Joe Bishop, house mover, devoted his whole self to work

When his health started failing, Joe Bishop still showed up at his house-moving business. Work was all he knew, said his wife, Margaret Tatum Bishop of Winder.

“Up to the last three years, when he got sick, he would still ride with me,” his wife said. “When we went to move a house he still held those escort flags in his hand, directing traffic and stuff.”

Enlarge this image

Family photo

Joe L. Bishop, 82, of Winder, who ran a house-moving business, was still talking about work the night before he died.

“He was a workaholic,” said his son, Lee Bishop of Buford, “and he did it a long time. He liked NASCAR and a few other things, like baseball and football. But he worked the majority of the time.”

Joe L. Bishop, 82, of Winder died Friday of cancer at his home. The funeral is 2 p.m. Tuesday in the chapel of Flanigan Funeral Home and Crematory in Buford.

Mr. Bishop was born in Fulton County and grew up near the site of what is now Turner Field. His relatives used to own Bishop Brothers Auto Auction on Stewart Avenue, now called Metropolitan Parkway. Mr. Bishop’s late brother, Roy, operated Roy Bishop House Movers for decades. That’s where Mr. Bishop worked for several years before starting his own venture — Joe Bishop House Movers — nearly four decades ago.

“Two or three brothers all started off selling used cars and trucks and moving houses,” his son said. “Moving houses can be a tough business. It is not nearly as common now as it used to be, and now, it’s very slow.”

But in down times, the elder Bishop never fretted, even in the current recession, his wife said.

“Things are slow,” she said, “but he didn’t worry about it. He kept telling me, ‘It will pick back up, Momma. It will pick back up.’ “

When it came to business, Mr. Bishop was a straight shooter. It was the same approach he took to child-rearing.

“He was caring,” his son said, “but at the same time he was very upfront. There was never anything hidden. You always knew where you stood with him. He was a very compassionate person, but very stern, too, if that makes any sense.”

Though a workaholic, Mr. Bishop would make time to enjoy NASCAR. When the races were televised, the Navy veteran demanded silence.

“He’d holler, ‘Watch him go!’ ” his wife said. “His main TV watching was the races, though he didn’t have a favorite racer. He liked several, actually.”

The night before Mr. Bishop died, his mind was still fixated on his business. He told his wife that he wanted to take a run to look at a house that was to be transported.

“He was still thinking work,” his wife said, “and that made me feel good because that’s what he’s done for all these years. That’s what he knew.”

Additional survivors include two other sons, Carl Bishop of Winder and Joe Bishop of Franklin; a stepson, Dewayne Chance of Winder; a stepdaughter, Sherry Neal of Flowery Branch; and eight grandchildren.