Mennonite Weekly Review

The image and words befit the late Ann Dayton Bishop, 88, whose life we gathered to commemorate. All five of her children have Stangl dinnerware in their homes. Anna and I have used Stangl plates, side dishes and coffee cups nearly every day over our 43 years of marriage.

The funeral service was held Dec. 22 at Blooming Glen (Pa.) Mennonite Church, where Mom attended as long as she was physically able.

I felt her presence in this ser­vice of remembrance and celebration even though we committed her to the earth earlier that day, buried next to her beloved husband, J. Vernon Bishop.

She left this world quietly, peacefully, in the early hours of Dec. 20 at Rockhill Mennonite Community, where she had resided for 10 years. Before that, she lived 57 years in Doylestown, Pa., moving there in 1942 from her home in Mineral County, W.Va., after her marriage.

Mom Bishop was an amazing woman. Her upbeat outlook on life was reflected in her favorite Scripture verse: “This is the day which the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Mom never worked full time outside the home. In fact, she worked overtime on her primary calling of being the best household executive she could be.

Mom’s meals were a culinary event to be anticipated and savored, especially her Sunday dinners of roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy or Dutch fried potatoes and creamed peas.

We were expected to come promptly to the table, fully dressed, no caps, no radio or TV on in the background, and we couldn’t leave the table — taking the dirty dishes with us to the kitchen — until everyone was finished. No one really was that anxious to go, because conversation was always animated, compelling and usually loud.

Often, Mom would take it all in, then raise her hand and say, “May I speak?” We’d stop yelling long enough to say, “Forty-five seconds, Mom, and you’ve already used 10 of them.”