Pine Mountain mourns Jamie Bishop

Jamie Bishop

As a church bell tolled under a cloudy sky on a windy afternoon in Pine Mountain, several hundred mourners paid their last respects to Jamie Bishop.

Bishop, a German professor at Virginia Tech University was killed in last Monday's shooting rampage.

Those leaving the service, held at the town's First United Methodist Church, described an emotional, standing-room-only sermon given by Pastor Matthew Mitchell.

Pastor Matthew Mitchell speaking
with worshipers after service.
(Dave Bender)
The Bishop family are active members of the church, and are well known in the community.

Among the visitors was local State representative Vance Smith, who spoke of Jamie's skills and talents, and how, in his words, Pine Mountain “wasn't quite big enough to hold him.”

Smith told of memories of Jamie riding his bicycle through town's streets as a child. Smith said Jamie would have gone far, had his life not been cut so tragically short.

"Even though he wasn't living here, he was a loss to this area," Smith said.

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