Where to send cards Cards with words of encouragement or get-well wishes, or financial contributions for medical needs for Jim Bishop may be mailed to 1529 Claremont Ave., Pueblo, CO 81004.

For 46 years, Jim Bishop has invested nearly all his spare time, money and energy into building a towering castle not for himself, but for “the people,” to enjoy.

Bishop’s passion and hard work have never slowed him down. In addition to owning and operating his own ornamental iron shop, he has spent much time working on the castle, building it stone, by stone with his bare hands.

Since being diagnosed with cancer Dec. 5, 2014, Bishop has taken a break from the project. His wife, Phoebe Bishop, said her husband still visits the castle about once a week.

“It is such an aggressive, invasive, incurable cancer, it has him so weak he can hardly walk,” she said. “He has no strength and no energy right now at all.”

Phoebe said there is no cure for her husband’s cancer, but doctors hope to keep it under control. He had a tumor removed in January, and he will begin radiation Feb. 23, one day before his 71st birthday.

The Daily Record asked Jim on Friday what his message is to all the people who have enjoyed visiting his castle through the years.

“The message I would have is not work so hard as I did, take more time off so you don’t run your body down to nothing, and stay as healthy as you can because health is one of the most important things you’ve got,” he said. “That’s what I did— I kind of run myself into the ground from working too hard.”

What was intended to be a one-room stone cottage became an attraction featuring a grand ballroom, towers and bridges and a fire-breathing dragon. Hundreds of thousands of people have visited the one-man project. In the early days of construction, Phoebe and Jim helped some motorists who were stuck in mud on the side of the highway near their property. Phoebe invited them inside their tin shed that was used for a cabin to warm up. She asked them why they were out on such a wet, soggy day.

“(The lady) said, ‘we keep hearing about this castle some people are building in the mountains, and we’ve come looking for it,'” she said. “I told her, ‘we keep hearing about it, too. When you find it, will you, come back and tell us where it is at?'”

As they were walking to the cabin from the road, the motorists saw the stone structure and said that is what they’d been looking for.

“So, Jimmy said, ‘the people want a castle, I think we ought to build them one,'” Phoebe said.

After four years into the project, the one-room cottage began to evolve into an enchanting castle. Jim has built it using no blueprints nor plans. When Phoebe purchased her husband a used Bobcat to lighten his load about seven years ago, he instead began using it to move larger rocks and even some boulders.

Bishop still has about several years worth of work he would like to see completed. The family has set up a trust so that if something does happen, Bishop Castle will continue to operate under the trust. They currently are maintaining the property for people to continue enjoy. Phoebe said between 105,000 and 120,000 people visit the castle annually.

Cards with words of encouragement or get-well wishes, or financial contributions for medical needs for Jim Bishop may be mailed to 1529 Claremont Ave., Pueblo, CO 81004.

Bishop Castle is about 45 miles south of Cañon City in Rye. For more information, visit www.bishopcastle.org.

Carie Canterbury: 719-276-7643, canterburyc@canoncitydailyrecord.com