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)
ABBOTT, William C., 57, St. Lawrence, Indianapolis, Jan. 8. Husband of Patricia Abbott. Father of Kerry Frost, Heather Yater, Kevin and Sean Abbott. Brother of Val Bennett, Christine Boerner, Kathy Cox, Kelly Ellson, Corky Foley and Kimberly Perkins. Grandfather of two.
ALIG, Richard, 67, St. Joseph, St. Leon, Jan. 12. Husband of Diana Alig. Father of Terri Bodenberg, Kimberly Harm, David, Joseph, Kevin and Michael Alig. Brother of Roseann DeGeorge and Paul Alig. Grandfather of 11.
BIRD, Mary Jane (Hawkins), 77, Prince of Peace, Madison, Dec. 31. Wife of John Bird. Mother of Linda, John, Kevin, Mike and Steven Bird. Grandmother of 10. Step-grandmother of three.
CALDERONE, Anne Louise, 81, St. Bartholomew, Columbus, Jan. 9. Wife of Robert Calderone. Mother of Paula Bandos and Bruce Calderone. Sister of Kenneth Strobel. Grandmother of two. Great-grandmother of two.
CANGELOSI, Julia Lucille, 92, St. Lawrence, Indianapolis, Jan. 9. Mother of Rosemary Drouzas, Marietta Jackson and Candice Cangelosi. Grandmother of seven. Great-grandmother of four.
CONSOLINO, John, 90, St. Mary, Rushville, Dec. 30. Father of Frank and Joseph Consolino.
FENOGLIO, Becky S., 69, St. Joan of Arc, Indianapolis, Dec. 29. Wife of William Fenoglio. Mother of Denise, Bill and Todd Fenoglio. Sister of Jody Conaway, Jerry, Kevin, Martin and Scott Williams. Grandmother of eight.
GINDLING, Karissa Dawn, 31, St. Jude, Indianapolis, Jan. 9. Daughter of Randall Gindling and Wanda Hermann. Sister of Barbara Doyle, Jeremiah Harpring, Scott Gindling and Ben Hermann. Granddaughter of Theresa Flannagan, Mary Ann Hermann, Bill and Jayne Means, and Bill and Bonnie Pruitt.
GROFF, Eleanor (Doyle), 88, St. Michael the Archangel, Indianapolis, Jan. 2. Wife of Raymond Groff. Mother of Janis Cook, Sharon Kunard and Nancy Striebeck. Sister of Louise Goddard and Pauline Nester. Grandmother of 13. Great-grandmother of three.
KAISER, Helen Louise (West), 78, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, New Albany, Jan. 11. Wife of William Kaiser Sr. Mother of Ann Day, Mary Gronotte, James, Joseph, Paul and William Kaiser. Grandmother of 17.
KELLY, Thomas, 89, Prince of Peace, Madison, Dec. 30. Father of Lisa Bruce, Dorothy Kelly-Paddock, Paul and Thomas Kelly Jr. Brother of Catherine Kelly-Hamilton. Grandfather of six. Great-grandfather of four.
KEMPINGER, Gilbert H., 79, St. Barnabas, Indianapolis, Jan. 11. Husband of Kathleen (Clark) Kempinger. Father of Suzanna Rycroft and Holy Cross Father Stephen Kempinger. Grandfather of two.
LITMER, Alfred J., 81, St. John the Evangelist, Enochsburg, Jan. 13. Husband of Jeanette Litmer. Father of Jeff Litmer. Brother of Marcella Schwegman. Grandfather of one.
LIVERS, Josephine A., 70, St. Augustine, Jeffersonville, Dec. 31. Mother of Donna DeArk, Diana Fess, Dawn Holsonback and Debbie Litrell. Sister of Katie Duvall, Pat Sipes and Father James Lichtefeld. Grandmother of seven.
McELFRESH, Edith, 89, St. Anthony, Indianapolis, Dec. 21. Mother of Kathy Abney, Marlene Buntin, Cindy Ortiz, Jonie Styles, Mary Jo Turner, Janie Worland, Margaret, Charles Jr. and John McElfresh. Grandmother of 14. Great-grandmother of 15.
MINDEL, Oscar D., Jr., 73, St. Paul, Sellersburg, Dec. 25. Husband of Julia Mindel. Father of Andrea Miller and W. Scott Mindel. Grandfather of five.
MOORE, Marie Theresa (O’Connor), 84, St. Lawrence, Indianapolis, Dec. 4. Mother of Jeanne Colson, Joyce Early, Mary, David, John and Mike Moore. Sister of Patty Lawrence. Grandmother of 16. Great-grandmother of 31. (correction)
NEAGLE, Rita (Sherwood), 81, St. Lawrence, Indianapolis, Jan. 3. Mother of Katie Allspaw, Ellen Finch, Maureen Pierce, Louise, Chris and Dennis Neagle. Grandmother of 10.
NEVERS, David E., 73, St. Malachy, Brownsburg, Jan. 3. Husband of Ann Nevers. Father of Connie Fraley, Frank, Kenneth and William Nevers. Brother of Mary Jo Dehaven, Roseann Snoddy, Daniel and Jake Nevers. Grandfather of seven.
PRATER, Carol Ann, 63, Holy Spirit, Indianapolis, Dec. 20. Wife of Michael Prater. Mother of Linda Baldwin, Susan Benge and Richard Prater. Sister of Karen Blacketer, Martha Gebhart and Mary Stanger. Grandmother of five. Great grandmother of two.
RAFAIL, Theresa Elizabeth, 84, St. Lawrence, Indianapolis, Dec. 27. Mother of Ann Meagher, Leo and Ronald Rafail. Sister of Gertrude Ariens, Kathryn Roell, Rita Teal, Bernard and William Beyer. Grandmother of six.
ROSE, Charles L., 85, St. Anne, New Castle, Jan. 4. Husband of Lucie Rose. Father of Carryl Jones, Mary Mendenhall, Charles, Darryl, Gary and Jeffrey Rose. Brother of Colleen Barnes, Geneva Mullikin, Geraldine Stephens, Mary Lee Woods, Bobbie Wright and Ralph Rose. Grandfather of several.
SCHEIBELHUT, Charlotte, 79, Holy Spirit, Indianapolis, Jan. 9. Mother of Claire, Marie and Rose Anne Scheibelhut. Sister of Theresa Meyer and Robert McConahay. Grandmother of five. Great-grandmother of one.
SCHMELTZ, Larry, 61, St. Joseph, Rockville, Jan. 6. Husband of Linda Schmeltz. Father of Benny Schmeltz-Myers, Natalie Schmeltz-Ruark, Andrea Schmeltz-Surber, Jeffrey, Josh and Wesley Schmeltz. Brother of Sondra Tuzynski, Jerry and Tony Schmeltz. Grandfather of eight. Great-grandfather of one.
SMITH, Mary Jane (Greenwell), 99, St. Vincent de Paul, Bedford, Jan. 9. Stepmother of June Beavers, Shirley Chastain and Sherry Collins. Aunt of several.
SMITH, Terrance C., 59, St. Rose of Lima, Franklin, Jan. 5. Father of Elle and Hannah Smith. Brother of Sheila Moore and Mark Smith.
SPLITGERBER, Mary Genevieve, 92, St. Vincent de Paul, Bedford, Jan. 3. Mother of Jeffrey Splitgerber. Sister of Melba Lufkin.
STALIONS, Helen M. (Jensen) Doll, 93, St. Christopher, Indianapolis, Dec. 26. Mother of Karen Burns Gehbauer, Joanna Parks, Daniel, John and Joseph Doll Jr. Stepmother of Terri Sondrini. Sister of Anna Runciman. Grandmother of 14. Great-grandmother of eight.
WEBER, Ann (Waltman), 89, St. Mary, New Albany, Dec. 20. Mother of Patricia Smith and Joseph Weber. Grandmother of three. Great-grandmother of three.
WILLIAMS, Judith Virginia (Hall), 86, Our Lady of the Greenwood, Greenwood, Dec. 31. Mother of Susan Achgill, Rebecca Maners, Alan and Stephen Williams. Sister of Patricia Hall. Grandmother of 10. Great-grandmother of seven.
Franciscan Sister Olivia Marie Stier was a teacher and principal
Franciscan Sister Olivia Marie Stier, a member of the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis in Oldenburg, died on Jan. 3 at Margaret Mary Community Hospital in Batesville. She was 97.
The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Jan. 5 at the motherhouse chapel. Burial followed at the sisters’ cemetery.
Leona Margaret Stier was born on May 19, 1912, in Greensburg.
She entered the Oldenburg Franciscan community on Aug. 15, 1930, and professed her final vows on July 2, 1936.
Sister Olivia Marie served as a teacher and principal at Catholic schools in Indiana, Ohio, Missouri and Illinois for 54 years from 1932-86.
In the archdiocese, she ministered at the former St. Mary School in Indianapolis, the former St. Bernadette School in Indianapolis, Holy Name School in Beech Grove, the former St. Andrew School in Richmond, St. Gabriel School in Connersville, the former Holy Family School in Oldenburg and St. Joseph School in Shelbyville.
In 1986, Sister Olivia Marie returned to the motherhouse to minister in pastoral care and as a clerical assistant at the sisters’ infirmary.
In 1990, she retired and moved to St. Clare Hall, the sisters’ health care facility at the motherhouse.
Surviving are three sisters, Loretta Zoellner of Indianapolis, Margaret Feldman of Virginia and Franciscan Sister Anna Marie Stier of Oldenburg.
Memorial gifts may be sent to the Sisters of St. Francis, P.O. Box 100, Oldenburg, IN 47036.
Providence Sister Adele Mann was a teacher and hospital chaplain
Providence Sister Adele Mann died on Jan. 4 at Mother Theodore Hall at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. She was 83.
The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Jan. 8 at the Church of the Immaculate Conception at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. Burial followed at the sisters’ cemetery.
Mary Ida Mann was born on Sept. 9, 1926, in Indianapolis.
She entered the congregation of the Sisters of Providence on Feb. 2, 1946, professed first vows on Aug. 15, 1948, and professed final vows on Aug. 15, 1953.
Sister Adele earned a bachelor’s degree in education at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College and a master’s degree in education at Indiana State University in Terre Haute.
During 63 years as a Sister of Providence, she ministered in education for 24 years at Catholic schools in Indiana, Illinois and North Carolina.
In the archdiocese, Sister Adele taught at the former St. Joseph School in Indianapolis from 1953-62, St. Patrick School in Terre Haute from 1962-67, the former St. James School in Indianapolis from 1967-69 and St. Philip Neri School in Indianapolis from 1969-72.
In 1972, Sister Adele changed her ministry from Catholic education to hospital chaplaincy.
She served as a chaplain at St. Francis Hospital in Beech Grove from 1972-78.
In 2008, Sister Adele returned to the motherhouse, where she continued to participate in community life until a recent illness.
She is survived by a sister, Sue Kosegi, of Beech Grove.
Memorial gifts may be sent to the Sisters of Providence, 1 Sisters of Providence Road, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, St. Mary-of-the-Woods, IN 47876.
Providence Sister Rosemary Powers served as a teacher and principal
Providence Sister Rosemary Powers, the former Sister Mary Gilbert, died on Dec. 16 at Mother Theodore Hall at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. She was 92.
The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Dec. 19 at the Church of the Immaculate Conception at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. Burial followed at the sisters’ cemetery.
Cecelia Rosemary Powers was born on Jan. 18, 1917, in Linton, Ind.
She entered the congregation of the Sisters of Providence on Jan. 12, 1935, professed her first vows on Aug. 15, 1937 and professed her final vows on Aug. 15, 1942.
Sister Rosemary earned a bachelor’s degree in social studies at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College and a master’s degree in education at the University of Notre Dame.
During 74 years as a Sister of Providence, she ministered in education for 47 years at Catholic schools in Indiana, Illinois and Missouri. For 12 years, she served as a principal.
In the archdiocese, Sister Rosemary taught at the former St. Catherine School in Indianapolis from 1937-42.
After retiring from education, Sister Rosemary returned to the motherhouse and served as a staff member in the congregation’s general administration office and archives.
In 2002, she dedicated herself full-time to the ministry of prayer.
Surviving are several nieces and nephews.
Memorial gifts may be sent to the Sisters of Providence, 1 Sisters of Providence Road, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, St. Mary-of-the-Woods, IN 47876. †