Gloria Wood Short

Published 2:20 pm Friday, May 9, 2025

Gloria Wood Short, 88, died May 6, 2025, at 1:40 a.m.

Gloria Wood Short

Services will be held on Monday, May 12, 2025, at First Baptist Church of Andalusia with the Rev. Kevin Wilburn officiating. Interment will follow at Andalusia Memorial Cemetery. The family will receive friends at the church beginning at 9:30 a.m. with the service to follow at 10:30.

Gloria was born to Ruis and Mary Olive Livingston Wood on Jan. 10, 1937. She claimed Ed Short as her sweetheart when the two entered ninth grade at Straughn School in 1951 and he admits she has been in charge ever since. They graduated together in May of 1955 and married on June 18, 1955.

Together they built a life that included many of her favorite pastimes. They traveled internationally and throughout the United States, including to Alaska and Hawaii. While traveling, she enjoyed many adventures including snowmobiling and salmon fishing. But her favorite fishing was for bream with a cane pole and her preferred spots were with her husband at Lake Demopolis or while camping with their children in the Great Smokey Mountains.

Until recent years, she was active in the life of her church and in the civic life of the community and rarely missed a home Andalusia High School or Auburn University football game. One memory of her church life was the time in the mid-70s that she helped chaperone the First Baptist Youth Choir to New York. Gloria cooked biscuits each morning for the 50 or so in the group from First Baptist Andalusia. She and her friend Esther Barrow were also part of the cooking crew that provided the Wednesday night suppers at First Baptist Andalusia.

She was an accomplished hostess and gathered as many of her family together as possible for holiday festivities. She was a firm believer that Santa Claus should deliver multiple gifts for everyone for Christmas and she helped him in that endeavor. She also firmly believed that none of her grandchildren or great-grandchildren could do any wrong.

She enjoyed playing the piano. In her early teen years, she played the piano for the worship services at Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church and she played for many weddings and at home just for fun. She also loved ballroom and Texas two-step dancing.

Gloria, or “Glorio” as the grands called her, is survived by her husband of almost 70 years, their children, Tambry Short Henderson and Circuit Judge Lex Short and his wife, Susan Jones Short; grandchildren and great-grandchildren; Kristin Gadd Pricket (Cannon), Cannon Jr., Knox, Vance and Vivian; Sara Catherine Patrick (Wilson), Emma, Louisa, Charlotte; Caroline Gadd; Hunter Gadd (Jennifer), River, Brooke and Charlie; Charles Alex Short, Jr. (Katy), Tanner and Cooper; and Ada Short.

She was preceded in death by her parents and great-grandchildren; Olivia Charles Prickett, Asa John Patrick and Asher David Patrick.

The family wishes to express thanks to her caregivers Paula Wood, ACG Hospice, and Gwen Fleming.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions to First Baptist Church Beyond 2020 or a charity of one’s choice.

Pallbearers will be Michael Andrews, Hunter Gadd, Wilson Patrick, Cannon Prickett, Cannon Prickett Jr. and Alex Short Jr.

Foreman Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Honorary pallbearers will be Joe Livingston, Jerry Andrews, Danny Posey, Joe Davis, Seth Hammett, David Chance, Bill Thigpen, Earl Johnson, Gary Smith, Horace Horn, Steve Posey, and Eric Searcy.

Those wishing to express condolences to the family or share a special memory of Mrs. Gloria Short may do so at www.foremanfuneralhome.com.