(Longtime Resident Of Fayette)
FAYETTE – Joy Short, age 86, of Fayette, died Saturday, March 16, 2024 at the CHP Defiance Inpatient Hospice following a brief battle with cancer.
She was born at home in Defiance on January 3, 1938, a daughter of the late Clarence Jacob and Esther Marie (Walter) Hesselschwardt.
She was raised in Defiance, where she also graduated from high school with the Class of 1955. After high school, Joy worked in Defiance as an operator at United Telephone Company.
Joy was introduced at a dance to Colenzo Jay Short, a resident of Fayette, and their instant attraction to each other ultimately led to marriage on May 30, 1958, in Delaware Bend, OH.
Together, they raised four children and shared over 63 years of wedded bliss, before his passing on October 15, 2021.
After settling in Fayette, Joy worked briefly at Wannemacher’s Rexall Drugstore before assuming the role of bookkeeper in her husband’s business, Short’s Cabinet shop.
This allowed her the privilege of staying home to perform her most important job—serving as a mother to her four children.
Active among her community, Joy was civically involved as a member of the Fayette Firebelles and the Child Conservation League (CCL).
Joy was steadfast in her values as a lifelong Roman Catholic, and she was heavily involved in her faith community, Our Lady of Mercy Church.
She served her parish as a member of the Altar Rosary Society, a friendly hostess for its annual fall festival, a Sunday Offering counter, and proudly volunteered for years at the St. Vincent DePaul Society.
Joy also enjoyed being outside doing yard work and gardening, each season canning and freezing the excess of her plentiful harvest.
She was blessed with travels throughout all of the 50 States as well as several countries abroad. Over the last 20 years, Colenzo and Joy spent winter seasons at South Padre Island, Texas. There they met numerous winter Texans and formed tight bonds with them, that led to gatherings together even in the summer months. She loved crossword puzzles, square dancing, and had a love for music.
Joy will be sadly missed by her family, which includes her children, Jerry (Linda) Short of Fayette, Julie Schumacher of Cincinnati, OH, and Jon (Judi) Short of Antwerp, OH, and a daughter-in-law, Brigid Short of Cincinnati; seven grandchildren, Kyle (Mandy), Kurt, Kody (Harley), TJ (Erin), Sierra (Anthony), Peyton, and Alexandra; a step-grandson, Alex; six great-grandchildren, Scarlett, Mercy, Ryker, Tate, Amara, and Enzo; and a step-great granddaughter, Nyara; siblings, Jan (Floyd) Layman, John Hesselschwardt, Jane (Orville) Clark; a sister-in-law, Shriley Stuckey; and many nieces and nephews.
In addition to her parents and husband, Joy was preceded in death by two sons, Terry Lee Short and Jeffrey Allen Short; a brother, James Hesselschwardt; and a son-in-law, Mark J. Schumacher.
The family will receive friends for visitation at the Eagle-Marry Funeral Home in Fayette on Wednesday, March 20, 2024, beginning at 2:00 p.m. and concluding with a Rosary at 7:00 p.m. Joy will lie in state at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, March 21, at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church in Fayette until Funeral Mass is Celebrated at 11:00 a.m. by Rev. Father Bill Pifher. Rite of Committal will follow in Pleasant View Union Cemetery.
Those planning an expression of sympathy may consider memorial donations in honor of Joy be made to benefit Our Lady of Mercy Church Parking Lot Fund, CHP Hospice, or Heartland Hospice/Laurels.
Friends can share condolences with the family online at www.eaglemarryfuneralhomes.com . To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Joy, please visit our floral store.