JR Bishop was a great man and the friendliest, nicest, most loving man you would ever meet. I have never known a single person who didn't like JR. In addition, he was responsible for turning the Wheaton program around and sending it on to where it is now. JR took over the Wheaton Football program in 1982 and was the team's 4th different head coach in 4 years. They were 1-8/2-7 each of those 4 years including JR's first year. In 1983 Bishop's program went 6-3 in the CCIW which coincided with the start of Augustana's 4peat as National champions. JR engineered winning seasons in all but one of his next 12 seasons and won his first outright conference title and NCAA playoff birth in 1995. Mike Swider became JR's defensive coordinator in the fall of 1985 until he took over as Head Coach in 1996. And JR, rather than retire, stayed on as Mike's offensive coordinator for another 4-5 years as the program really began to establish national prominence.
JR will be missed but more than that, he will be celebrated for the man he was. A man who loved people and more than that he loved God. RIP JR.
Services are Monday morning at 11am at College Church in Wheaton (visitation Sunday 2-7pm at Hultgren's funeral home in Wheaton)
