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)
ASH, Donald G., 82, St. Pius X, Indianapolis, July 24. Husband of Janice Ash. Father of Karen, Kevin and Michael Ash. Grandfather of three.
BOLIN UNGER, Marietta M., 84, St. Paul, Tell City, Aug. 16. Mother of Sally DeVillez, Polly Story and Rick Bolin. Grandmother of four. Great-grandmother of four.
BOOK, Agnes F., 95, St. Michael, Bradford, June 22. Mother of Rose Ann, David, Donald, Kenneth, Marvin, Patrick, Stephen and Thomas Book. Grandmother of 19. Great-grandmother of 16.
COBARRUBIAS, Enrique Santillano, 75, Holy Spirit, Indianapolis, Aug. 15. Husband of Yolanda Acosta Garcia. Father of Alma, Laura, Maria, Rosa, Enrique, Juan Carlos Riuclino, Ramon and Ricardo Santillano. Grandfather of 14.
DECECCO, Erna E., 96, Holy Spirit, Indianapolis, Aug. 11. Mother of Anita DeCecco-Boehm. Grandmother of one.
DITTMAN, Harry A., 75, Holy Family, New Albany, Aug. 23. Husband of Phyllis Dittman. Father of Lori Lavalle, Julie Tonini, Debbie Zagray and Jeff Dittman. Brother of Nancy McClintock, Mary Jane Mullin, Don, Gene, John and Ken Dittman. Grandfather of six.
FESSEL, Donna L., 67, St. Michael, Bradford, May 12. Sister of Mary Gurtz and Rebecca Meyer. Aunt and great‑aunt of several.
GETTELFINGER, Sally K., 58, St. Michael, Bradford, Feb. 10. Wife of Bernard Gettelfinger. Mother of Lora and Gregory Gettelfinger. Daughter of Charles and Nancy Sandifer. Sister of Shannon Speth, Andrew and Scott Sandifer. Grandmother of one.
HILL, Donald G., Sr., 90, Our Lady of Lourdes, Indianapolis, Aug. 17. Father of Bridget McClellan, Donald Jr., Joseph, Timothy and William Hill. Grandfather of 12. Great‑grandfather of several.
HUSER, Michael J., 37, St. Matthew the Apostle, Indianapolis, Aug. 18. Son of Terry and Kathy Huser. Brother of Kathleen Head, Lisa Lecher, Nicole Swift, Amanda, Breanna, Bradley, Bryan, Jeremy and Terry Huser. Grandson of Jim and Jeanne Huser.
LAUER, Paul A., 81, Holy Spirit, Indianapolis, Aug. 17. Husband of Marcia Lauer. Father of Marilyn, David, Philip and Stephen Lauer. Stepfather of Krista Edison and James Sorrell. Brother of Betty and Theresa Bowman, Helen Heffernan, Mary Ann Meacham and Thomas Lauer. Grandfather of 13. Great-grandfather of five.
MCCARTHY, Shirley J., 92, St. Simon the Apostle, Indianapolis, Aug. 23. Wife of Fredrick McCarthy. Mother of Sharon Brandon, Mary Kondrath, Margaret Lang, Terrance Lyon-McCarthy, Christopher and Michael McCarthy. Grandmother of eight.
NASH, Porter, 81, St. Michael, Bradford, July 3. Husband of Doris Nash. Father of Saundra Albers, Janice Archer, Cheryl Spencer, Gary, Greg, Jeff, Scott and Steve Nash. Brother of Marjorie Dodge and Elbert Nash. Grandfather of 20. Great‑grandfather of five.
PENNINGTON, Fred W., 76, St. Mary, Rushville, Aug. 20. Husband of Anna Karen Pennington. Father of Libby Hammond and David Pennington. Brother of Susan Lyme. Grandfather of four. Great-grandfather of one.
PETRY, Earl A., 94, St. Pius V, Troy, Aug. 15. Brother of Irene Fritz. Uncle of several.
PRUITT, Mary Jane, 79, St. Michael, Bradford, June 11. Mother of Vicki Hoerter, Victoria Mason, Karen O’Conner, Deborah Peterson, Rebecca Sidelko, Scott Bean, Edward, Larry Jr., Sook and Timothy Pruitt. Sister of Phyllis Gettelfinger, Gayle Humes, Lillian Jacobi, Edward and Raymond Senn and Rose Pruitt. Grandmother of nine. Great‑grandmother of 11.
REDELMAN, Delores M., 88, St. Mary, Greensburg, Aug. 24. Mother of Miriam Diez, Gregory and Kevin Redelman. Grandmother of three.
SAXON, Vera C., 75, St. Mary, Rushville, Aug. 3. Wife of Donald Saxon. Mother of Carina McDowell, Maria Wondra, Lee Ann, Benjamin, Donald, Douglas, Joseph and Steven Saxon. Sister of Rosemary Henby and Janet Ohl. Grandmother of 18. Great‑grandmother of eight.
SCHAEFER, Raymond, 92, All Saints, Dearborn County, Aug. 18. Father of Mary Lou Eckstein, Edna Gilbert, Linda McDonald and Russel Schaefer. Brother of Rosemary Conrad, Harry, Lester and Robert Schaefer. Grandfather of five. Great-grandfather of three.
SHANAHAN, Alice J., 97, St. Pius X, Indianapolis, Aug. 20. Mother of Patricia Paas, Gary and Robert Shanahan. Grandmother of four.
SIMMS, Joseph R., 75, St. Joseph, Corydon, Aug. 22. Husband of Mary Simms. Father of Ramona Meador, Ann Osterhoudt, Sandra Simms Farber, Mary Vanderbark, James and Robert Simms. Brother of Marci Daniels, Dennis, James, Joseph D., Joseph E. and Patrick Simms. Grandfather of 18. Great-grandfather of four.
Providence Sister Jean Anne Maher served in Catholic education for 43 years
Providence Sister Jean Anne Maher, formerly Sister Roberta Marie Maher, died on Aug. 23 at Union Hospital in Terre Haute. She was 85.
The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Sept. 7 at the Church of the Immaculate Conception at the motherhouse in St. Mary-of-the-Woods. Burial will follow at the sisters’ cemetery.
Sister Jean Anne was born on Dec. 24, 1932, in Chicago. She entered the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods on Feb. 2, 1951, and professed final vows on Aug. 15, 1958.
Sister Jean Anne earned a bachelor’s degree in education from Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College in St. Mary-of-the-Woods, a master’s degree in elementary education from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Ill., and a master’s degree in theology at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington, N.Y.
During her 67 years as a member of the Sisters of Providence, Sister Jean Anne ministered for 43 years as a teacher in Catholic schools in California, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts and Washington, D.C.
In the archdiocese, she served in Catholic education at the former Holy Trinity School in New Albany from 1953-55 and the former St. Ann School in New Castle.
Sister Jean Anne also served for seven years as a pastoral associate in a parish in Chicago before returning to the motherhouse in 2003 to serve as a driver and as a receptionist at Woods Day Care and the Providence Spirituality and Conference Center. She also participated in prison ministry at the United States Penitentiary in Terre Haute until a few months before her death.
Sister Jean Anne is survived by a sister, Celeste Sammet of Naperville, Ill.
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. †