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Obituary of Constance B. Short
Constance "Connie" Short” was born on April 8th, 1933, in Dexter, Maine, where she was also raised. After graduating from high school in Dexter in 1952, she pursued a degree in education with a focus on history at the University of Maine in Orono where she graduated in 1956 with high honors.
Connie had a passion for travel and for adventure. She embarked on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Europe and traveled extensively throughout the United States and Canada. Her career as a teacher took her to various states, including Massachusetts, Colorado, and Washington.
While teaching in Olympia, Washington, Connie would travel down to Lake Oswego, Oregon to spend holidays with her brother Sheldon, his wife Millie, daughter Joanna, and son David. In the words of Joanna, for most of her life, Aunt Connie and she lived thousands of miles apart, but in that small time that Connie was living in Washington, Connie had an impact on her life. Joanna was a young teenager and was completely in awe of Connie and shared her bedroom with her. She talked to Joanna about college and having a career eventually, and she introduced her to books and reading for pleasure. Connie particularly loved historical fiction, and Joanna quickly fell in love with the genre. She gave Joanna her first adult book, Leon Uris’s “Exodus”. She devoured the book and that led to her passion for historical fiction. So many times, Joanna would pick up a new book and thought, “Aunt Connie would love this one!” Joanna admired her as a gentle soul and was always impressed by her manners and poise. After Connie left Washington to return to the east coast, they started writing letters to each other. It was a special day when Joanna received one of Connie’s letters and she kept them for years.
Connie was an avid skier and skied mountains from Sugarloaf in Maine to Aspen in Colorado. She went up in a balloon at least once. Connie took her younger brother Stephen on a tour flight over Moosehead Lake and together they climbed Mt Washington. On one of her trips back home from out west, she camped in Yellowstone in a sleeping bag next to her convertible. She woke up to the noise of a bear rummaging in the back seat for food that she had stored for the trip home. Connie quickly crawled under the car where she remained until the bear got his fill and left. In the summer of 1962, Connie organized a road trip in her Comet, from Maine to Oregon and back with her parents, Everett and Alice Bennett, and her brother. The trip went up into Canada, and then back into the United States through Sault Ste. Marie in Michigan. Many stops were made along the way, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, the Badlands, Pikes Peak, and more. The trip was slowed for a bit when the Comet overheated in North Dakota and caught fire at a rest stop. The locals were used to this and would often attach a large bag of water to the front of their vehicles. Fortunately, a few of them reacted quickly and dumped water on the engine before the fire could do too much damage. An overnight stop to repair the car and they were on their way again. Once in Oregon, the four of them stayed for a couple weeks with older brother Sheldon and his family before heading back to Maine. It was a great trip for all and one not to be forgotten.
Eventually, Connie returned to her home state of Maine, where she began teaching in Augusta. It was here that she met Sidney Short. The two were married in 1964 and settled in Winthrop, Maine, where they welcomed their two sons: Frank David Short, born in 1967, and Thomas Loyd Short, born in 1968.
The family later moved to Limington, Maine, where Connie devoted herself to being a full-time mother. In 1975, they purchased a farm in Cambridge, Maine, where they raised strawberries, vegetables, and beef cows—a place their sons, Frank and Tom, would consider their hometown. After the boys graduated from high school and joined the military, Connie and Sid sold the farm and relocated to Old Town, Maine, where Sid worked as a chemist. The couple moved again, this time to Fredonia, Wisconsin, before ultimately returning to Maine to retire in Stockton Springs.
Connie was passionate about history and became actively involved with the Stockton Springs Historical Society. She was a dedicated historian and cherished her time contributing to the community.
Connie was predeceased by her parents, Everett and Alice Bennett, by older brothers, Everett Jr, Lloyd, and Sheldon Bennett. She was also predeceased by her beloved husband, Sidney Short. She is survived by her younger brother Stephen and wife Judy of Freedom, Maine, and by her son Frank Short and his wife Tammi of Prospect, Maine; son Thomas Short and his wife Clara and granddaughter Sofia Short of Glenburn, Maine; grandson Garrett Short, his wife Sara, and great-grandson William of Pleasantville, Tennessee; grandson Luke Short, his wife Faustina, and two great-grandchildren Karnia and Voe of Osan Air Force Base in South Korea; and granddaughter Meredith Nelson, her husband Cooper, and their two daughters, Charlett and Lorretta.
Connie's legacy of love, learning, and family will be cherished by all who knew her.
