Graveside services will be conducted by the Rev. Clint Davis of the Chester ARP Church at 1:00 pm on Monday, April 22 at the Gaston Memorial Park in Gastonia. The family will receive friends at O’Charley’s Restaurant, located at 1601 East Franklin Boulevard, Gastonia, immediately following the services. The Rev. Davis is a former Sunday School pupil of Betty Short.
She was born Betty Gray Pearson to Rachel Pauline Edwards Pearson and Lawrence Frederick Pearson July 23, 1927 in Gastonia North Carolina. Her spirit was that of a survivor, a worker bee, a rock. As a young girl, her classmates marveled at how quickly she could solve arithmetic problems without writing anything down. She told her grandchildren that math is easy if you think of it as money! Betty graduated from Cramerton High School a year early so that she could marry the love of her life, Paul Edgar Short on Valentine’s Day in 1944. She always said the secret to a happy marriage is never going to bed angry. They were so devoted to one another that she often told her family she never dated after Paul’s death because “when you had the best, what would be the point in trying the rest”!
As a young war bride, she worked diligently in a hosiery mill sewing so that she could save money for a home for her Navy husband, Paul, and herself. She was so talented and quick that she was offered a supervisor position. She quickly realized she would make more money continuing in her position on the line than she ever could as a supervisor, so she turned down the offer! She freely gave her heart to raise and educate her beloved children, Paul Edgar Short, Jr., and Rebecca Gay Short Lewis Banks. Betty had the soul of a servant in caring for her family, teaching children’s church and Sunday School at Unity Baptist Church in Gastonia , and volunteering for many years as a Democratic poll worker. She never lost her love of politics and participated in protests in Raleigh against the current national administration during the last years of her life. She loved travelling and planning trips with the Senior Citizens of Unity Baptist Church. She retired after many years as a “girl Friday” from the Merchant Oil Company. One of Betty’s favorite ways to serve others and to show love was cooking. She took food to sick friends, treats to workers and spoiled her family with her specialties. She loved children, education, reading, working puzzles, and shopping for bargains. In addition, she was a distinguished seamstress. She was greatly loved by her friends and especially by her family.
Most of her life she lived in Gastonia. In 1989, Betty, her husband, and Mother moved to a farm outside Clover, SC, she inherited from her maternal aunt, Frances Edwards Smith Nivens.
In 2012, she moved to Chester, S.C. to be closer to family. She developed an especially close relationship with her youngest great-granddaughter, Mary Kendall. During this time, she enjoyed extended stays with her daughter, Rebecca, and son-in-law, Cecil, in Raleigh and at North Myrtle Beach. She moved to Raleigh in 2018 to live with Rebecca and Cecil. In August of that year, she moved to an apartment at HeartFields Assisted Living community in Cary.
Betty was preceded in death by her parents, her brother, Lawrence Frederick Pearson, Jr. (Bucky), and her beloved husband, Paul. She is survived by her children, Paul Edgar Short, Jr. (Linda), and Rebecca Short Lewis Banks (Cecil); her grandchildren: Lindy Short Blanks (William), Frederick Carlton Lewis (Alexandra), and Melanie Short Stephenson (Walter); her great-grandchildren: Ariel Melinda Blanks, James Noah Edwards, Blythe Rhylynne Edwards, Mary Kendall Edwards, and Savannah Victoria Lewis.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Unity Baptist Church, 482 North Myrtle School Road, Gastonia, NC 28052; Purity Presbyterian Church, PO. Box 278, Chester, SC 29706; or, St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church, P. O. Box 505, Garner, NC 27529.
The family would like to express its sincere appreciation to the staffs of HeartFields Assisted Living and Transitions Hospice for the compassion and concern demonstrated in caring for Betty Short in her final months.
Arrangements are by Brown-Wynne Funeral Home of Cary and Carothers Funeral Home of Gastonia.
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.8.18