Lavina Monica Shorty Clay

Lavina Shorty-Clay was born on September 9th, 1953, in Brigham City, UT and passed away peacefully on December 29, 2024, in Albuquerque, NM. She was the beloved daughter of Dooley Shorty and Elsie Clah. 

Lavina was a shining light in the lives of all who had the privilege of knowing her. Lavina’s journey on this earth was one marked by love, compassion, and unwavering faith in God. Her passing has left a tremendous void in the hearts of her family, friends, and many more whose lives were touched by her. We ask that you remember her not for the way her life ended, but for the way it was lived, and for the profound impact she had on the lives of those who had the pleasure of knowing her. 

She was proud of her education having graduated from St Catherine’s Industrial School, Santa Fe, NM. Further, she attended Utah State University, the Institute of American Indian Arts, Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute, and Smith College in Amherst, MA. Lavina was gratified with her work at Albuquerque Public Schools and Sandia National Laboratories, where she was able to enjoy retirement after many years of service. 

Lavina will be remembered for her calming presence, grace, and witty sense of humor. She loved classic soul music, with some of her favorite artists being James Brown, Luther Vandross, and the Ojay’s, who she saw many times in concert. She was a big “foodie”, with her favorite restaurants in Albuquerque being Nexus Brewery and Pappadeaux’s Seafood Kitchen. She was always invited to the “cookout” due to her expertise with sweet potato pie, ambrosia salad, green chile’ quiche, and New Mexico red chile’! On any given day, you would find her at the movie theatre enjoying her “stories”.

Her heart belonged in Santa Fe, NM where she frequented the many art galleries, museums, and markets, with her favorite being the Georgia O’Keefe museum. Lavina adored her extended family in Germany, North Carolina, Virginia, Washington, and Philadelphia, PA where she was welcomed with open arms by her Clay, James, Beba, and Sullivan family in-laws.

She was very active in the local Catholic church community and attended mass daily at Annunciation Catholic Church. She was an active participant in many local prayer groups—which brought her joy, peace, and balance. Lavina enjoyed her travels to the Holy Land, Mexico, Germany, Međugorje, the Vatican, Switzerland, and the Dominican Republic.

Lavina is survived by her two sons, Lawrence Shorty of Falls Church, VA and Michael Clay of Brentwood, TN, along with their wives Florina Beba-Shorty and Sara Clay, and her grandchildren Tamino, Dallas, and Sunny. She is also survived her sisters Cordell, Dorothy, Marcella, Dolores, Stella, Emily, Pearl, Phyliss, and her brothers Ben, Robert and Roland. She absolutely adored her many nieces, nephews, and cousins from around the country. 

She was preceded in death by her husband John Clay, her father Dooley, mother Elsie Shorty, youngest brother Dooley Jr. and in-laws John and Gertrude Clay of Roxboro, NC. 

Lavina is one of the great examples of living an unapologetic and intentional life. She will be missed dearly by all of those who were lucky enough to meet her…