WILLIAM CECIL SHORT (AGE 80) OF LA PLATA, MARYLAND.

William Cecil Short, born on April 23, 1939 in McConkie, Maryland, was one of five children and the second son born to James Clinton Sr. and Josephine Short. His four siblings include James Clinton Short Jr., Charles Gilbert Short , Agnes Varie Short Taylor, and Josephine Cecilia Short Spinks.

For his entire life, Cecil lived in Charles County, Maryland, where he received his primary and secondary education, graduating from Bel Alton High School in 1957. It was in high school, in fact, where his love for basketball and football began. He also loved music which served as the impetus to start a band, "The Diamonds," with several of his friends and oldest brother. Only one of the original members survives today, Virgil "Peter" Williams.

Cecil married his high school sweetheart, Mary Jane Briscoe, on July 16, 1960. He attended Maryland State College (now the University of Maryland Eastern Shore) from which he graduated with a bachelor's degree in teaching and was then drafted into the army. After basic training, Cecil was sent to Würzburg Germany. Upon being discharged from the Army, he returned home to Charles County.

Cecil then started his first teaching position in St. Mary's County, Maryland as a mathematics teacher at George Washington Carver Junior High, where he also began coaching football and basketball. The great NCAA Kentucky championship basketball coach, "Tubby Smith" is one of his first outstanding players.

While teaching and coaching at Carver, Cecil returned to pursuing his post-secondary education. He attended Bowie State University where he earned a master's degree in administration. Afterwards, he worked on obtaining his doctorate degree at the University of Maryland, College Park where he completed all coursework. His superior work as an educator eventually resulted in him being awarded an honorary doctorate degree from Riverside Baptist Church in Fort Washington, Maryland.

From Carver, Cecil was moved to Chopticon High School where he taught natural and physical sciences and continued his coaching career, where he became the first black head coach in the Southern Maryland Athletic Conference (SMAC). In fact, as Chopticon's head coach, his team defeated Lackey High School 50 - 0.

Then, Cecil seized an opportunity to teach and coach in Charles County at Lackey High School where he was later promoted to vice principal and ultimately principal. When he became head coach at Lackey High School, Cecil's team reversed the score of a past outcome by defeating Chopticon 50 - 0! At that point, his coaching career began its legendary climb.

To quote one of his former players at Lackey, " Coach Short touched more lives than one could ever count. When you think of what he really did in the late 60's and early 70's, it was nothing short of heroic. As schools integrated in Charles County, he became the head football coach at Lackey which had been the white high school on the western side of Charles County. Then, when Pomonkey and Lackey were consolidated, he won two consecutive SMAC conference titles with players that were former rivals. Great Man!"

Soon after Cecil's promotion to principal at Lackey High School, he retired from coaching and displayed an unerring ability to identify and foster leadership in others, such as his hiring of the outstanding Ohio State NCAA championship football coach, Larry Johnson, to coach at both Lackey and McDonough High Schools. He also took great pride in nurturing his nephew, James Short, who followed in his footsteps when he also became principal of Lackey High School.

Cecil's progression through secondary school leadership led him to become the founding principal of Maurice McDonough High School and principal of La Plata High School (both in Charles County) and later became principal of Oxon Hill High School and William Wirt Middle School (both in Prince George's County). While a school administrator, Cecil served as the president of the National Association for Secondary School Principals (NASSP). He was the first elected African American president of NASSP and, to date, he remains the only African American to hold this position. In addition, Cecil served as the president of the Maryland Association for Secondary School Principals (MASSP).

Cecil enjoyed traveling the world and was able to accomplish this through his work with NASSP, the Educational System Federal Credit Union (for which he had oversight of the financial operations of the branches and reported to the Board of Directors), The Washington Post, and the Shaklee Corporation (Jane's Business). Cecil also served as a former chairman of the Charles County Democratic Central Committee where he was a campaign manager for several Charles County citizens, including Maryland State Delegate Edith Patterson.

After his retirement as president of NASSP, Cecil served as an educational consultant for FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency). He assisted with the coordination of educational services for students and school districts affected by natural disasters.

Cecil was raised in the church. As a child, he became a member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in LaPlata, Maryland and was faithful in attending Mass every Sunday. He later became active at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Pomfret, Maryland where he volunteered as a Eucharistic Minister and a Lector. After Cecil's health began to fail, he started participating at home every Sunday in the televised Mass.

Cecil loved being a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. He was initiated sixty-one years ago (1958) into the Pi Epsilon chapter at Maryland State College. During his tenure in the undergraduate chapter, he served as Basileus (president). Cecil's love for his fraternity was active and lifelong. In his current chapter, Tau Lambda Lambda in Southern Maryland, he served as parliamentarian and political action chairman as well as a member on various committees. Because of his outstanding work with the chapter, Cecil was bestowed the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Tau Lambda Lambda Chapter Founders' Award. Recently, he was awarded the

"Shooting Star Lifetime Community Service Award" on October 26, 2019. A source of pride for Cecil was the establishment of the John Lancaster & William Cecil Short Foundation in 2007. This charity serves parents, teachers and counselors to empower and support youth in the Southern Maryland Region.

Cecil was a man dedicated to giving back to his community, and his community recognized his commitment to it as indicated by the abbreviated sampling of his honors and recognitions listed below:

• Life member of NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People)
• First African American principal in the State of Maryland to receive the National Milken Foundation Award (1993) for outstanding educational leadership
• First African American principal to serve as President of the Tri States Leadership Association in Maryland
• Past National President of University of Maryland Eastern Shore Alumni Association
• Maryland State Principal of the Year in 1991-1992
• Member of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore Alumni Hall of Fame
• Recipient of the prestigious Gavel of Authority Award from the Virginia Principal's Association
• Recipient of the Maryland State Senate Citation for Distinguished Service
• Recipient of the Congressional Black Caucus Award for Distinguished National Leadership
• Past National President of the University of Maryland Systems Alumni Associations, College Park, Maryland (his portrait is on display at the new Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center on campus at the University of Maryland)
• National Black Principals Administrator Award
• Washington Post Distinguished Educational Award

Cecil was preceded in death by his parents; his brother, James Clinton Short Jr.; and sisters, Agnes Varie Taylor and Josephine Cecelia Spinks.

Left to mourn his death are his loving wife, Mary Jane Short; his two sons, Kevin Cecil Short Sr. and Brian Keith Short (Tracey); his two daughters, Seda Renee Ballard and Tonja Lynne Ringgold; his ten grandchildren, Amanda Ballard, Kevin Cecil Short II, José Ringgold II (Dominique), Adam Ballard, Amber Bolden, Ashley Ringgold Davy (Anthony), Ebony Short, Michael Ringgold, Brian Keith Short Jr., and Jonathan Short; his three great-grandchildren, Royal Heggins Jr., José Ringgold III, and Esperanza Ringgold; his brother, Charles Gilbert Short; ten surrogate children, whose father was his close friend and band member, Cecil Chase; two godsons, Wayne Yates and Marques Norwood; and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

Viewing, 6pm until time of tributes 7:30pm, Friday, January 3, 2020, Thornton Funeral Home, P.A., 3439 Livingston Road, Indian Head, Maryland 20640 and again on Saturday, January 4th from 10:30am until Mass 11:30am, Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 201 St. Mary's Avenue, LaPlata, Maryland 20646. Interment Maryland Veterans Cemetery, Cheltenham, date and time TBD.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to the JL&WCS Charity Foundation, P.O. Box 1075, Waldorf, Maryland 20604. www.thorntonfuneralhomepa.com.