Dorothy E. Short

Dorothy E. Short, 100, of Garner, passed away Friday, July 17, 2026, at Concord Care Center in Garner.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday, July 21st at Cataldo Funeral Chapel, 160 E. 4th St., Garner, with Chaplain Jani Dahlin of St. Croix Hospice officiating. Inurnment will be at Clear Lake Cemetery.

Visitation will be held one hour prior to services at the funeral chapel.

Dorothy Elizabeth Short, the daughter of Ralph and Nettie (Howard) Ott, was born on October 24, 1925, in Clear Lake. She attended and graduated from Clear Lake High School. After high school, Dorothy moved to Seattle, WA, to join a team of women to help in the war effort by working on B-17 Bombers during World War II. These women were known as Rosie the Riveters. After the war, she returned to Iowa and was married to Wesley Robbins at the Clear Lake United Methodist Church in October of 1946. They lived with his parents before moving to a farm near Thompson. They later moved to Garner and eventually settled on a farm north of Ventura where they raised their four children, Doug, Rosie, Sherri and Kandi. In 1975, Wesley passed away unexpectedly. She then met Bill Short through a friend, and they were married in 1978. She helped him raise his six children on his farm east of Miller. She worked at Winnebago Industries in the Stitchcraft plant and helped Bill with his small fruit and orchard business, “Short’s Pik Acres.” They also had a successful Watkins Products business together. After Bill retired from the airport and the youngest child left home, they moved to Cabool, MO, and spent winters in Yuma, AZ. They returned to Garner ten years later to be near family. After Bill passed away in 2017, she continued to live in her home until moving to Cardinal Grove Assisted Living in 2019. She enjoyed her family, gardening, crocheting, sewing and baking pies.

She was a member of Faith Lutheran Church in Miller.

Dorothy is survived by her children, Doug (Sonnie) Robbins of Sioux City, Sherri (Jim) Erkel of Cedar Rapids, and Kandi (Ed) Kotz of Swaledale; step-children, Ron (Christine) Short of Inver Grove Heights, MN, Steve (Michelle) Short of Oregon, Mark Short (Carl Ray) of Sebastopol, CA, Bill (Lori) Short of Garner, Jeff (Lisa) Short of Garner, Daniel (Sherry) Short of North Carolina, Chris (Bobbie) Short of Mankato, MN and Joe (Pat) Short of Kansas City, MO; many grandchildren and great grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Wesley Robbins and Bill Short; parents; daughter, Rosie Bodin; step-daughter, Cindy Short; and siblings, Donald, Jack, Margaret and Ralph, Jr.