Obituary of Lloyd James Short

Lloyd J. Short July 19, 1941 - August 15, 2015 Lloyd J. Short, of State College, formerly of North Dakota, Indiana and New York, died Saturday at Mount Nittany Medical Center, State College, surrounded by his four children, his favorite niece from Phoenix, and his wife. Lloyd was born in Carrington, North Dakota, the youngest of ten children. After graduating from high school, he spent ten years as a member of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) getting an intense grounding in spirituality and solid scholarship. Lloyd took his religious training out into the secular world of the last half of the twentieth century in the United States, a land of great opportunity but also one in spiritual turmoil. Lloyd was an IBM computer programmer, a graduate of Rutgers Law School, a VISTA Volunteer attorney working with migrant farmworkers, the Director of the Indiana Center on Law and Poverty, a stay-at-home dad and unpublished novelist, an editor and then a publishing leader of computer books, a New York executive in non-fiction publishing, and an online education pioneer. Lloyd’s bass voice could be heard in professional choruses in Manhattan and Indianapolis as well as church choirs wherever he lived. In 2004, Lloyd moved to State College. Throughout the next decade, Lloyd continued writing and was often seen on stage in numerous performances with The Next Stage, the Boal Barn, Shakespeare in the Park, and others. He was a member of Good Shepherd Catholic Church, State College, was a choir member both at Good Shepherd and Our Lady of Victory, and a member of the State College Area Choral Society. An avid reader, Lloyd was surrounded by books and was an encyclopedia on seemingly any topic. He also loved and took solace in the glory and beauty of the natural world, spending many happy hikes alone and with family especially at Millbrook Marsh, Mount Nittany and Shingletown Gap. Lloyd is preceded in death by six brothers and sisters. He is survived by three siblings: Marvin Short of Fargo, ND; Maynard Short of Phippsburg, CO; and Joan Anderson of West Fargo, ND. Surviving too are his children Rebecca Short of Orlando, FL; Kathleen Short of Venice, CA; Elisabeth Short and her husband, Scott Ballantyne, of Palm Beach Gardens, FL; and Michael Short of Spring Valley, NY; and his wife Linda; and numerous nieces and nephews. A service with sharing will be held on Tuesday, August 18, 2015, at 11am at Koch Funeral Home, 2401 S. Atherton St., State College. There will be a Celebration of Life vespers mass later that evening at 7pm at Good Shepherd Catholic Church, 867 Grays Woods Blvd, Port Matilda . For memorial contributions to create a dedicated bench at Millbrook Marsh and to help family with funeral costs you may go directly to www.youcaring.com/finalcurtaincall. Arrangements are under the care of Koch Funeral Home, State College. Online condolences and signing of the guest book may be entered at www.kochfuneralhome.com.