About E.K. and Lillian F. Bishop

Lillian Fleet Bishop – “A Grand Lady”

The daughter of Grays Harbor pioneers, Lillian Fleet Bishop was born in Montesano to civil engineer David Wacker Fleet and his wife, Lillian.  She continued to reside in the Harbor area until her death in 1971.

All who knew her would agree with an editorial written at the time of her death: Mrs. Bishop “was a grand lady, dignified, charming and warm – one of the Harbor’s most gracious people.”

Her active civic involvement included the YMCA and Children’s Orthopedic Hospital auxiliaries, along with the Grays Harbor College Foundation.  In memory of her husband, she and her brother, Reuben Fleet, donated funds to construct the Bishop Center for the Performing Arts, located near the entrance of the Grays Harbor College campus.  Her generosity demonstrated her continual “concern for the quality of life on the Harbor”.

The Bishops established the E.K. and Lillian F. Bishop Foundation to perpetuate their commitment to the youth of Grays Harbor, providing financial assistance to organizations and programs that benefit young people.  These funds are administered through Grays Harbor College to assist young Harbor residents in their third, fourth and graduate school years.

E.K. Bishop – “Adventurer and Founder”

An adventurer at heart, E.K. Bishop was born in Alton, Illinois and worked his way west as a cook, teacher, tallyman and reporter.  Shortly after arriving in Grays Harbor, he purchased a bankrupt shingle mill in Montesano and later move to Aberdeen.  He served as president of the Aberdeen State Bank, which later became the Grays Harbor National Bank and in 1933, the Grays Harbor branch of National Bank of Commerce.

In addition to his numerous business interests, he was active in many educational, civic and philanthropic causes.  He was a founder of Grays Harbor College, established the Bishop Foundation for Eye Treatment and Research with Mrs. Bishop, helped create Camp Bishop for Aberdeen (now Grays Harbor) YMCA, and joined his brother-in-law Reuben Fleet in creating the Bishop-Fleet Foundation for charitable purposes.

When Mr. Bishop died in 1968 in Aberdeen, at the age of 95, historians pronounced him the Harbor’s “grand old man of business, charities and civic affairs”.