November 8, 3013
LACEY, Wash. – Warren A. Bishop, who served as vice president under two former presidents of Washington State University and was actively engaged in governmental affairs at both the state and local level throughout his life, died Oct. 27 at the age of 92.
A decorated veteran who served in World War II, Bishop worked as a teacher in both Colorado and Washington following his military service. Later, as a graduate student in political science at the University of Washington, he was working to incorporate and establish municipal governments in several Washington communities when he was offered the position of executive assistant to former two-term Washington Gov. Albert Rosellini in 1956.
While working in the governor’s office, Bishop served also as the state’s first budget director following the passage in 1958 of the Budget & Accounting Act, which moved state budget preparation from individual agencies to the newly created Central Budget Agency.
He joined WSU as administrative assistant to former WSU President C. Clement French in 1965 and was promoted to vice president of business for the university the following year. He continued in that capacity following Glenn Terrell’s selection as WSU’s new president in 1967, before being selected as vice president of university development in 1968.
In 1975, Bishop’s role as a senior WSU administrator changed once again, with his appointment to the post of vice president for business and finance. During his 14-year career at WSU, he was instrumental at various times in managing the university’s governmental relations and overseeing construction of many now-familiar buildings on the Pullman campus, including the1973 construction of Beasley Coliseum.
As chair of the Washington State Interagency Committee for Outdoor Recreation, 1965-1976, he also was instrumental in providing funding for the state parks and recreation system and local parks. He later led the State Nuclear Waste Advisory Council’s efforts to address health effects as well as safety concerns in the storage of nuclear waste at Hanford.
Born on a family homestead on the eastern plains of Colorado in 1921 to Julina Mary Allison Bishop and Roy Edward Bishop, he was a graduate of Northern Colorado State Teacher’s College, now known as Northern Colorado State University. Drafted into the Army during World War II, he served in five campaigns in the European Theater as a member of the 116th Regiment of the 29th Infantry Division, including the D-Day landing at Omaha Beach and the liberation of Paris. He received a battlefield commission and was awarded a Bronze Star for his service.
Upon his retirement from WSU in 1979, Bishop and his wife Barbara moved to Hartstene Island in south Puget Sound where he began a government affairs consulting business which he operated until he was 75.
During his career of public service, he received 19 gubernatorial appointments from seven governors between 1965 and 2012, including chair of the Washington State Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council. He also served as a member of the St. Martin’s College Board of Directors and as president and member of the board of the Municipal Research and Services Center of Washington.
Bishop is survived by his wife Barbara, daughters Claire, Julia and Ellen and four grandchildren, Joseph Hulbert and Christopher, Allison and Benjamin Conroy.
A celebration of his life will be held at 1 p.m. Nov. 17 at Panorama City senior living center, Lacey. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Washington State Parks Foundation, http://www.wspf.org, a public charity.
A copy of the complete obituary prepared by the Bishop family is available online at Warren Allison Bishop 1921-2013.
A copy of Bishop’s full professional resume is available at http://apps.leg.wa.gov/oralhistory/pdf/OH1251.pdf.
WSU Contact:
Robert Strenge, WSU News, 509-335-3583, rstrenge@wsu.edu
Bishop Family Contact:
Claire Bishop, 206-799-8563, claire@barnacleconsulting.org