Mary Carol Creswell Short

XENIA —Mary Carol Creswell Short, a native of Xenia, Ohio, died in her sleep on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025 in Houston, Texas where she had been residing since 2021. She was 93. Mary Carol grew up on King Street and graduated from Xenia High School in 1950. She then attended Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, Virginia for two years before entering the Class of 1954 at Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio. She earned her bachelor's degree in education and piano studies. She married fellow OWU graduate Jack E. Short of Delta, Ohio on June 23, 1956. The couple made their first home in Cleveland where Mary Carol taught school, and Jack earned his juris doctorate degree from Western Reserve Law School (now Case Western) in 1958. They moved onto Mentor, Ohio where Jack practiced law and Mary Carol continued to teach. The couple welcomed son, Thomas Creswell (Emina Glisovich) in 1957; daughter, Mary Melissa (Noel deCordova III) in 1959; daughter Sally Ann (Timothy Davis) in 1961, and daughter Heather Lynn (Mark McDonnell) in 1962. She later returned to Xenia to raise their family while Jack managed the Kelly-Creswell Company, a road-striping business on South Collier Street that was started by her father, Paul Creswell. She was a life-long member of the Trinity Methodist Church, formerly located on East Main Street, and later became the Faith Community United Methodist Church on Country Club Drive. She volunteered for and supported many entities in the greater Greene County community, including her church, the Xenia Center, and the Xenia Garden Club. She hosted young women competing in the Miss Greene County pageant held in the 1960s and was a docent at the Dayton Art Institute. She was a founding member of the Blue Jacket Outdoor Drama and a board member for 26 years. Mary Carol is the proud author of two books: "Entertainment Tonight," a cookbook, and "Sixty-Six Letters," a collection of letters her father wrote to his future wife and to the Xenia Daily Republican (now the Xenia Gazette) when he was a lieutenant and a pilot stationed in Foggia, Italy for the U.S. Air Service during WWI. Mary Carol enjoyed many hobbies and did not shy away from adventure. She played two and four-hand piano regularly, enjoyed painting and stamping, attended untold numbers of Ohio State football games and Ohio Wesleyan alumni events with Jack, and, as an adult, learned to snow ski, to snorkel, and to sail. Serving as First Mate on their sailboat, At Last, Mary Carol sailed all five of the Great Lakes. Mary Carol was a loving and caring mother. She was unfailingly kind to all, and always positive, upbeat and fun. She organized many trips and events with family and friends and held theme dinners and parties of all sorts at her home in Amlin Heights. To honor our country's bicentennial, she infamously hosted a birthday party for George Washington. Mary Carol likened her life to a train ride that could be "occasionally bumpy," filled with joy, sorrow, fantasy, expectations, hellos, goodbyes and farewells. She succeeded in having admirable relationships with all of the passengers she came across. In addition to her children and their spouses, she is survived by her 10 grandchildren who adored their Gran. Surviving also are many nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her parents, Paul and Grace Creswell; her husband, Jack, who died in 2013; sisters Ann Sandin (Eric) and Alicia Lunay (Harold); and sister-in-law, Sally Ann Ziegler (Loel). The family would like to thank Val Zimmerman and Cathy Winter for the care and support they provided our mother while she lived in Xenia and the Memory Care team at the Tradition in Houston. A memorial service will be 11:00 AM Saturday, November 8, 2025, at Faith Community United Methodist Church, 100 County Club Drive in Xenia. In lieu of flowers, donations in Mary Carol's memory may be made to Amazing Place, 3735 Drexel Dr., Houston, Texas 77027 and to Ohio Wesleyan University, 61 S. Sandusky St., Delaware, Ohio 43015. Arrangements have been entrusted to McColaugh Funeral Home, 826 North Detroit St., Xenia. Online condolences may be made to the family at www.mccolaughfuneralhome.com.`