Ryan Hunter Short, 5

ELMENDORF AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska - Ryan Hunter Short of Elmendorf Air Force Base, Anchorage, Alaska, went home to be with the Lord Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2007, in Anchorage. He was 5.

Ryan was born July 22, 2001, in Wilson, N.C., and lived in North Carolina, Townsend, Del., and most recently, Alaska.

He was a kindergarten student who enjoyed four-wheelers and trucks; all sports, including indoor soccer, T-ball and golf; and playing outdoors. He loved superheroes, especially Superman and Batman.

Ryan will be remembered as a funny and happy child with a wide-open personality.

He was preceded in death by his grandfather, Robert H. Short Sr., in 1994.

He is survived by his parents, Richard H. and Lori Short of Elmendorf Air Force Base, Anchorage; his maternal grandparents, Chris and Connie Sandberg of St. Joseph, Mo., and David and Kay Riggle of Eldorado, Kan.; his paternal grandmother, Linda Short of Townsend; and many aunts, uncles and cousins.

Services will be 11 a.m. Friday in Freewill Baptist Church, Del. 13, south of Townsend, where friends may call from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday.

Burial will be in Odd Fellows Cemetery, Smyrna.

Instead of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions to the Ryan Short Memorial, c/o Wachovia Bank, 319 Dove Run Center, Middletown, DE 19709.

Arrangements by Matthews-Bryson Funeral Home, Smyrna.