On the recordDecember 3, 2010
I rise today to recognize and offer my condolences for the passing of a great Nevadan, Velma Bishop. A naturalized U.S. citizen from Canada, Velma labored diligently in many charitable and civic opportunities and programs. She was a wonderful mother and a wife of 45 year to her beloved late husband, Gail Alexander Bishop. Not only will her local, religious, and political communities miss her impact, but so will the great multitudes of people she has been able to touch through a life devoted to service. It is my great honor to recognize her life's work before the U.S. Senate today. The State of Nevada will miss Velma's can-do spirit. She sacrificed much of her personal time volunteering with special-needs children and orphans. Many people with no biological relation nonetheless knew her as 'mom.' Her arms were open for anyone; her kind spirit will always be remembered. She was also a very involved member of her local congregation in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Velma worked diligently to raise money for nonprofit concerns and even found time to manage various campaigns for the Democratic Party of Nevada. She never shied away from voicing northern Nevada's needs.
