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)
ARNOLD IV, Gordon L., 40, St. Louis, Batesville, March 2. Son of Diane Arnold. Nephew of several.
BOURNE, Linda, 78, St. Mary, New Albany,
Feb. 26. Wife of James Bourne. Mother of Amy and Ted Bourne and Chris, Matthew and Scot Hunt. Grandmother of five. Great-grandmother of one.
CLARK, Charles R., 80, St. Mary, Lanesville, March 2. Husband of Rosemary Clark. Father of Christine Thompson, Victoria Kinnaird, Teresa, Steven and Michael Clark. Brother of Victoria Logsdon. Grandfather of eight.
DOUGLAS, Amy, 87, St. Anthony of Padua, Clarksville, Feb. 24. Mother of Michael and Robert Douglas, Jr.
Sister of Rose.
FANELLI, Isabella A., 62. St. John Paul II, Sellersburg, Feb. 24. Mother of Maxwell Jakubowicz. Daughter of Elizabeth Johnson. Sister of Susan Heustis, Beth Tuchfarber, Billy, Joe, John and Mike Johnson. Grandmother of three.
GIBBS, Casey J., 86, St. Malachy, Brownsburg, Feb. 26. Husband of Phyllis Gibbs. Father of Holly Gibbs Goodman, Elizabeth Sams, Joseph and Patrick Gibbs. Grandfather of 14. Great-grandfather of 21.
GINDLING, Esther, 87, St. Lawrence, Indianapolis, March 4. Mother of Sherryl Broderick, Sandy Hipp, Daniel, Jr., and David Gindling. Grandmother of nine. Great-grandmother of 13.
GOFFINET, Bill, 83, St. Paul, Tell City, March 1. Husband of Dolores Goffinet. Father of Amy Kehl, Adam, Chris and David Goffinet. Brother of Jean Thomas, Carroll and Joe Goffinet. Grandfather of 10. Great-grandfather of two.
GRONEFELD, Catherine (Decker), 90, All Saints Parish, Dearborn County, Feb. 15. Mother of Linda Bedel, Brenda Collier, Debbie Miller, Deacon Bob, Jim, John, Larry and Ron Decker. Sister of Janice Wagner. Grandmother of 24. Great-grandmother of 51. Great-great-grandmother of one. (correction)
HARPENAU, Juanita M. (Waterbury), 75, St. Pius V, Troy, March 1. Wife of Jerry Harpenau. Mother of Lisa Wade and Kevin Harpenau. Sister of Tammy Hahus, Mike Waterbury, David and Gary Zuelly. Grandmother of eight. Great-grandmother of two.
HASKAMP, Bertha L., 88, St. Catherine of Siena, Decatur County, March 1. Mother of Theresa Dury, Karen Poplawski, Doug and Edward Haskamp. Sister of Albert Daeger. Grandmother of 11.
MCDONALD, Adam, 88, St. Pius X, Indianapolis, Feb. 23. Husband of Vera McDonald. Father of Sandy Hart, Christine and Sharon McDonald. Brother of Chrissy, Maggie, Mary, Alexander and Davey. Grandfather of five.
MCINTYRE, Larry, 74, St. Mary, New Albany, March 1. Husband of Patricia McIntyre. Father of Amanda Feeler, Shawn Hanifen and Keith McIntyre. Brother of Danny, Denny, Doug, Phil and Randy McIntyre. Grandfather of seven. Great-grandfather of two.
MCMAHON, Jr., Robert L., 65, St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower), Indianapolis, Feb. 21. Father of Emily McMahon. Brother of Kelle Hall, Jeff, Larry and Pat McMahon. Grandfather of one.
MEIER, Thomas W., 89, St. Pius X, Indianapolis, Feb. 27. Father of Donna Roller, Vicki Yoder, Stacey and Michael Meier. Brother of Paul Meier. Grandfather of nine. Great-grandfather of seven.
MILLS, Greg, 57, St. Mary, New Albany, Feb. 25. Father of Cassandra Mendlik, Thess and Ian Mills. Son of Martin and Martha Mills. Brother of Lisa and Glen Mills. Grandfather of 12.
MOSGROVE, John, 93, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Richmond, Feb. 25. Husband of Shirley Mosgrove. Father of Kay Currens. Grandfather of four. Great-grandfather of eight.
NETH, Margaret M., 74, St. Charles Borromeo, Bloomington, Dec. 1. Mother of Kathleen Rader and Michael Neth. Sister of Barb Connell.
RUSSELL, Edmond L., 76, Holy Name of Jesus, Beech Grove, Jan. 12. Husband of Nancy Russell. Father of Nancy Curd, Kathy Ramsay and Charles Russell. Grandfather of 13. Great-grandfather of three.
SNYDER, Charles E., 91,
St. Gabriel, Connersville, Feb. 25. Husband of Mary Ann Snyder. Father of Betty Jean Freeland, Brian, Clay, Laird, Michael and Samuel Snyder. Stepfather of Jama Maeza, Douglas, Eric, Patrick and Paul Welsh. Brother of Paul Snyder. Grandfather of 14. Great-grandfather, step-grandfather and step-great-grandfather of several.
WILZ, Susan (Stark), 89, St. Charles Borromeo, Bloomington, Feb. 25. Mother of Margaret Bunke, Catherine Patterson, Jennie Sobecki, Mary Zabriskie, Dr. James, Dr. John and Stark Wilz. Grandmother of 14. Great-grandmother of 11.
Providence Sister Rosemary Borntrager served in Catholic education for 40 years
Providence Sister Rosemary Borntager (previously Sister Rose Cecile), a member of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods in St. Mary-of-the-Woods, died on March 6 at Mother Theodore Hall on the campus of her religious community’s motherhouse. She was 90.
A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on March 16 at the Church of the Immaculate Conception at the motherhouse in St. Mary-of-the-Woods. Burial followed at the sisters’ cemetery.
Sister Rosemary was born on Nov. 23, 1932, in Chicago. She entered the Sisters of Providence on July 22, 1950, and professed final vows on Jan. 23, 1958.
Sister Rosemary earned a bachelor’s degree in art at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, a master’s degree in fine arts at The Catholic University of America in Washington, and a master’s degree in educational administration at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Ill.
During her 72 years as a member of the Sisters of Providence, Sister Rosemary ministered in Catholic education for 40 years in California, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, North Carolina and Washington, D.C. This ministry included serving from 1980 until her retirement from education in 1993 as the assistant superintendent of schools for the Diocese of Joliet, Ill.
Sister Rosemary then returned to the motherhouse to serve for periods in the community’s archives, administration, business office, medical records and at Linden Leaf Gifts. In 2021, she dedicated herself entirely to prayer.
In the archdiocese, Sister Rosemary, in addition to ministering at the motherhouse, served at Our Lady of the Greenwood School in Greenwood from 1956-57.
She is survived by Servite Father Conrad Borntrager of Chicago.
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.
Franciscan Sister Mary Jean Sora taught music, served as a liturgical musician
Franciscan Sister Mary Jean Sora died on Dec. 26, 2022, at the motherhouse of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis in Oldenburg. She was 97.
The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Jan. 4 at the Motherhouse Chapel in Oldenburg. Burial followed at the sisters’ cemetery.
Sister Mary Jean was born on May 4, 1925, in Middletown, Ohio. She joined the Sisters of
St. Francis on Sept. 8, 1942, and professed final vows on Aug. 12, 1948. Sister Mary Jean earned a bachelor’s degree in music at Marian University in Indianapolis and completed advanced studies in piano at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati.
During 80 years as a member of the Sisters of St. Francis, Sister Mary Jean ministered in Catholic schools and parish liturgical music for 68 years in Indiana, Missouri and Ohio. Beyond serving in schools and parishes, she organized bands that played at the opening day of the Cincinnati Reds and for visits to the city by President John F. Kennedy and Bob Hope. She retired to the motherhouse in 2013.
In the archdiocese, Sister Mary Jean served at Our Lady of Lourdes School in Indianapolis from 1949-51 and at the former St. Mary School in New Albany from 1955-58.
Memorial gifts may be sent to the Sisters of St. Francis, P.O. Box 100, Oldenburg, IN 47036-0100.
Franciscan Sister Carmela Whitton served in Catholic schools and parishes
Franciscan Sister Carmela Whitton died on Feb. 26 at the motherhouse of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis in Oldenburg. She was 90.
The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on March 6 at the Motherhouse Chapel in Oldenburg. Burial followed at the sisters’ cemetery.
Sister Carmela was born on Feb. 3, 1933, in Cincinnati. She joined the Sisters of
St. Francis on Feb. 2, 1952, and professed final vows in on Aug. 12, 1957. Sister Carmela earned a bachelor’s degree at Marian University in Indianapolis and a master’s degree at the University of St. Mary in Leavenworth, Kan.
During 71 years as a member of the Sisters of St. Francis, Sister Carmela ministered in Catholic education for 23 years in Indiana and Ohio. She later served in parish ministry in Michigan and Ohio and served on the community’s General Council at the motherhouse from 1982-86. In 2009, she retired from ministry to live at the motherhouse.
In the archdiocese, Sister Carmela served in Indianapolis at the former St. Bernadette School from 1953-62 and at St. Mark the Evangelist School from 1967-73. She also ministered at the former Sacred Heart School in Clinton from 1962-63 and St. Lawrence School in Lawrenceburg from 1963-65.
Memorial gifts may be sent to the Sisters of St. Francis, P.O. Box 100, Oldenburg, IN 47036-0100. †