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)
CARL, Scholastica, 95,
Our Lady of Perpetual Help, New Albany, Dec. 21. Mother of Donna Candy, Theresa Cunningham, Agnes Hobson, Rose Ann Just, Kathy Piroozi, Laura Smith, John and Robert Carl, Sr. Sister of Donald Hoppenjans. Grandmother of 12. Great-grandmother of 15.
CAVA, Pete, 73, St. Luke the Evangelist, Indianapolis,
Dec. 18. Husband of Molly Cava. Father of Nancy and Andy Cava. Grandfather of one.
DALE, Norman S., 85,
Good Shepherd, Indianapolis, Dec. 14. Husband of Margaret Dale. Father of Tom Dale. Brother of Carolyn Chambers and Barbara Jean Peed. Grandfather of 14. Great-grandfather of 30. Great-great-grandfather of one.
DIERCKMAN, Marie R., 87, St. Louis, Batesville,
Dec. 23. Mother of Joyce Kessens, Ginny Lows, Ed, Jerry and Ron Dierckman. Sister of Theresa Eckerle, Frances Hartman, Ruth Messerschmidt, Rose Roell, Rita Struewing, Albert, Arthur, Bernard and Joe Schneider. Grandmother of 16. Great-grandmother of 28.
EBERHARDT, Rosemary, 84, St. Mary, Greensburg,
Dec. 19. Mother of Sue Adams, Marianne Kritzer, David and Jeff Eberhardt. Grandmother of nine. Great-grandmother of four.
ENDRIS, Morris D., 84, St. Vincent de Paul, Bedford, Dec. 15. Husband of Linda Endris. Father of Craig, David, Luke and Ned Endris. Brother of Sue Graves, Dinah Hook, Toody Leggio, Carl, Louie, Mike, Paul and Vince Endris. Grandfather of nine. Great-grandfather of one.
GIBBONS, Donald E., 87, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, New Albany, Dec. 21. Husband of Joyce Gibbons. Father of Patricia Adkins, Melanie Koetter and Leaha McCrite. Grandfather of six. Great-grandfather of 11.
HALL, Joan M. (Schramm), 94, Prince of Peace, Madison, Dec. 22. Mother of Leslie Kucek, Christopher, Matthew and Thomas Hall. Grandmother of 10. Great-grandmother of eight.
HEUBI, Betty Jo, 93, Christ the King, Indianapolis,
Dec. 11. Stepmother of Dr. James and John Heubi. Sister of William Brown. Grandmother of three. Great-grandmother of three.
HIGGINS, Viola (Mader), 93, Holy Spirit, Indianapolis, Dec. 9. Mother of Julie Biddle, Teresa McQueen, Diana Mover, Dennis, Jeff, Kevin and Tim Higgins. Grandmother of 21. Great-grandmother of 15.
HOUSE, Anna M., 68,
Our Lady of Lourdes, Indianapolis, Dec. 21. Mother of Christine Gordon and Rose Siders. Sister of Joan Kimbley, Donn, Jack and Mark Proctor. Grandmother of five. Great-grandmother of three.
KENTER, Jeanette L. (Chesterson), 83, St. Roch, Indianapolis, Dec. 21. Wife of Tom Kenter. Mother of Susan, Jim, Tim and Tom. Sister of Jody, Ruth Ann and Ed. Grandmother of four. Great-grandmother of three.
KOERBER, Mary E., 94, St. John Paul II, Sellersburg, Dec. 13. Mother of Donna Strom, Wanda Wixson, Bob, Chuck and Gary Koerber. Sister of Pat Alexander and Rita Ellenbrand. Grandmother of 18. Great-grandmother of 30. Great-great-grandmother of one.
KRAMER, Nancy, 66, St. Lawrence, Lawrenceburg, Dec. 18. Wife of Frank Kramer. Mother of Angela Hoffmeier. Stepmother of Kathleen Lenning and Frank Kramer, Jr. Sister of David, Michael and Thomas Haarmeyer. Grandmother of four.
LAGRANGE, Janet M., 81, Holy Cross, St. Croix, Dec. 25.
Wife of Jerry LaGrange. Mother of Bradley LaGrange.
LAMBERT, Joseph E., 91, St. Louis, Batesville, Dec. 18. Husband of Bernice Lambert. Father of Judy Bordner, Dale, Gene and Tim Lambert. Grandfather of nine. Great-grandfather of six.
LAWLER, Myron, 89, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Richmond, Dec. 21. Father of Cathy Skinner, Julie Stiens, David, Ron and Tom Lawler. Grandfather of 13. Great-grandfather of five.
LYNN, Thomas R., 72, St. Bartholomew, Columbus, Dec. 25. Husband of Nancy Lynn. Father of Megan Dettle and Adam Lynn. Brother of Linda Moore and Ron Lynn. Grandfather of seven.
MARION, Pamela, 66, St. Lawrence, Indianapolis, Dec. 18. Mother of Elizabeth Stephens and Justin Marion. Sister of Mary Box, Patricia Rice, Bob, Eugene, Tim and Tom Bowman. Grandmother of three. Great-grandmother of one.
MARTIN, Helen E., 89,
St. John Paul II, Sellersburg, Dec. 16. Mother of Dawn Frakes, Denise Hammer, Debbie LaCour, Diana Roberts, David Barlow and Douglas Martin. Grandmother of nine. Great-grandmother of six.
MARTINI, Donna J. (Kennett), 79, All Saints, Dearborn County, Dec. 24. Wife of Leo Martini. Mother of Brenda Jonas, Rhonda Sizemore and Donald Martini. Sister of Dorothy Cox, Denver and Ron Kennett. Grandmother of nine. Great-grandmother of 13.
MOLLOY, Rosalie H. Cremer, 85, St. Luke the Evangelist, Dec. 10. Mother of Charles III, John and Joseph Cremer. Sister of Gretchen Coogan, Hugo and Joseph Hoerdemann. Grandmother of eight.
NADDY, William, 94,
St. Matthew the Apostle,
Dec. 23. Father of Julie Danielson, Lisa Goertemiller, Carmel Harr, Therese Severin, Carol Sparhawk, Mary Ann, Patrice, John and William Naddy. Grandfather of 10. Great-grandfather of three.
NAVILLE, Earl J., Jr., 91, St. Mary, Navilleton, Dec. 21. Husband of Bonnie Huber-Naville. Father of Pamela Briles, Peggy Emerson, Patricia Kirchgessner, E. Joseph, Jr., Gerald, Sr., James, Jason, Jeffrey, John, Julian and Justin Naville. Brother of Elizabeth Blessing, Naomi Brockman, Eugene and Herman Naville, Jr. Grandfather of 42. Great-grandfather of 52.
PHILLIPS, Gregory, 49,
St. Mary, Greensburg, Dec. 19. Husband of Dana Phillips. Father of Logan and Parker Phillips. Son of Garrett and Phyllis Phillips. Brother of Brian Phillips.
RANFT, Jill A., 76, Christ the King, Indianapolis, Dec. 22. Mother of Tami Howard, Lynn, Derek, Matthew, Michael and T.J. Ranft. Sister of Jack and Ronald Holmes. Grandmother of eight. Great-grandmother of one.
RITTER, Irene M. (Traylor), 92, Prince of Peace, Madison, Dec. 21. Mother of Julia Barber, Mary Margaret Nantz, Dwight, Julius and Steve Ritter. Grandmother of 15. Great-grandmother of five.
RUCKER, John, 92, Sacred Heart of Jesus, Indianapolis, Dec. 16. Father of Janet McFarland and John McIntyre. Grandfather of one.
SANDLIN, Steven W., 77,
St. Bartholomew, Columbus, Dec. 10. Husband of Paula Sandlin. Mother of Sarah Muncy, John, Matthew and Michael Sandlin. Brother of Kenny and Tom Sandlin. Grandfather of 15. Great-grandfather of three.
SANNEMAN, Linda S. (Elkins), 75, St. Jude, Indianapolis, Dec. 12. Mother of Andrea and Scott Sanneman. Sister of Rita Gladding, Leesa Lyles, Debra Napier, Barbara Schneider, Sheila and Kenny Elkins. Grandmother of three.
SCHAEFER, Edward A., 95, St. Mary-of-the-Knobs, Floyd County, Dec. 21. Father of Susan Kerber, Dwight, Edward, Jr., Greg and Mark Schaefer. Grandfather of 11. Great-grandfather of 16.
SQUIBB, Peter E., 77,
St. Lawrence, Lawrenceburg, Dec. 25. Husband of Patricia Squibb. Father of Ann Coleman, Jane Lee Hartwell, David and Nathaniel Squibb. Brother of Judith Ann Squibb Plaatje. Grandfather of 13.
SOMMER, Zana L. (Hardesty), 90, St. Paul, Tell City, Dec. 23. Mother of Carolyn Beams, Brenda Hubert, Donna James, Patty Lynch and Don Cooper. Sister of Ruth Ann Hugley, Rowena Niswonger and Pauline Presley. Grandmother of nine. Great-grandmother of 13.
STREIT, David C., 62,
St. Bartholomew, Columbus, Dec. 15. Brother of Sue Hirt and Mary Rose Lee. Uncle and great-uncle of several.
WAGNER, Michael, 73,
Our Lady of Perpetual Help, New Albany, Dec. 19. Husband of Darlene Wagner. Father of Nicole Robison and Debbie Steck. Grandfather of four.
WEIR, Mary E. (Schenkel), 110, St. Thomas the Apostle, Fortville, Nov. 19. Mother of Mary Drake, Peggy Hunt, David and James Weir. Grandmother of nine. Great-grandmother of 16. Great-great-grandmother of 11.
WENNING, Ruth, 92,
St. John the Baptist, Osgood, Dec. 19. Mother of Rosalie Calhoun, Susan Youngman and Frank Wenning. Grandmother of seven. Great-grandmother of 15. Great-great-grandmother of two.
Franciscan Sister Helen Eckrich ministered in Catholic education and administration
Franciscan Sister Helen Eckrich, formerly Sister Augustine, died on Jan. 6 at the motherhouse of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis in Oldenburg. She was 90.
The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Jan. 10 at the Motherhouse Chapel in Oldenburg. Burial followed at the sisters’ cemetery.
Sister Helen was born on Aug. 28, 1929, in Wilmington, Del., and she and her family later moved to Indianapolis. It was while she was a student at Marian University in Indianapolis that she discerned a call to religious life as an Oldenburg Franciscan.
Sister Helen joined the Sisters of St. Francis in 1951 and professed final vows in 1957. She was dispensed from her vows in 1979, but re-entered the community in 1991 and professed final vows in 1994. She earned a bachelor’s degree in history at Marian, a master’s degree in French from the College of St. Rose in Albany, N.Y., and a doctorate in French at Fordham University in New York.
During 57 years as a member of the Sisters of St. Francis, Sister Helen ministered in Catholic education at the high school and college levels, and in administration in her community.
In the archdiocese, Sister Helen served as an educator at Father Thomas Scecina Memorial High School from 1956-62, as an educator and campus minister at Marian University from 1962-79 and as president of the Oldenburg Academy of the Immaculate Conception in Oldenburg from 1994-95. From 1995 until her retirement in 2000, she ministered as the director of human resources for her community.
Memorial gifts may be sent to the Sisters of St. Francis, P.O. Box 100, Oldenburg, IN 47036-0100.
Providence Sister Patricia Fillenwarth served as an educator, missionary and counselor
Providence Sister Patricia Fillenwarth, formerly Sister Joseph Monica, died on Jan. 7 at the Gibson Family Center for Hospice Care in Terre Haute. She was 79.
The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Jan. 11 at the Church of the Immaculate Conception at the motherhouse in St. Mary-of-the-Woods. Burial followed at the sisters’ cemetery.
Sister Patricia was born on Sept. 1, 1940, in Indianapolis where she grew up as a member of the former Holy Cross Parish. She entered the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods on Jan. 6, 1958, and professed final vows on Aug. 15, 1965.
Sister Patricia earned a bachelor’s degree in education at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College in St. Mary-of-the-Woods, a master’s degree in education at Indiana State University in Terre Haute, and a master’s degree in communications and family at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago.
During her 62 years as a member of the Sisters of Providence, Sister Patricia served for 26 years in Catholic schools in Illinois, Indiana and Washington, D.C. She also served as a missionary at the Colegio San Jose in Arequipa, Peru, from 1971-76.
She was also a leader in her community’s Chicago-based St. Joseph Province. After becoming a certified counselor, she began Providence Family Services in Chicago, serving in it from 1994 until her retirement in 2018.
Surviving is a sister, Providence Sister Joseph Fillenwarth, and a brother, John Fillenwarth of Greenwood.
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. †