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, Kathryn, 79, Holy Family, New Albany, Nov. 14. Mother of Kelly Condra, Kim Nunley, Doug and Rick Banet. Sister of Jettie Bowling. Grandmother of 10. Great-grandmother of four.

BISCHOFF, Ruth A., 83, All Saints, Dearborn County, Nov. 21. Mother of Susan Jones, Debbie Spade, Patty Steinmetz, Lawrence and Roger Bischoff. Grandmother of nine. Great-grandmother of 10.

BIZZELL, Rosemary, 93, Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Jeffersonville, Nov. 8. Mother of Albert, Christopher, Jeffrey, Kevin and Timothy Bizzell. Sister of Lucy Tierney. Grandmother of 11. Great-grandmother of seven.

BRIDGES, Elizabeth A., 77, St. Joseph, Jennings County, Nov. 27. Wife of Jerry Bridges. Mother of Jane Bridges, Ann Colaco and Mark Lee. Sister of Kathleen Baurley, Coleen Gerth, Jeanette Heckman, Marie Laymon, Anna Mae Raver, Maria Tempest, Joyce Vogel, Henry Carr, Paul Leonard and Tom Vogel. Grandmother of four.

BUCKLEY, Mary Lou, 90, St. Mary, Greensburg, Nov. 28. Mother of Susan Lister, Bob and Tim Richards. Sister of Ann Hall, Bill, Carl and Jim Hellmich. Grandmother of nine. Great-grandmother of seven.

DAVIS, Katherine F., 90, St. Jude, Indianapolis, Nov. 23. Mother of Kathy Allen, Diane, Bill, Cary, Joe, John, Rick and Tom Davis. Grandmother of 21. Great-grandmother of nine.

ERTEL, Rebecca A., 74, St. Mary-of-the-Rock, St. Mary-of-the-Rock, Nov. 30. Sister of Cathy Kaiser, Marianne Lambert, Donna McDaneld, Bill, Jerry, Ken and Ron Ertel. Aunt of several.

FLANARY, Pippa R., infant, St. Mary (Immaculate Conception), Rushville, Nov. 27. Daughter of Jonathan and Morgan Flanary. Sister of Anya Flanary. Granddaughter of J.D. and Kristine Herbert and James and Jennifer Flanary.

HEMBREE, Lawrence J., 81, St. Michael, Greenfield, Nov. 29. Husband of Barbara Hembree. Father of Lisa Jordan, Lori, John and Lawrence Hembree, Jr. Grandfather of five. Great-grandfather of three.

HESSEN-VECCHIO, Erica, 51, St. Jude, Indianapolis, Nov. 18. Mother of Emiko and Tomás Vecchio. Daughter of John, III and Tsuseko Takahashi Hessen. Sister of Jeremiah Hessen.

HOLLORAN, Theresa M., 55, Holy Spirit, Indianapolis, Oct. 14. Wife of Brian Zustovich. Daughter of Edward, Jr. and Mildred Holloran. Sister of Angela Ogawa and Edward Holloran, III. Aunt of one.

JACKSON, Charles, 86, St. Barnabas, Nov. 29. Husband of Mary Jackson. Father of Kathleen Able and Teresa Moore. Grandfather of five. Great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather of several.

NICHOLSON, Margaret, 79, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Richmond, Nov. 17. Mother of Carla White, Julia, Karen, David and Steven Nicholson. Sister of Linda Hays and John Habing. Grandmother of four. Great-grandmother of six.

PAGE, Gerald M., 79, St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Aurora, Nov. 24. Husband of Susan Page. Father of Cheryl Ogle Lowry and Michael Page. Brother of Patricia Kircher. Grandfather of two. Great-grandfather of three.

PAGEL, Kenneth, 88, Prince of Peace, Madison, Nov. 27. Father of Jennifer Fretland, Kelly Morgan, Donna Walton, Mark and Stephen Fitzpatrick and Kenneth Pagel. Grandfather of eight. Great-grandfather of eight.

PARTIPILO, Anita L., 81, St. John Paul II, Sellersburg, Oct. 27. Mother of Frank, Jr., and Tom Partipilo. Sister of Tommy Reese. Grandmother of three.

ROSEBERRY, Mary C., 83, St. Mary, Greensburg, Nov. 27. Mother of Kim Hubbard, Lisa and Pat Roseberry. Sister of Gladys Catron, Joyce Hahn, Betty Hudnall, Helen Robbins, Diane Roberts, Sharon, Charles and Dale Veerkamp. Grandmother of 15. Great-grandmother of several. Great-great-grandmother of two.

RUDOLPH, Maurice, 103, St. Barnabas, Indianapolis, Nov. 26. Father of Patrick Rudolph. Grandfather of one.

SAUERLAND, Julian W., 94, Holy Guardian Angels, Cedar Grove, Nov. 26. Brother of Agnes Ertel. Uncle of several.

SCHEIDLER, James R., 90, St. Mary, Greensburg, Nov. 29. Father of Ann Couch and Mark Scheidler. Brother of Dottie Hoeing, Kate Meyer, Barbara Wamsley and Mary Ann Welage. Grandfather of one.

SCHEIDLER, Jean M., 88, St. Mary, Greensburg, Nov. 30. Wife of Robert Scheidler. Mother of Teresa Buell, LuAnn Cain, Susan Colson, Joanette Wright, Daniel, Lawrence and Roger Scheidler. Sister of Margie Fisse. Grandmother of 26. Great-grandmother of 23.

SMILEY, Katherine, 99, St. Mary (Immaculate Conception), Rushville, Nov. 24. Mother of Curtis and Robert Smiley. Sister of Marie Kuswa. Grandmother of six. Great-grandmother of one.

VOYLES, Patricia, 79, St. Augustine, Jeffersonville, Nov. 11. Wife of William Voyles. Mother of Shannon Middleton, Elizabeth Turk and Susan Voyles Garr. Sister of Martha Wilkinson, Mary Jean Williams, Michael and Tom Boone. Grandmother of six. Great-grandmother of seven.

WALDEN, Jeffrey W., 68, St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower), Indianapolis, Nov. 12. Father of Kimberly Hall, Amy Harris and Nichole Williams. Brother of Carol Henson. Grandfather of nine. Great-grandfather of six.

WALSMAN, Dorothy M., 98, St. Louis, Batesville, Nov. 27. Wife of Robert Walsman. Mother of Robert and Thomas Walsman. Grandmother of five. Great-grandmother of seven.

WHITE, William D., 75, St. Michael, Brookville, Nov. 25. Husband of Judy White. Father of Jessica Whitfield, Lisa Wilkerson, Josh and Lance White. Son of Fannie White. Brother of Judith Sparks and Richard White. Grandfather of 16.

Providence Sister Mary Lee Mettler served in parishes, schools

Providence Sister Mary Lee Mettler, a member of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods in St. Mary-of-the-Woods, died on Nov. 24 at Signature Health Care in Terre Haute. She was 88.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, a virtual funeral service was held. Burial followed at the sisters’ cemetery.

Sister Mary Lee was born on Aug. 7, 1932, in Fort Wayne, Ind. She entered the Sisters of Providence on July 22, 1951, and professed final vows on Jan. 23, 1959.

Sister Mary Lee earned a bachelor’s degree at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College and master’s degrees at Indiana University in Bloomington and the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio.

During her 69 years as a member of the Sisters of Providence, Sister Mary Lee ministered as an educator for 19 years in schools in Illinois, Indiana, Maryland and Texas. She also served in parish ministry in Indiana, Mississippi and Tennessee. Sister Mary Lee returned to the motherhouse in 1998, serving in various capacities there before dedicating herself entirely to prayer in 2018.

In the archdiocese, Sister Mary Lee served at Our Lady of the Greenwood School in Greenwood from 1957-59, at the former Archbishop Schulte High School in Terre Haute from 1968-69, in Indianapolis at the former St. Agnes Academy from 1969-70, the former Ladywood-St. Agnes Academy from 1970-73 and as a clerical assistant for her community’s St. Gabriel Province from 1973-75. She also served at St. Mary Parish in Mitchell from 1993-95.

She is survived by a sister, Connie Rurka of Coldwater, Mich.

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. †