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)

BATTEN, Adeline F., 92, St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower), Indianapolis, Feb. 22. Sister of Albina Maza.

BOSCO, Joseph A., 94, St. Mary, New Albany, March 6. Husband of Alice (Schmidt) Bosco. Father of Barbara Makinen, Therese Renn and William Bosco. Grandfather of eight. Great-grandfather of one.

BUTLER, Mary Ann (Edelen), 73, St. Thomas Aquinas, Indianapolis, March 6. Mother of Heidi, Joan, Arthur and Kirk Butler.

CRAIG, Thomas Alexander, 81, St. Lawrence, Lawrenceburg, March 2. Husband of Marie Craig. Father of Regina Tremain, Sheila Wills, Anita and Virginia Gaines, Shannon, Art, David and Thomas Craig. Grandfather of 13. Great-grandfather of two.

DALEY, Debbie, 49, St. Bartholomew, Columbus, March 2. Wife of Stephen Daley. Mother of Colleen and Lydia Daley, Jessica, Matthew and Tyler Jones. Daughter of Carol (Jenkins) Rucker. Sister of Jerri Miller, Susan Rideout and James Wilkerson. Granddaughter of Lillian Rucker. Grandmother of three.

FERNANDES, Joseph P., 72, St. Michael the Archangel, Indianapolis, Feb. 19. Husband of Immaculata Fernandes. Father of Angelica Browder, Mari Grace Polley, David, Joachim, John, Francis and Leonard Fernandes. Brother of Batu and John Fernandes. Grandfather of 17. Great-grandfather of two.

FISHER, Bernard M., 77, Prince of Peace, Madison, March 4. Husband of Nancy Fisher. Father of Carolyn Van Luchene and Charlene Zoeller. Brother of Norma Dunlap, Virginia Lambert, Mary Prather, Lois Price and Cecil Fisher. Grandfather of four.

FLUHR, Mabel (Mason), 98, St. Joseph, Corydon, Feb. 20. Mother of Anne Eiler and Lawrence Fluhr. Sister of Florence Wolfe. Grandmother of six. Great-grandmother of four.

FONDA, Otis John, Jr., 64, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, New Albany, March 3. Husband of Sandra (Banet) Fonda. Father of Erik, Mark and Todd Fonda. Brother of four. Grandfather of 13. Great-grandfather of one.

HARLOW, Melinda J. (Ball), 74, St. Jude, Indianapolis, Feb. 28. Mother of Chuck and John Harlow and Chet Smith. Sister of Mary Cook and Robert Ball. Grandmother of four.

HARPER, Amanda Faye, 28, St. Paul, Tell City, Feb. 22. Sister of Nikki and Jason Harper. Granddaughter of Jim and Linda Pannett.

HENRICKSON, William, 71, St. Paul, Tell City, Feb. 7. Brother of Jean Hemmer and Larry Henrickson.

HIGGINS, Martha E., 98, St. Joseph, Shelbyville, March 9. Sister of Jack Higgins.

LEE, Bertha, 90, SS. Francis and Clare, Greenwood, Feb. 19.

LEIDOLF, Joann (Fertig), 76, St. Mary-of-the-Knobs, Floyds Knobs, March 8. Wife of Arthur Leidolf. Mother of Jo Lynn Gosnel, Anita Kays, Sheryl Staser, Bruce, Jim and Mark Leidolf. Sister of Morton Fertig. Grandmother of 10. Great-grandmother of three.

LYNCH, Waring L., 84, Holy Name of Jesus, Beech Grove, Jan. 28. Husband of Rose Marie (Strack) Lynch. Father of Mary Jo Zajeski, Thomas and Waring Lynch. Brother of Thomas Lynch. Grandfather of four.

MERL, Margaret E., 93, St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower), Indianapolis, Feb. 20.

MILLER, Janet Ann, 79, St. Thomas Aquinas, Indianapolis, March 5. Aunt of one.

MILLER, Mary (Monzella), 94, St. Peter, Harrison County, Feb. 12. Mother of Dorothy Graham, Dennis and James Miller. Grandmother of four.

PRESTEL, Donald L., 74, St. Jude, Indianapolis, March 5. Husband of Betty Ann Prestel. Father of Donna Baker, Anne Clark and Dan Prestel. Brother of Mary Ann Farr and Bernard Prestel. Grandfather of seven.

ROTHROCK, Margie L., (Schaffner), 86, St. Anthony of Padua, Clarksville, March 3. Mother of Ann Whitworth, Steve and Tom Rothrock. Grandmother of five. Great-grandmother of five.

SCHMITH, Paul Alfred, 81, Holy Name of Jesus, Beech Grove, Feb. 22. Husband of Betty (Slaten) Schmith. Father of Nina Sutton, Eric, Gregory, Paul and Zachary Schmith. Grandfather of seven.

SCHULTHEIS, Henry H., 91, St. Mary, New Albany, March 8. Husband of Alberta (Hoffman) Schultheis. Father of Brenda, Glenda and Ralph Schultheis. Brother of Lillian Becker. Grandfather of four. Great-grandfather of two.

SHEEHAN, Paul Edward, 67, St. Mary, Rushville, Feb. 17. Husband of Linda (Chaney) Sheehan. Father of Kerri and Patrick Sheehan. Brother of Michelle Bornhorst, Maureen Leisure, Theresa Shadley, Patricia Stamm, Kathleen, Danny and Tim Sheehan. Grandfather of two.

WHITE, Joseph, Jr., 80, formerly of Indianapolis, Feb. 17. Husband of Lillian (Beyer) White. Father of Karen Hayden, Debbe Krumme, Sheila Powers, Julie Schmitt, Susie, Jerry and Ron White. Brother of Genevieve Coffey and John White. Grandfather of 16.

WILLMERING, Charles W., 70, St. Andrew the Apostle, Indianapolis, Feb. 28. Brother of Ann Linvill, Bill and Jesuit Father John Willmering. Uncle of several.

Providence Sister Jean Karier helped start St. Mary’s Child Center

Providence Sister Jean Karier died on March 7 at Mother Theodore Hall at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. She was 94.

The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on March 11 at the Church of the Immaculate Conception at the motherhouse. Burial followed at the sisters’ cemetery.

The former Cecilia Susan Karier was born on Sept. 16, 1914, in Evanston, Ill.

She entered the congregation of the Sisters of Providence on Feb. 11, 1932, and professed her first vows on Aug. 15, 1934, and her final vows on Jan. 23, 1940.

Sister Jean earned a bachelor’s degree at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College and a master’s degree at St. Louis University.

During 77 years as a member of the congregation, Sister Jean ministered for 46 years in education at Catholic schools in Indiana and Illinois.

In the archdiocese, Sister Jean taught at St. Philip Neri School in Indianapolis from 1934-37, St. Anthony School in Indianapolis from 1944-45, and Immaculate Heart of Mary School in Indianapolis from 1953-57.

From 1953-57, Sister Jean assisted with special education ministry in Indianapolis. From 1977-80, she ministered in special education at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College.

In 1957, at the request of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, Sister Jean was part of a team that began a Special Education Center in Indianapolis and started St. Mary’s Child Center in Indianapolis.

At the same time, Sister Jean served on the secretarial staff at the motherhouse, a ministry she continued until 1991.

Although she was listed as officially retired, Sister Jean volunteered for nine more years of part-time service at the motherhouse offices, including four years as coordinator of the Blessed Sacrament Association.

In 2000, she began her full-time ministry of prayer with the senior sisters.

Surviving are a sister, Rosemary Hyland of Westchester, Ill.

Memorial gifts may be sent to the Sisters of Providence, 1 Sisters of Providence, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, St. Mary-of-the-Woods, IN 47876. †