Short was born in Clarksville, Indiana, USA, on 17 January 1906, to parents James Patterson Baird (1878–1980) and Amy Schuler (1885–1990). She had seven younger siblings: James Baird (1907–2006), Leviston Patterson Baird (1909–1944), Schuler Phillips Baird (1911–2015), Libby Bennett (1914–2011), Richard Riley Baird (1920–2014), Clay Patterson Baird Sr. (1925–2020), and Amy Jo Munich. During her childhood, she worked in the family business, Baird Ice Cream in Clarksville. She graduated as valedictorian from the local high school and later enrolled at the University of Louisville, ultimately earning her degree from Louisville Normal Teacher’s College.

While studying at the University of Louisville, she met her future husband, Bishop Roy Hunter Short (1902–1994). He was from a nearby seminary school, and one day he came to talk to her poetry club. The couple got married in 1926, and went on to have three sons: Murray Malcom (1930–2013), Hunter (1927–2018), and Riley Phillips. Her husband served as a pastor, a district superintendent, and the editor of “The Upper Room,” the internationally distributed devotional guide, before being elected as a bishop in 1948. The family moved to Kentucky, Tennessee, and Florida to support her husband in his ministry. She had many affiliations with the United Methodist Church and traveled worldwide for meetings. She attended every General Conference from 1939 to 2012. At the General Conference of 2012 in Tampa, Florida, delegates welcomed her with a standing ovation.

At the age of 90, she visited the Middle East and rode a camel in the ancient city of Petra. At 95, she explored the Great Wall of China, and at 100, she visited Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Her final trip abroad occurred at the age of 101, when she visited Costa Rica. On her 105th birthday, she was inducted into the University of Louisville Golden Alumni Society. At 102, she was honored as “Senior of Distinction” by McKendree Village, her home for the last 32 years of her life.

Her father lived to 102, her mother to 104, her younger brother Schuler to 103, and three of her siblings into their 90s.

Short passed away in Nashville, Tennessee, USA, on 24 June 2016, at the age of 110 years, 159 days. She was survived by two sons, seven grandchildren, 20 great-grandchildren, and two siblings.