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)

BANET, Evelyn M., 91, St. Mary-of-the-Knobs, Floyd County, July 27. Mother of Linda Banet Schmidt. Grandmother of four. Great-grandmother of three.

BLOCK, Wilbert, 95, St. Mary, New Albany, July 21. Husband of Rose Block. Father of Patty Geswein, Nancy Miller, Rosie Shannon, Janie Spitznagel, Susan, Bill, Dan and David Block. Grandfather of 22. Great-grandfather of 43.

BRENDLE, Rita, 92, Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Jeffersonville, July 17. Mother of Joyce Jackson, Donald and Ronald Brendle, and Robert Hall, Sr. Sister of Catherine Huff. Grandmother of nine. Great-grandmother of seven. Great-great-grandmother of two.

BRUNER, Millie M., 82, St. Joseph, Shelbyville, July 14. Mother of Jackie Bond and Sandy Kim. Sister of Vangie Harsh, Vada Sweet, Curly Bradley, Conroy and Leonard Higdon. Grandmother of 16. Great-grandmother of 25.

GALLAGHER, Margaret L., 93, Holy Spirit, Indianapolis, July 23. Mother of Maureen Guthrie-Dufner and Joseph Gallagher. Sister of Mary Helen Shea. Grandmother of seven. Great-grandmother of 12.

GLENN, David E., 82, St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Aurora, July 26. Husband of Jemma Glenn. Father of Debbie Huffman and Cindy Vogt. Brother of Craig and Paul Glenn. Grandfather of four.

HOFF NOEL, Helena A. (Reigel), 85, St. Mark the Evangelist, Indianapolis, Aug. 2. Mother of Rebecca Blandford, Diann Halvorson, Catherine Worley and Michael Hoff. Sister of John and Robert Reigel. Grandmother of eight. Great-grandmother of six. Great-great-grandmother of two.

JACKOWIAK, Lawrence S., 85, St. Charles Borromeo, Bloomington, July 30. Husband of Joanne Jackowiak. Father of Laura Smith, Lynda Webb, Catherine, Edward and Joseph Jackowiak. Brother of Barbara O’Conner, David and Jim Jackowiak and Father Tom Srenn. Grandfather of eight.

JAMES, Mary Margaret, 85, St. Augustine, Leopold, July 19. Mother of Larry and Roger James. Aunt of several.

KEITH, Diane E. (Pollard), 61, Sacred Heart of Jesus, Indianapolis, July 16. Sister of Jim, Nick and Steven Pollard. Aunt of several.

KLEIN, Richard A., 93, Prince of Peace, Madison, July 31. Husband of Wanda Klein. Father of Carolyn and Tony Klein. Grandfather of two.

KIRCHNER, Stella, 87, St. Mary, North Vernon, July 24. Sister of Phyliss Blair, Susie Horton, Ellen Moore, Sandy Summerfield and Charles Fortner. Aunt of several.

LAMPING, George, 90, St. Michael, Brookville, July 6. Brother of Esther Young. Uncle of several.

MANNING, Amanda Mae, 36, St. John Paul II, Sellersburg, July 25. Mother of Alexis, James and Kalob Manning. Daughter of Timothy and Jolinda Manning. Sister of Lora and Curtis Manning. Granddaughter of Joan Manning.

MANZANO ALBA, Sr., Tomas, 69, St. Jude, Indianapolis, July 28. Father of Derick and Tomas, Jr. Stepfather of Maria, Francis and Michael. Brother of Agnes, Birgita, Celine, Bernardino and Luis, Jr. Grandfather of 13.

MCCALL, Florence, 101, St. Joseph, Shelbyville, July 13. Mother of Dennis, Lawrence and Mike McCall. Grandmother of 19. Great-grandmother of 50. Great-great-grandmother of eight.

MILLER, Rosemary, 92, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Richmond, July 30. Mother of Sherry Amyx, Jeanne Charlton, Julie Dershem, Cindy Hirsch, Connie Minor, Terri Schroeder, Vicki See, Patsy Widau, David and John Miller. Sister of Anthony Kutter. Grandmother of 27. Great-grandmother of 54. Great-great-grandmother of six.

MITTEL, Maxine F. (Peterson), 70, Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Jeffersonville, July 22. Wife of Richard Mittel, Sr. Mother of Stacy Wisenski and Rick Mittel. Sister of Chuck and John Peterson. Grandmother of four.

PRICE, Clara, 85, St. Joseph, Shelbyville, July 23. Mother of Kimberly Arnold, Dennis and Donald Price. Sister of Wilma Decker and Steve Ruhlman. Grandmother of six.

SCHOETTMER, Margaret L., 63, St. Mary, Greensburg, July 31. Wife of Charles Schoettmer. Mother of Amber, Lee and Travis Schoettmer. Sister of Cindy Mergenthal, Laura Weiler and Vicki Schmaltz. Grandmother of five.

SPRIGLER, George E., 78, St. Mary-of-the-Knobs, Floyd County, July 31. Father of Dana Becker, Debbie Gregory, Donna House, Edward and Jason Sprigler and Dean and Dwayne Stumler. Brother of Carla Sprigler Becht. Grandfather of 25.

SULLIVAN, Patricia, 87, St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower), Indianapolis, July 16. Mother of Elaine, Kevin, Mike, Paul and Steve Sullivan. Sister of Carol Moon. Grandmother of 14. Great-grandmother of 13.

TELLES, Francis W., 91, St. Louis, Batesville, July 31. Husband of Mary Jane Telles. Father of Becky Brown, Gary, Mark, Scott, Ted and Tim Telles. Brother of Carolyn Robinson and Jim Telles. Grandfather of 12.

ZINS, Therese A., 69, Holy Family, Oldenburg, August 2. Sister of Mary Bergman, Judy Franzen, Carol Roell, Patty, Jerry and Michael Zins. Aunt of several.

Divine Word Father Chester Smith ministered to Black Catholic youths in Indianapolis, across the country

Divine Word Father Chester Smith, who ministered at different periods in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, especially among Black Catholics, died on April 8. He was 60.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, a private graveside service was held. He was buried at St. Mary Catholic Cemetery in Evergreen Park, Ill.

Father Chester was born on May 3, 1959, in Chicago. He was the twin brother of Divine Word Father Charles Smith, who survives and ministers at the Veterans Administration hospital in Indianapolis. They were the first twin African-American brothers to both be ordained priests.

Father Chester attended his order’s Divine Word Seminary High School in East Troy, Wis. He entered the order in 1972, professed temporary vows in 1982 and final vows in 1987. He and his brother were ordained priests in 1988.

Father Chester earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology and psychology at Divine Word College in Epworth, Iowa, and a master of divinity degree at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago.

In addition to serving in parishes in Illinois and Missouri, Father Chester was a founding member of the Bowman Francis Ministry Team, which works with African-American youths in a rite of passage program. It was founded in Atlanta and was later based at St. Rita Parish in Indianapolis from 1996-2000. He co-wrote the books Boyhood to Manhood and My Family, Our Family.

Father Chester lived for many years at St. Rita Parish while traveling in his ministry to many other places. He celebrated Mass for the parish and ministered to youths and young adults there, including organizing youth conferences at St. Rita.

A speaker at conferences around the world, Father Chester previously served as president of the National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus and founded Ambassadors of the Word, a peer group ministry program helping African-American youths. He and his brother Father Charles also developed Boyhood to Manhood, a parish-based program whose goal was to help young Black men realize their value, get in touch with their spirituality and train future Church leaders.

He is survived by his sister Marcheta and his brothers Father Charles and Kermit.

Memorial gifts may be sent to Bowman Francis Ministry, c/o Society of the Divine Word Chicago Province, P.O. Box 6038, Techny, IL 60082-6038. †