"In court, he was always very polite to lawyers, but he was not someone who would stand for any nonsense. Lawyers who prepared their arguments and were polite were treated kindly, and those who didn't were admonished," he said.
"He was an outstanding member of the state Senate, and it was a real privilege serving with him. He was a wonderfully decent person," said J. Joseph Curran Jr., former Maryland attorney general.
"Jack really was one of the nicest individuals I've met in this life. He was very smart and always worked hard at getting to the soul of an issue. I think he was one of the greatest senators Baltimore County and Maryland ever had," he said.
For years, Mr. Curran and Judge Bishop walked together in the annual March of Dimes 26-mile Walk-a-Thon.
"We'd hit up legislators for a buck or two, and then we walked the entire 26 miles together. We did it for years and raised lots of money," Mr. Curran said.
By the time of his 1996 retirement, Judge Bishop had written more than 850 opinions.
"I enjoy the research and their writing more than anything else," he told The Baltimore Sun in a 1982 article. "I enjoy getting into something you can spend some time on in depth."
Judge Bishop was an avid reader whose interests included theological issues, philosophy and fiction, family members said.
He was a former parishioner of Immaculate Heart of Mary Roman Catholic Church in Baynesville.
His wife of 60 years, the former Doris Anderson, died in 2008.
Judge Bishop was a communicant of Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church, Baltimore and Ware avenues in Towson, where a Mass of Christian burial will be offered at 10 a.m. Saturday.
Surviving are three sons, John J. Bishop III of Parkville, Michael R. Bishop of Joppatowne and Paul F. Bishop of Perry Hall; three daughters, Suzanne M. Giblin of Towson, Karen L. Frew of Baldwin and Patricia A. Mitchell of Cockeysville; a sister, Doris Collins of Ellicott City; 13 grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
