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)
BUETER, Betty S., 76, Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Jeffersonville, Sept. 24. Mother of Clara Dixon and Deborah Johnson. Grandmother of five. Great-grandmother of three.
BURKE, Bridget, 35, St. Mary, New Albany, Oct. 6. Mother of Christopher Burke. Sister of Cherie Branson.
COLLINS, David W., 59, St. Matthew the Apostle, Indianapolis, Sept. 28. Husband of Sandy Collins. Father of Bessie, Brandi, Dolly and David Collins II. Grandfather of three.
DEUTSCH, Rita A., 86, St. Michael, Brookville, Oct. 9. Mother of Bonita Knecht, Melissa Knoller, Rebecca Teece, Marsha, Donal and John Deutsch. Sister of Georgia Cobb, Agnes Race, Viola Stenger, Marilyn Ziegler, Charles and Paul Kunkel. Grandmother of 16. Great-grandmother of 11.
KNIGHT, Eugene J., 91, St. Malachy, Brownsburg, Oct. 6. Husband of Christine Knight. Father of Mary Hornbuckle, Margie Leap, Jean Raney, John and Paul Knight. Grandfather of 10. Great-grandfather of seven.
LOHMOELLER, David, Sr., 72, St. Andrew, Richmond, Oct. 9. Husband of Linda (Slattery) Lohmoeller. Father of David, Jeff and Steve Lohmoeller. Stepfather of Michael and Stephen Slattery. Son of Al Lohmoeller. Brother of Peg Grove, Fred and Jim Lohmoeller. Grandfather of six. Great-grandfather of one.
MADDEN, Austin Charles, 90, St. Roch, Indianapolis, Oct. 11. Husband of Delores (Hertz) Lannan Madden. Father of Mary Ann Kaiser, Jeanne, Jim, John, Paul and Dr. Tom Madden. Stepfather of Becky, Donna, Julie, Kathy, Mary, Suzie, Teresa, Tim and Tom. Brother of Ed Madden. Grandfather of 56. Great-grandfather of 17.
MERRICK, Charles E., 75, Good Shepherd, Indianapolis, Oct. 13. Husband of Alice Merrick. Brother of Dalene Nordyke, Jim and Kenny Merrick.
MILLER, Jerome G., 82, Holy Family, New Albany, Oct. 7. Brother of Germaine Day, Kenny and Larry Miller.
MOCK, Thomas J., 53, Holy Spirit, Indianapolis, Sept. 28. Brother of Patricia Jakacky, Valerie Young and Marvin Mock. Uncle of several.
MURPHY, Marie (Kirby), 76, Christ the King, Indianapolis, Oct. 5. Mother of Margo Angelo, Maureen Ward, Molly Kinnett, Michele, Terry, Todd and Tom Murphy. Sister of Tish Brafford, Margot Burke, Sue Leonard, Mike and Robert Kirby Jr. Grandmother of 12.
OHOLOROGG, Thomas W., 59, St. Bernadette, Indianapolis, Oct. 7. Husband of Willa (Schmidt) Oholorogg. Father of Don McInnes, Brenda and Ed Oholorogg. Brother of Carol Beck, Janice Foddrill, Mary Starnes and Kenneth Oholorogg. Grandfather of two.
PROBST, Dr. Gerald W., 86, St. Lawrence, Indianapolis, Oct. 5. Husband of Kathleen (Fischer) Probst. Father of Jennifer Connor, Douglas, Gregory and Michael Probst. Grandfather of nine.
SMITH, Mildred Joanne (Walsh), 75, St. Malachy, Brownsburg, Oct. 8. Wife of Farrell Smith. Mother of Susan Holtz, Lorie, Kevin and Steven Smith. Sister of Charlotte Bray. Grandmother of 12. Great-grandmother of four.
SNYDER, Wilma V., 88, St. Joseph, Indianapolis, Sept. 28. Mother of Kathryn Godwin, Charlotte Martinez and Phyllis Pancake. Grandmother of nine. Great-grandmother of 16. Great-great-grandmother of two.
SOWERS, Gertrude E., 92, St. Michael the Archangel, Indianapolis, Sept. 30. Mother of Dave Sowers.
STRACK, Winifred Ann, 82, St. Jude, Indianapolis, Oct. 13. Mother of Marie Ameis, Peggy Sappenfield, Greg and Joe Strack. Sister of Margaret Maxwell, William and Franciscan Father Sebastian Leonard. Grandmother of nine.
WHITE, Barbara, 70, St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower), Indianapolis, Sept. 15. Mother of Deborah Burks, Marla Marks, Danielle and Ross Mullis. Sister of Marydel Moran and Daniel Ross.
WICKENS, Countess, 93, St. Pius X, Indianapolis, Oct. 5. Mother of Merilee Andrews. Grandmother of four. Great-grandmother of four.
Providence Sister Mary Joanita
Walsh taught school for 34 years
Providence Sister Mary Joanita Walsh died on Sept. 1 at Mother Theodore Hall at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. She was 99.
The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Sept. 5 at the Church of the Immaculate Conception at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. Burial followed at the sisters’ cemetery at the motherhouse.
The former Ellen Catherine Walsh was born on Nov. 24, 1908, in Chicago.
She joined the congregation of the Sisters of Providence on Aug. 22, 1931, professed first vows on Feb. 27, 1934, and professed final vows on Aug. 15, 1939.
Sister Mary Joanita 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 77 years as a Sister of Providence, she ministered as a teacher for 34 years at Catholic high schools in Indiana, Oklahoma and Illinois.
In the archdiocese, Sister Mary Joanita taught at the former St. Agnes Academy in 1934 and the former St. John Academy in 1957-58.
She also served as a librarian and did clerical work before retiring from active ministry in 1989 and returning to the motherhouse. In 2006, she began the ministry of prayer full-time with the senior sisters.
Memorial gifts may be sent to the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, St. Mary-of-the-Woods, IN 47876. †