Cora E Short

Cora Ella Short Cora Ella Short of Las Cruces, New Mexico, died at 2 a.m. on January 14, 2016, surrounded by her family at Memorial Medical Center in Las Cruces. She was born August 20 (at her request, the year will remain undisclosed) in Rensselaer, Indiana, into a close-knit family of three sisters and four brothers. She followed one of her sisters from the snowy Midwest to the sunny Southwest, where she settled in Mesquite after marrying local farmer Floyd Neely in 1948. After his death in 1957, she ran the family farm and held down a full-time job with the Farm Bureau, all while raising their young daughter Nancy on her own. She moved to Las Cruces, where she married Realtor Robert M. Short in 1961. Together, they created the Telshor Hills subdivision, where they also raised two more daughters, Sandy and Carolyn. Cora not only brought vision and support to the business, she was also a room mother and a Girl Scout leader, and was avidly involved in various charities, including raising funds for the March of Dimes. Through her creative and indomitable spirit, she helped bring the Camp Fire Girls organization to Las Cruces. Her troop of young women sang at local retirement homes, refurbished used dolls to sell as a fundraiser for hospitalized children, and went on numerous outings and adventures. Later in life, she became a professional artist, where her love for nature-particularly hummingbirds-was evident in her work. She was a woman of great strength and resolve, and her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchild have inherited many of her best traits. To her first-born child, Nancy, she passed her kindness as well as her love of gambling trips to Las Vegas; to Sandy, her middle daughter, she gave generosity and an artistic nature; and her confidence and uncanny spelling skills went to Carolyn. To her granddaughter Shannon, she gave her bravery and an undying love for shoes. Her youngest granddaughter, Kate, got her playfulness and zest for life as well as her coffee-drinking habit. To her only grandson, Jackson, she gave an entrepreneurial spirit, her sweet sense of humor, and her beautiful blue eyes, which we are grateful we can still see her through. Madison, her 4-year-old great-grandchild, has a touch of her strong-willed spirit, definitely has Cora's love of dolls, and is also carrying on the shoe-loving gene. Mom lives on in us all. She is survived by daughters Sandy Short, of Las Cruces; Nancy Shelley and her husband, Chris, of Las Cruces, and their daughter, Shannon Stevens and her husband, Joel, of Deming, and their daughter, Madison; Carolyn Graham and her husband, Steve, of Orange, California, and their children, Kate and Jackson. Visitation is at 1:30-2 p.m. at Getz Funeral Home. Funeral services will follow at 2 p.m. A brief grave-side service will be held at Masonic Cemetery. A reception will immediately follow at her home. Donations can be made in her memory to St. Jude's Children's Hospital, (800) 822-6344 or stjude.org.