Mary Kathleen Short

Mary Kathleen “Kathee” Short Mary Kathleen Short passed away Thursday, January 10, 2013. Visitation will be from 6:00-8:00 p.m. on Monday, January 14, at The Hamil Family Funeral Home, 6449 Buffalo Gap Road. Funeral services will be at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 15th, at Pioneer Drive Baptist Church with Rev. Stan Allcorn officiating. The burial will follow in Elmwood Memorial Park. Kathee Short was born on April 6, 1956, in Garden City, Kansas. Kathee was raised in Abilene, Texas by her parents, Bessie Hinson Harkrader and Emery Harkrader, who owned and operated Emery’s Radiator Service. During her school years, she attended Lamar Elementary, Taylor Elementary, Franklin Junior High, and graduated from Abilene High School in 1974. Her greatest love was for science, specifically geology and biology, which led her to graduate from Hardin-Simmons University in 1978 with a double major. During her years working for various oil companies as a geologist, she accumulated a large collection of rocks, fossils, and crystals. Kathee could tell the history, origin, and make-up of even the smallest piece of stone. It was this love of geology and biology, and the love of her husband, who was an educator, that led her to a long and wonderful career as a science teacher. She married her husband Kenneth Cameron Short II on June 4, 1983 at University Baptist Church, and began her teaching career. She taught 8th grade Earth Science for six years at Lincoln Junior High, 7th grade Life Science for six years at Jefferson Middle School, and Pre-AP Biology and AP Environmental Science for 18 years at Cooper High School. She was very active with the Cooper student body by being the UIL sponsor, co-sponsor of the National Honor Society, and working many basketball and baseball concession stands. Because of her love of teaching and her students, she was honored with the Cooper Spotlight Teacher award and the Cooper Outstanding Teacher of the Year. She was a member of NEA, TSTA, and AEA. When she wasn’t spending time with her students, she was outdoors. Kathee loved visiting National Parks across the United States. During the summers, you could find her in such parks as Yosemite, Yellowstone, Mount Zion, Grand Canyon, Arches, Niagara Falls, and Rocky Mountain National Park. Her love for history led to her trips to Washington D.C. and Gettysburg. Her love of nature led her to an Alaskan cruise to observe glaciers and whales. Kathee was a voracious reader, with murder mysteries being her favorite. While she was reading, she was petting one of the many cats that she would foster and give a forever home. She was well loved by her family, friends, students, and faculty. Kathee and Kenneth are members of Pioneer Drive Baptist Church. She was preceded in death by her parents, father-in-law Kenneth Cameron Short, mother-in-law Ila Belle Brewer Short, and brother-in-law Stephen Meade Rinard. She is survived by her husband of 30 years Kenneth Cameron Short II, sister-in-law Carolyn Short Rinard of Abilene, niece and nephew Lynlee Rinard Ridley of Abilene and Cameron Rinard of Lubbock, and many members of her extended family. Memorial donations may be made in honor of Mary Kathleen Short to the Abilene Education Foundation, 241 Pine Street, Abilene, Texas, 79601 and Rescue the Animals, 5933 South 1st Street, Abilene, Texas, 79605.