- Date Of Birth: January 3, 1926
- Date Of Death: October 3, 2012
- State: New Mexico
OCTOBER 4, 2012
ROSWELL DAILY RECORDNEWS DEPT.
BISH, DONOn Wednesday evening, October 3rd, in the presence of his wife Nancy and daughter Sharon Berry, Don Bish was tenderly called home by his savior Jesus Christ after a brief illness. Don was a native New Mexican, born in Las Vegas on January 3, 1926, to Earl and Minnie Bish. He was the fourth of five children, including Doris, Leroy, Marie, and Paul. He was drafted into the United States Army before completing high school and served in the Pacific theater until the end of World War II.
After his discharge Don returned to Las Vegas and enrolled in Highlands University. He married Joy Rutherford and they had a son, Daniel, shortly before Joy died of cancer. In the summer of 1950 he met Nancy Osborn who was attending summer school at Highlands, and they were married on November 26th of that year. The following year their daughter Sharon Elizabeth was born. Don and Nancy were married for almost 62 years.
Dons friendly nature and outgoing personality enabled him to achieve a very successful sales career, primarily in wholesale auto parts for local stores and national companies. During his extended service with the Arthur Fulmer Company, Don was their national sales leader for several years. After moving to Odessa, Texas, in 1956, Dons territory extended from Del Rio to Lubbock and from Abilene to El Paso and all the West Texas towns in between. He didnt know it at the time, but one of his customers in Alpine would later become the fatherinlaw of Dons grandson Kevin Berry.
As they raised their family in Odessa, Don and Nancy became active members of First Baptist Church where Don was one of the first men to teach in their Sunday Schools preschool department.
