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)

BLOEMER, William J., 64, St. Ann, Jennings County, Jan. 22. Son of Agnes Bloemer. Brother of Doris Flora, Mary Gerth, Carol Helms, Joyce O’Mara, Linda Robertson, Jeanette Zunker, Louise and Ron Bloemer. Uncle and great-uncle of several.

BROWN, Sr., Jerry W., 82, St. Pius V, Troy, Jan. 28. Father of Jerry, Jr., and Tracy Brown, Sr. Brother of Linda Alvey and Shirley Lindauer. Grandfather of five. Great-grandfather of five.

BUCKLER, Rita J., 71, St. Gabriel, Connersville, Jan. 9. Sister of Agnes Baca, Pauline Fuller, Diane Harmeyer and David Buckler. Aunt of several.

DEZELAN, Julia V., 88, St. Malachy, Brownsburg, Jan. 9. Mother of Jeannie Cairns, Julianne Osecki, Jennifer Rutherford and Bob Murphy. Grandmother of eight. Great-grandmother of nine.

DICKEY, Mary C., 90, St. Bartholomew, Columbus, Nov. 11. Mother of Kathy Toburen and Chris Dickey. Grandmother of seven. Great-grandmother of four.

ENNEKING, Dolores, 95, Holy Family, Oldenburg, Jan. 7. Mother of Debbie Pfeiffer, Barbara, Karen, Susan, Dale, Gary, John, Kurt and Mark Enneking. Grandmother of 14. Great-grandmother of 11.

ERNSTBERGER, Mary Ruth, 91, St. Mary, New Albany, Dec. 31. Mother of Monica Lewis, Mary Purcell, Marcia, David, Eric, Fred, Greg, Hugh, Jerry, Mark and Ted Ernstberger. Sister of Jean Batliner, Agnes Ernstberger, Joan Marguet, Bishop Gerald and Tony Gettelfinger. Grandmother of 33. Great-grandmother of 38.

FISCHER, Norma M., 95, St. Paul, Tell City, Jan. 29. Mother of Angela Webb, Bob, David, Randy and Steve Fischer. Sister of Dorothy Reader and Alice Tittle. Grandmother of 10. Great-grandmother of three.

FISHER, Larry S., 73, St. Bartholomew, Columbus, Jan. 4. Husband of Joyce Fisher. Father of Jennifer Markle, Nichole Phillips, Eric Fisher and Scott McGuire. Grandfather of nine.

GALYEN, Suzanne, 79, St. Bartholomew, Columbus, Dec. 24. Wife of Larry Galyen. Mother of Rita Galyen, Michelle Noblitt and Cindi Pate. Sister of Rosemary Buya. Grandmother of six. Great-grandmother of 15.

GILL, Thomas, 83, Christ the King, Indianapolis, Jan. 22. Husband of Patty Gill. Father of Kathleen Bigelow, Kerry Rogers, Kevin and Michael Gill. Brother of Mary Hertel and Jim Gill. Grandfather of 11.

HILL, Murray F., 91, St. Mary of the Knobs, Floyd County, Dec. 28. Brother of Charles Hill. Uncle of several.

HUTH, Diane M., 87, St. Mary of the Knobs, Floyd County, Nov. 12. Mother of Carol Mitchell, Sharon Sullivan, Kathleen Willis and Gerald Huth II. Sister of Linda Harrison, Donna Hunt and John Seymour, Jr. Grandmother of eight.

IVEY, Ruth A., 83, St. Mary of the Knobs, Floyd County, Jan. 26. Wife of Robert Ivey. Mother of Linda Gainous and LeAnn Swanson. Grandmother of five. Great-grandmother of three.

JANSHEGO, Margaret, 90, St. Jude, Indianapolis, Jan. 30. Mother of Lee Anne Griffin, Karen Metro and William Janshego. Sister of Jean, Joan and Dick. Grandmother of eight. Great-grandmother of 11.

KIJOVSKY, John, 73, St. Jude, Indianapolis, Jan. 20. Father of Rosie Alvarez, Robin Carson, Becky Chapman, Ruth Hurrle and Dan Black. Brother of Kathryn Dildine, Sharon Winalski, Bill, David and Jim Kijovsky. Grandfather of several.

KNOEBEL, Joseph H., 85, Prince of Peace, Madison, Jan. 27. Husband of Leeodda Knoebel. Father of John and Joseph Knoebel. Brother of John Knoebel. Grandfather of four.

LAMB, Norma Jean, 84, St. John Paul II, Sellersburg, Jan. 24. Mother of Greg, Kevin and Terry Lamb. Sister of Helen Balmer, Ann Foley and John Wieseka. Grandmother of two.

LANNAN, Mary Lou, 92, St. Simon the Apostle, Indianapolis, Jan. 26. Mother of Barbara Glass, Diane Mooney, Larry, Tim, Tom and Tony Lannan. Sister of Susie Gilstrap and DeeDee Marmonti. Grandmother of 12. Great-grandmother of 12.

MARLER, Donald, 88, St. Pius X, Indianapolis, Jan. 18. Father of Theresa Fadale, Paul and Dr. Charles Marler. Grandfather of 10. Great-grandfather of six.

MONTGOMERY, Norval, 95, St. Ambrose, Seymour, Jan. 23. Father of Kellie Coffman, Debra Jolly, Jeff and Larry Montgomery. Grandfather of eight. Great-grandfather of nine.

MOORE, Charlie, 87, St. Michael, Cannelton, Jan. 22. Father of Alto Boquete, Lori Sandonato, D. Todd and Greg Moore. Grandfather of six. Great-grandfather of six.

MOWAT, Rita J., 79, SS. Francis and Clare of Assisi, Greenwood, Jan. 4. Wife of Larry Mowat. Mother of Jennifer Danek, Becky Skeel, Laurie and Lawrence Mowat, Jr. Grandmother of eight.

OVERTON, Lucille, 92, St. Anthony of Padua, Clarksville, Jan. 26. Mother of Roberta Wolcott and Father Troy Overton. Grandmother of one. Great-grandmother of two.

PFLUEGER, Marjorie, 89, Annunciation, Brazil, Jan. 25. Mother of Lori Hughes, Kathy Keller, Dee Dee Knight, Jana Sinders, Curt, Dan, Joe and Tom Pfleuger. Grandmother of 16. Great-grandmother of 21.

PINNA, Susie (Schmoll), 80, St. Roch, Indianapolis, Jan. 24. Mother of Liz Beer, Stephanie Marshall, Shelley Winter, Brandon and Jim Pinna. Sister of Ronnie Schmoll. Grandmother of 17. Great-grandmother of eight.

SCHLEGEL, Angie, 92, St. Roch, Indianapolis, Jan. 21. Mother of Mary Bastable, Martha Jones, Christine Robinson, Heidi Taylor, Gerard, Kurt, Paul and Peter Schlegel. Sister of Mary Gunderman. Grandmother of 14. Great-grandmother of seven.

STEVENS, Nancy L., 91, Christ the King, Indianapolis, Jan. 16. Mother of Kathy Jansen, Kevin and Michael Treacy. Sister of Joan Tanner and Dr. E.M. Van Buskirk. Grandmother of six. Great-grandmother of two.

VIEGAS, Elaine, 52, St. Joan of Arc, Indianapolis, Jan. 18. Daughter of Drs. Oscar and Brenda Viegas. Sister of Jennifer Ehinger, Valerie Pai and Melita Viegas. Aunt of several.

VONDERHEIDE, Julianna C., 82, St. Michael, Brookville, Jan. 23. Mother of Edna Martini, Willia Ronnebaum, Ed and Bernard Vonderheide. Sister of Edith Fledermann and Frances Werner. Grandmother of five. Great-grandmother of four.

WATNESS, Donald H., 95, St. Mark the Evangelist, Indianapolis, Nov. 5. Husband of Helen Watness. Father of Suzanne Belcas, Jewell Golden, Marinel McAdams, Donna Morrissey, Philip, Robert and Tim Watness. Grandfather of 17. Great-grandfather of 16.

WOLSIFFER, Jane M., 75, St. Barnabas, Indianapolis, Jan. 17. Wife of Steve Wolsiffer. Mother of Christy Millikan, Carol Osmon, Karen Wilson and Kim Wolsiffer. Sister of Bill and Jim McGuinness. Grandmother of six. Great-grandmother of one.

WOOD, Shirley J., 87, St. Jude, Indianapolis, Jan. 7. Mother of Lisa Hammond and Amy Stoll. Grandmother of three. Great-grandmother of two.

Providence Sister Maureen Abbott served as an educator, community historian

Providence Sister Maureen Abbott, a member of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods in St. Mary-of-the-Woods, died on Jan. 26 at Providence Health Care on the campus her religious community’s motherhouse. She was 84.

The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Feb. 3 at the Church of the Immaculate Conception at the motherhouse in St. Mary-of-the-Woods. Burial followed at the sisters’ cemetery.

Sister Maureen was born on Jan. 23, 1939, in Buffalo, N.Y. She entered the Sisters of Providence on July 22, 1956, and professed final vows on Aug. 15, 1964.

Sister Maureen earned a bachelor’s degree at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College and master’s degrees at the University of Washington in Seattle and the University of Notre Dame in northern Indiana.

During her 66 years as a member of the Sisters of Providence, Sister Maureen ministered in Catholic schools for 28 years in schools in California, Illinois, Indiana and Texas. She also oversaw pastoral ministries and the education office of the Diocese of Corpus Christi, Texas, served in the metropolitan tribunal of the Archdiocese of Portland, Ore., and held provincial leadership positions in her community.

Sister Maureen also wrote a four-volume history of the Sisters of Providence, New Lights from Old Truths: Living the Signs of the Times, which covered the years 1926-66. After retiring from ministry in 2015, she returned to the motherhouse where she served as the community’s historian and in its archives.

In the archdiocese, in addition to ministering at the motherhouse, Sister Maureen served at the former St. Andrew the Apostle School in Indianapolis from 1961-65.

Sister Maureen is survived by five sisters and one brother: Patricia Ashton of Anaheim Hills, Calif.; Liz Karchmer of Corpus Christi, Texas; Kathy Oxford of Lemoore, Calif.; Christine Wisian of Corpus Christi; Jean Wood of Concord Mass.; and John Abbott of Leesburg, Va.

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. †