Obit: Short, Frances F. (1877 - 1940)

Contact:  Crystal Wendt
Email: crystal@wiclarkcountyhistory.org

Surnames: Short, Fessenden, Beeckler, Eidenberger, Bryan, Johnson, Schields, Kurtzwig, Longenecker

----Sources: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark County, Wis.) Thurs., 18 Jan. 1940

Short, Frances F. (13 July 1877 - 11 Jan. 1940)

Mrs. Frances Fessenden Short, 62 of Milwaukee, passed away at the Vinton Nursing Home Thursday, January 11, after an illness of about eighteen months. Suffering with cancer, and knowing that the end was near, it was Mrs. Short’s desire to return to Neillsville she could be with her relatives and old friends, most of whom made her a call during the last two weeks.

Mrs. Short was born in the town of Levis, July 13, 1877, to Jonas and Angeline Fessenden. She attended the rural school in her home township and Merrillan High School. May 18, 1906, she was married to James W. Short, who survives. All but the last twelve years of her life were spent in Levis. She was a hard and conscientious worker, performing well her duties as a homemaker, and so lived that she was loved by everyone in the community. She delighted in opening her home for community gatherings and neighborhood parties, often having in as many as seventy-five or one hundred at one time. In speaking of the departed, Mrs. George Beeckler of Levis remarked: "I have never seen Fannie without a smile, and when I called on her at the hospital, that cheerful expression had not vanished, even after the months of intense suffering."

Twelve years ago Mrs. Short went to Milwaukee to make her home with daughter, Mrs. Harold Eidenberger. For a time she was employed at Schuster’s and later clerked at Stewart’s store on Wisconsin Avenue. She readily adapted herself to the great change from rural to city life and thoroughly enjoyed it. Another daughter, Mrs. Walter Bryan, lives at Madison and Mrs. Short often visited at her home.

Mrs. Short was the mother of six children, five of whom are living; Wayne, of Vesper, Wis.; Ramona, Mrs. Harold Eidenberger, Milwaukee; Ruth, Mrs. Walter Bryan, Madison; Ben, Levis; and John, Milwaukee. She is also survived by three brothers; Arthur, Webster, and Elbert Fesenden, and four sisters, Mrs. John Johnson, Mrs. Frank Schields, Mrs. A. Kurtzwig and Miss Pearl Fessenden.

Funeral services were held at the Schiller Funeral Home at 2:30 p.m. January 14, Rev. G. W. Longenecker officiating. Interment was made in the Dells Dam Cemetery in the town of Levis.