Bish was born in Springfield, Illinois, USA, on 2 October 1912. She attended Springfield High School.

In the early 1930s, she married William Wright, with whom she had two children: Donald Wright Sr. and Delores Hughes (born 1933). She later remarried to Edgar A. Bish. She worked at Sangamo Electric.

At the age of 109, she underwent hip replacement surgery. She recovered from COVID-19 on two occasions.

One of her aunts, Jessie Rollins, lived to be 107.