Rodney Keith Short

Rodney Keith Short, 91, of Scottsdale, Arizona passed away on January 16, 2014. Rodney was born to Susie and Herbert Short in Coffeen, Illinois on April 20, 1922. He graduated from Champaign High School in 1940. He was married to Jane Dodds in University Place Christian Church on September 20, 1942. Rodney is preceded in death by his parents Herbert and Susie both of Champaign, Illinois, and his wife of 63 years, Jane Dodds Short of Scottsdale, Arizona. He is survived by his sons, Tim Short (Maria) of Pinehurst, North Carolina and Kim Short of Scottsdale, Arizona, as well as granddaughter Lauren Greaves (Paul), great-granddaughter London Greaves, great-grandson Dillon Greaves all of Tampa, Florida. Also grandson, Cameron Short (Diana) of Aspen, Colorado. Rodney was a loving and dedicated husband, father and grandfather. He will be dearly missed. A committal service will be held on Wednesday, January 29th at 12:30 PM at National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona, 23029 N Cave Creek Rd. Phoenix. Arrangements under the direction of Shadow Mountain Mortuary, Phoenix, AZ.

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Letter To My Dad

I wanted to write this letter to you on the day Jesus brought you to Heaven.

To again let you know how proud and lucky I feel that God chose me as your son. You have always been there for me through thick and thin. You walked the walk, you taught me right from wrong, you taught me to always be kind to people, to say thank you, to really have an interest in other people’s lives, to be a man of character, to be responsible. You taught me that when you give your word about something, you stick to it! And if you told someone that you would be on time, well that didn’t mean ten minutes late. Were you rich? No, but you were rich in the way you lived, you gave me the heart for caring and to have faith in the highest of powers- God.

Everyone that you came in contact with, you always had a big smile for them! People liked you, and you sure liked talking to them. You also taught me to have sympathy for the less fortunate. Tonight, I fell kind of less fortunate, and sad! I lost you, my best friend. Sure we had some trying times But you know that those times brought us even closer together. I will remember the trips we shared: Hawaii, New Orleans, Washington DC, San Diego, Las Vegas, Aspen Colorado, St Louis, Florida, San Francisco, CA, Seattle, WA and even the little town where you were born, Coffeen, Illinois. And especially the Cubs Game in Chicago. You and I traveled all over Arizona and I loved our long road trips way into the night.

We had us a good time didn’t we? And it wasn’t because of where we were, but because you were with me to share it.

I will always remember lying down in your bed every night and singing our favorite song.

“Jesus loves me, yes I know, for the Bible tells me so, He is strong but we are weak, Jesus loves us every week, YES! Jesus loves me! Yes Jesus loves me! Yes Jesus loves me! For the Bible tells me so.”

Well, the words weren’t exactly right, but to us it was right, and God knew and He said “Well done!”

I will always remember how you took care of Mom for 63 years. Loyal and loving through the years, you saw to her every need. She always told me “Dad takes real good care of me” and she would always say to us “Everything will be alright.” I know that you are with Mom in Heaven tonight, safe in the arms of Jesus. Like we always talked, this earthly journey is just for 80 to maybe 100 years, but that is nothing compared to eternity. You made it Dad! I will miss you and love you forever.

Dad, I am still working on the things that you instilled in me! And I have made a a lot of mistakes along the way, but you always told me “Don’t give up!” I won’t.

Thank you for our unconditional love for me! There is no one on earth that I loved more than you and Mom. Until we meet again God says “Well done!” and I say it too. Well done! You were a good and faithful man. I wish the world had more men like you. Everything will be alright! For the Bible tells us so.

Your son! Kim