill loved all things mechanical and was constantly reading up on the latest cars and trucks. He enjoyed negotiating for new vehicles and his family mused that he always walked away with a seemingly unattainable deal. As meticulous in his car care as he was in building his houses, anyone that ended up with one of Bill’s used cars arguably got the best used example of that model in the country. Bill’s “mechanical gene” runs deep in the family, passing this love to all three sons, his grandsons and even his great grandson.

He is survived by his wife Juana, sons Robert, John (Cheryl), Thom (significant other Christine), daughters Barbara (Roger) Beall, Mary Sue (Doug) Evans, grandchildren Brittany (Andy) Kidwell, Amanda (Luke) Grothues, Seth and Sarah Beall, Zach and Luke Evans, and great grandson Cooper Grothues.

In Memoriam contributions can be made to the Bill Bishop Scholarship at Texas State University vis their website.