Absolute Joy

Fall 2020 - Dr. John Bishop's first experience with Baylor University came early in life. While growing up in Bellmead, just north of Waco, his mother worked for Baylor – first in the Department of Accounting and then as the secretary for Dean Daniel Sternberg in the School of Music.

As a child, he learned the lessons of hard work and making the most of one's resources based on the examples set by his parents. His father worked two jobs, for the MKT Railroad during the week and for the Oasis Water Company on weekends.

"Money was tight in those days," John, who eventually chose to attend Baylor, said. "I worked all through college at the Oasis Water Company as well."

PAYING IT FORWARD

John went on to earn an M.D. from Baylor College of Medicine in 1973, funded in part by scholarships created by generous physicians.

"I made myself a promise that if I was ever in a position to 'pay it forward,' I would do so for the next generation of young doctors who found themselves in the same position I did those many years ago," said John, who went on to enjoy a long and successful career as an orthopedic surgeon in Houston, specializing in foot and ankle surgery.

That desire recently led John and his wife, Joan, to make provisions in their estate plans to create the John O. Bishop, M.D., Endowed Scholarship Fund in Baylor's College of Arts and Sciences, benefitting junior and senior pre-med students, and the Baylor-Bishop Leadership and Innovation in Business Endowed Fund in support of Baylor's nationally ranked department of Entrepreneurship and Corporate Innovation in the Hankamer School of Business.

The couple, who primarily reside in the Texas Hill Country, share a deep love for Baylor.

A California native, Joan earned a B.B.A. from Cal State Long Beach. She is a former executive at Saks Fifth Avenue and later the Divisional Vice-President of Merchandising at Hallmark Cards. She also is a very proud Baylor Alumna by Choice. "The first time I visited the Baylor campus, I could tell it was unique," she said. "Everyone I met seemed positive and engaging. We returned several times for football games, and to see friends, and each time I liked Baylor more. One of the best attributes of Baylor is their student counseling program, the goal of which is to keep all students in school, even if means redirecting their career path through a change in major. If that infrastructure had been available when I was a student, my college life would have been so much less stressful."

AN ENDURING IMPACT

Joan said that following her husband's decision to create an endowed scholarship at Baylor, she was asked to speak to Baylor students majoring in entrepreneurship. "I gave three lectures in a row, to different levels of students, after which I felt I was part of Baylor," she said. "The students were great, and I was enthralled with the entrepreneurship major. After that experience, I knew I wanted to create a special scholarship that could give students a jump start in the business."

John said advice from financial planners led to his and Joan's decision to mix the types of donations to Baylor. "I chose to donate my IRA to Baylor as a bequest, but in order to see the results in the short term I opted to donate the yearly distribution, which is excludable from tax at my age," he said. "I received thankyou letters from both scholarship recipients this year, neither of whom would have been able to complete their education without the scholarship funds. What a joy that was!"

Joan acknowledged the help of Hope Loomis in Baylor's University Advancement office, whom she said "had the patience of an angel," in deciding how best to designate her gift. "I was determined to give the perfect business innovative award that would provide a financial base to a student's vision, in any business major," she said.

During his career, John published numerous academic papers and made more than a hundred presentations. After retirement he has turned his hand to fiction, writing a series of medical thrillers titled the Doc Brady Mysteries that include Act of Murder, Act of Deception, and the most recently published installment Act of Revenge, which has received glowing reviews.

When it comes to the rewards of helping others, there is no mystery involved for the Bishops. "Giving students the kind of help that neither of us had has been an absolute joy," Joan said.