Robert Allen Short

Robert Allen Short, 87, died on Thursday, March 7, 2024, at his home in Longmont, Colorado. Bob was born in Sacramento, California, on November 30, 1936, to Olga Jensina (Jacobson) Short and Russell Andrew Short. They lived near vineyards and grew peaches and raised chickens in their backyard. In 1939, Bob, his mother, and his baby sister Barbara rode an Army transport train to visit his grandparents in Williston, North Dakota. Bob was responsible for carrying the family’s food, a big responsibility for a three-year-old that foreshadowed the dependable and caring man he would become.

Bob attended school in Sacramento through third grade, after which his family moved to Williston, North Dakota, in 1945 to live with his Grandma Short for one year. In fifth grade, Bob and his family moved to Wenatchee, Washington, where his mother worked at the Skookum apple company and his father for Regan Electric. They returned to Williston in 1947 after purchasing a farm on Rural Route 2 in Hebron Township west of Williston. Bob lived in town with his aunts during high school and worked at J.C Penney’s, working his way up from washing windows to selling men’s suits. He also raised cattle and turkeys for Future Farmers of America projects and was a member of the Lutheran Youth League.

Bob graduated from Williston High School in 1954 and attended agricultural college in Fargo, North Dakota. He met Karen Smith at a Williston John Deere Day. On an early date, they listened to a new album by Elvis Presley. Bob and Karen married on June 7, 1958, at the First United Methodist Church in Williston; they honeymooned in Banff, Canada. Bob’s farming plans changed when he was offered a summer job on a survey crew for Wade Webster and Frank Foster. He discovered that he loved surveying and received his North Dakota survey license. In 1963, Bob was offered a job with Parker & Underwood Engineering Company in Greeley, Colorado, where the milder winters offered steadier work. Bob and Karen moved to Greeley with their daughters Kayann and Kari and bought a house near Sherwood (now Scott) Elementary. They raised their children Kayann, Kari, Robbie and Karlene there.

Bob and his family enjoyed summer visits to his parents’ farm in North Dakota, where he helped with chores and, once, to the amazement of his children, a cattle drive. In 1965, he joined NHPQ Engineering Consultants and eventually became head of the Survey department. In 1976, Bob cofounded McRae and Short, Inc., an engineering and surveying firm that played a respected part in Greeley’s development for thirty years. That same year, Bob and Karen saw Elvis in concert at a Denver arena.

Following the retirement of his business partner in 2005, Bob established Robert Short Surveying Services and continued his work along the Front Range and eastern Plains. He retired in 2015 and moved with Karen to Castle Pines to be near Robbie and Karlene and her family. In 2021, Bob and Karen moved to Alta Vita Assisted Living in Longmont near Kayann and Kari and their families.

Bob loved surveying the Colorado mountains and was even helicoptered into wilderness areas for work. In his spare time, he took the family on backroad adventures to pristine lakes and panoramic peaks. He always paid attention to the lay of the land, whether traveling in nearby Wyoming and Montana or to the further reaches of Alaska and Hawai’i. In his retirement he enjoyed gardening and spending time with his seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Bob is survived by his wife Karen; his sister Barbara Skor; children Kayann Short, (John Martin), Kari Short (Dale Schnathorst), Robbie Short, and Karlene Butler (Chad Butler); grandchildren Ariane Streeter (John Streeter), Renny Benjamin, Christian Butler, Kameron Butler, Rachel Martin, Jill Schnathorst (Michael Eaton) and Jana Hayes (Angie Hayes); great-grandchildren Collin Streeter and Oren, Alder, and Rowan Eaton; and many beloved nieces and nephews. Bob’s kindness, humor, and integrity will be missed by his family, friends, and associates. Donations in his memory may be made to TRU Hospice Care of Boulder or the American Cancer Society.