MANSFIELD — The room that Gary Bishop built now bears his name.
Richland County Prosecutor Jodie Schumacher honored her predecessor Wednesday morning by renaming the crime victim room that Bishop helped to create in 2017.
Schumacher said the ceremony in the prosecutor’s office 38 S Park St. was fittingly taking place on what would have been Bishop’s 64th birthday and also during Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
Bishop, 63, passed away May 8 from esophageal cancer after a legal career that spanned more than 35 years, including twice winning election as the county’s chief legal counsel.
A sign indicating “The Bishop Room” will be placed on the office door. A plaque in the former prosecutor’s honor was hung on the wall.
“Gary recognized that domestic violence victims were experiencing trauma. Because of that trauma they were experiencing, we as prosecutors needed to treat them a bit differently, to handle the cases a bit differently,” said Schumacher, who was selected by the county’s Republican Party Central Committee to complete his term in office.
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During the event, which included Bishop’s widow, Melony, Schumacher said the former prosecutor recognized the need for a place to meet with victims, even in a small room that was once used as a storage room.
“This is a place that is separate from our harsh offices that are stacked with files. This is a place prosecutors can meet with these victims, to talk about the victims’ needs and the victims’ vulnerabilities and to talk about things that are not just the victims’ cases.
“This is where we make connections. This is where we break down those barriers,” Schumacher sad.
“This is Gary’s room.”
For Melony Bishop, it’s the first time she has visited the prosecutor’s office since her late husband left office on April 13.
“This just means the world to me because I knew how compassionate Gary was about his work with domestic violence victims and all the victims, actually,” she said. “I am just honored to be here.
“I absolutely would not have missed this,” Melony Bishop said.
Schumacher said it was a fitting salute to the prosecutor who hired her in 2016 and appointed her First Assistant Prosecutor in 2017.
“We are all familiar with Gary’s dedication to public service. There is no better way to commemorate his service, to commemorate his dedication, and to dedicate this room to him on his birthday during Domestic Violence Awareness Month,” she said.
