James A. Bishop, Jr., 92, of Lambertville, NJ, died on Monday, January 1, 2018, at Doylestown Hospital, Doylestown, PA.

Jim was born in Lambertville and was a lifelong city resident. He graduated from Lambertville High School in 1947. His high school education had been interrupted by his two years of US Navy service as a Seaman First Class in the South Pacific. He married his sweetheart Peggy Ann Hampton in 1949. As a young man, husband and father held many jobs often working two or three jobs to take care of his growing family. He worked for the US Postal Service in Lambertville, Public Service in Trenton, Texas Eastern in Mt. Airy, and was an inspector for the New Jersey Department of Transportation. He was a bartender at Ledger’s Inn and parked cars at the River’s Edge Restaurant. With his good friend Gail Casey he worked on the crew that built the original Lumberville pedestrian bridge and were among the honorees when the bridge was restored and rededicated. He was skilled in construction worked on the construction of the wing damn and with the help of family and friends built his own home on Cottage Hill. Jim was an entrepreneur. He worked and saved. He invested in real estate.

On April 1, 1969, Jim purchased Mitchell’s Café on Church Street in Lambertville. It was a long held dream and is still operated by the Bishop family. Jim was a daily communicant at St. John the Evangelist Church in Lambertville. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus, the American Legion Toscani Post, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Lambertville Area Chamber of Commerce. He was a past president and vice-president of the Hunterdon County Licensed Beverage Association. Jim was an athlete. He boxed in the Golden Gloves. He enjoyed bowling, softball and golf. He served as a Lambertville little league coach, sponsored Mitchell’s softball team and played with the Suburban Softball League. With his sons he chopped fire wood for their homes and the café. Above all else Jim was dedicated to his family and his community. He always placed his family first and extended a helping hand to anyone in need.

Jim enjoyed the many hours he spent sitting with his wife Peggy at the kitchen table while he did his paper work and watched the many birds visiting his bird feeder. Some of his favorite things were family parties and vacations, time sitting by the fireplace, watching TV with his family, fishing on Lake Ontario with his son Jamie and driving around Lambertville in his red truck doing errands with his son David. He was a diehard Philadelphia Eagles and New York Yankees fan.

He was the son of the late James A Bishop, Sr. and Elsa Trautz Hammond Bishop, the father of the late Mary Bishop, and the brother of the late Marie Bishop Salevsky, Lorraine Bishop Lambert, John “Jack” Hammond and Jane Hammond Voorhees. Jim is survived by his loving wife of 68 years, Peggy Ann Hampton Bishop; his children Bonnie L. Bishop and her partner Scott Gordon, Carol A. Bishop, James A. “Jamie” Bishop III and his partner Bethann Morgan and David P. Bishop, all of Lambertville, and several nieces and nephews. Jim was predeceased by his daughter Carol’s longtime partner, Glenn Wright.

A funeral mass will be offered on Thursday, January 11 at 12 noon at St. John the Evangelist Church, 44 Bridge Street, Lambertville, NJ 08530. Interment will follow at the Holcombe-Riverview Cemetery, Delaware Township.

Calling hours at the Van Horn-McDonough Funeral Home, 21 York Street, Lambertville, NJ 08530 (vhmfh.com) on Thursday morning from 8:30 am until departure for church

Memorial donations may be made to St. John’s Outreach Ministry, St. John the Evangelist Church, 13 N. Main Street, Lambertville, NJ 08530.