Obituaries
Please submit in writing to our office by 10 a.m. Thursday before the week of publication; be sure to state date of death. Obituaries of archdiocesan priests serving our archdiocese are listed elsewhere in The Criterion. Order priests and religious sisters and brothers are included here, unless they are natives of the archdiocese or have other connections to it; those are separate obituaries on this page.
Submit an obituary here (parishes and funeral homes only)
BLOEMER, Raymond A., 85, St. Louis, Batesville, Jan. 30. Father of Mary Kay Hacker, Raymond Bloemer, Gary and Gordon Giesting. Brother of Georgeann Flory and Alma Miller. Grandfather of eight. Great-grandfather of nine.
BRADY, Isabel (Spillman), 86, St. Joan of Arc, Indianapolis, Jan. 29. Wife of James Brady. Mother of Julie Dornfeld, Lisa, Mary Beth, Mark and William Brady. Grandmother of five.
BUSALD, Raymond A., 83, St. Mary, Rushville, Jan. 26. Husband of Mary (Schmitter) Busald. Father of Betty Green, Marilyn Kozlowski, Esther Sibrel, Helen, Carl, Jim and Paul Busald. Brother of Richard Busald. Grandfather of 13. Great-grandfather of nine.
CANTRELL, Maupin A., 89, St. Michael, Bradford, Feb. 1. Father of Jennifer Miller, Julie Smith, Gregory and Stephen Cantrell. Grandfather of seven. Great-grandfather of two.
ETIENNE, Earl, 94, St. Paul, Tell City, Jan. 29. Father of Mary Cardinal, Joan Hess, Charles, Duane, Jerry and Ron Etienne. Brother of Catherine Etienne and Vivian Little. Grandfather of 16. Great-grandfather of 24.
GOFFINET, Joyce May (Hudson), 81, St. Paul, Tell City, Jan. 29. Wife of Preston Goffinet. Mother of Robin Brennan, Sherron Pampalone, Julie Thompson, Susan, Brent, Mark and Neil Goffinet. Sister of Geraldine Hudson. Grandmother of 17. Great-grandmother of six.
HUBER, Emma H. (Fuchs), 85, St. Gabriel, Connersville, Jan. 26. Mother of Sharon Quyle and James Huber Sr. Sister of Frank, Jim, Paul and Stanley Fuchs. Grandmother of seven. Great-grandmother of 22.
KENNIE, Robert L., Sr., 77, St. Thomas Aquinas, Indianapolis, Jan. 27. Husband of Doris Kennie. Father of Rhonda Archey, Angela Milby, Brian, David, John and Robert Kennie Jr.
LaGROTTE, Leo Michael, 72, St. Roch, Indianapolis, Jan. 25. Husband of Sondralee LaGrotte. Father of Gina, Tina and Leo LaGrotte. Grandfather of two.
LUNSFORD, Joe, 65, St. Mary-of-the-Rock, Franklin County, Dec. 31. Husband of Lois (Wuestefeld) Lunsford. Father of Carl and Mark Lunsford. Brother of Elaine Amberger, Charlene Bravard, Rita Gramman, Emilie Market, Alice Springman, Franciscan Sister Ramona Lunsford, Arnold, Ralph, Richard, Steve and William Lunsford. Grandfather of three.
MAXWELL, William J., Sr., 66, St. Anthony, Indianapolis, Jan. 27. Father of Linda Adams, Monica Maxwell-Grant, Rhonda Merritt, Sharon Walker, Nicole and William Maxwell Jr. Brother of Larry Maxwell. Grandfather of 14. Great-grandfather of six.
MILLER, David E., 59, St. Luke, Indianapolis, Jan. 14. Brother of Thomas Miller.
MOORE, George, 84, Holy Family, Richmond, Jan. 25. Husband of Joda Moore. Father of Sharon Orton, Amy Shepard, Laurie Smith, Steve Shackleford, Mary, Pat, Bill, Mike and Tom Moore. Brother of Mary Deckard. Grandfather of several. Great-grandfather of several.
MORENO, Christine R., 41, St. Malacy, Brownsburg, Jan. 26. Wife of Ray Moreno. Mother of Dane and Seth Moreno, Andrew, Emily, Hillery and Sam Stafford. Daughter of James and Sherry (Uthe) Weir. Sister of Lisa Etchison, Dann and Jeremy Weir.
MURRAY, Cecilia Marie, 51, St. Roch, Indianapolis, Feb. 6. Daughter of Rosemary Murray. Sister of Helen Alexander, Kathleen, Frank and John Murray.
PANNETT, William, 67, St. Paul, Tell City, Jan. 28. Brother of Mary Balogh, Lynda Woodward, Terence, Charles and Myron Pannette.
STEINMETZ, Mary Joan, 76, St. Luke, Indianapolis, Jan. 9. Sister of Anne O’Connor and Dr. Joseph Steinmetz.
Divine Word Father Otto Shellenberger was missionary
Divine Word Father Otto Shellenberger, who served as a missionary in Papua New Guinea for many years, died on Jan. 9 at the Society of the Divine Word’s Chicago Province headquarters in Techny, Ill. He was 92.
The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Jan. 13 at Techny. Burial followed at the order’s cemetery there.
Otto George Schellenberger was born on Sept. 2, 1914, in Georgetown.
He went to the Divine Word order’s headquarters in Techny in 1932, and completed high school and two years of college.
He professed his first vows on Aug. 6, 1937, and perpetual vows in 1941. He was ordained a priest on Aug. 15, 1942.
In 1944, Father Shellenberger was one of 20 Divine Word priests assigned to serve as missionaries in Papua New Guinea to help counter Japanese influence during World War II. He traveled there with 7,000 American soldiers.
He later earned a Bachelor of Science degree at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., and Master of Science degree in Education at Loyola University in Chicago.
In Papua New Guinea, Father Shellenberger taught agriculture at Fatima College before being sent to Maramuni Valley to establish a church there.
Also in Papua New Guinea, he helped build and manage a large dairy farm at Kellyville that earned honors.
Father Shellenberger also served as dean of seminarians in Epping, interim director of the House of Prayer in Goroka and spiritual director of national seminarians in Port Moresby.
He returned to Techny in May 2002.
He is survived by a brother, Herb Schellenberger of Lanesville. His late brother, Father Leo Schellenberger, a diocesan priest, died in 1987.
Memorial gifts may be sent to the Society of the Divine Word, P.O. Box 6038, Techny, IL 60082. †