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)
ARIENS, Andrew A., 79, St. Mary, Rushville, Nov. 5. Husband of Gertrude (Beyer) Ariens. Brother of Carolyn Bir and Ernestine Johnston.
BROTHERS, Laverne A., 80, St. Jude, Indianapolis, Nov. 3. Wife of Ralph Brothers. Mother of Cindy O’Donnell, Julie Wilson and Chip Brothers. Sister of Jane Boatman, Bob and Howard McCauley. Grandmother of nine. Great-grandmother of six.
CLEMENTS, Elnora, 99, St. Joseph, Indianapolis, Oct. 29. Mother of Claudette Kamm, Charlene Smith, Jeanette and John Clements. Sister of Theresa Lomardo, Mary Whinery and Jim McGinnis. Grandmother of 10. Great-grandmother of one.
DOUGLASS, Jane, 93, St. Luke the Evangelist, Indianapolis, Oct. 12. Mother of Mary Kemp, Babs, Pat, George Jr., Michael and William Douglass. Grandmother of 13. Great-grandmother of 26. Great-great-grandmother of one.
FORTNER, Evelyn (Jerman), 90, Most Holy Name of Jesus, Beech Grove, Oct. 23. Wife of Charles Fortner. Mother of Jan Heavey, Karen Heidergott, Bev Hendricks, Marcia Slattery and Denny Jerman. Stepmother of Bradley, Charles and Steven Fortner. Grandmother of nine. Great-grandmother of five.
GEIS, Francis M., 81, St. Mary, Greensburg, Nov. 2. Husband of Mary Jane Geis. Father of Trish Baylis, Judy Gansert, Barb Noah, Marilyn Palmer, Andy, Danny, Kenneth and Mike Geis. Brother of Rita Ambrose, Marian Raver, Albert, Anthony and Father John Geis. Grandfather of 25. Great-grandfather of five.
HERMANN, Harry Walter, 88, St. Gabriel, Connersville, Oct. 27. Father of Mary Ann, David, Edward, Jerome, John and Harry Hermann. Brother of Martha Zane. Grandfather of seven. Great-grandfather of seven.
HUBER, Kenneth E., 82, St. Gabriel, Connersville, Oct. 6. Husband of Doris (Volz) Huber. Father of Michael Huber. Brother of Elden Huber. Grandfather of two.
KERKER, Clarence E., Jr., 83, St. Louis, Batesville, Nov. 7. Father of Nancy Meyer, Mike and Pat Kerker. Brother of Rita Goldsmith, Barbara Heidlage, Rosemary Holtel and Betty Waters. Grandfather of eight. Great-grandfather of one.
KUNKEL, John B., 83, St. Gabriel, Connersville, Oct. 27. Husband of Alvina (Frey) Kunkel. Father of Sandra May, Carol, Dan, David, Don and Richard Kunkel. Grandfather of 10. Great-grandfather of nine.
McCORMICK, Michele Anne, 42, Most Holy Name of Jesus, Beech Grove, Oct. 25. Mother of Chelsey McCormick, Amber Salazar, Shelby and Robert Supple. Daughter of Bernie and Jill McCormick. Grandmother of three.
MEYER, Martha E., (Diefenbach), 87, St. Paul, Sellersburg, Oct. 28. Mother of Cynthia Burkhardt, Bonnie Cormican, Carrie Hayes, Ellen Turner, Margaret and Joe Meyer. Grandmother of six. Great-grandmother of three.
MILLER, Irene Rose, 92, St. John the Baptist, Starlight, Nov. 7. Sister of Catherine Kruer, Dolores Popp, Marcella Weikel and Marie Miller. Aunt of several.
MURRAY, Margaret Y., 93, St. Gabriel, Connersville, Oct. 7. Mother of Byron, J. Fredric and Stanley Murray. Grandmother of five.
REISERT, Martha Elizabeth, 96, St. Gabriel, Connersville, Oct. 29. Sister of Margie Foy. Aunt of several.
RIZZI, Karyn Marie (Egan), 37, Most Holy Name of Jesus, Beech Grove, Nov. 8. Wife of Tommy Rizzi. Mother of Hannah, Josie, Mark and Nick Rizzi. Daughter of Tom and Angie Egan. Sister of Jackie Shepard, Craig, Pete and Tony Egan.
RODRIGUEZ, Maria A., 81, St. Joseph, Indianapolis, Oct. 17. Mother of Rosa Berry, Maria Frederick, Diana Mosteller, Dora Mulchay, Frances Stewart, Norma Wainwright, Daniel and Roberto Rodriguez. Grandmother of 31. Great-grandmother of 40.
SCHRAGE, Ralph Bernard, 76, St. Mark the Evangelist, Indianapolis, Nov. 9. Husband of Marilyn (Miller) Schrage. Father of Sue Gregory, Donna Richards and Gary Schrage. Brother of Rita Renaud, Mary Thomas, Cyril and Sam Schrage. Grandfather of eight. Great-grandfather of one.
VEERKAMP, Joseph C., 89, St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower), Indianapolis, Nov. 9. Husband of Mary Catherine (Meyer) Veerkamp. Father of Dianna Deputy, Elaine Jerrell, Beverly Moore, Gary and Steve Veerkamp. Grandfather of seven. Great-grandfather of nine.
WEIDENBENER, Golda, 90, St. Bartholomew, Columbus, Oct. 24. Mother of Donna Weidenbener. Grandmother of one. Great-grandmother of one.
WERNER, Martha, 93, Holy Family, Oldenburg, Nov. 8. Mother of Helen Lewis, Rosemary Swingos, Jerry, John, Joseph and Richard Werner. Sister of Lawrence Holtel. Grandmother of 16. Great-grandmother of 39. Great-great-grandmother of 11.
Franciscan Sister Mary Claver Ehren was a teacher and also ministered in Papua New Guinea
Franciscan Sister Mary Claver Ehren, a member of the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis in Oldenburg and former missionary in Papua New Guinea, died on Oct. 15 at Christ Hospital in Cincinnati. She was 83.
The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Oct. 19 at the motherhouse chapel in Oldenburg. Burial followed at the sister’s cemetery.
Sister Mary Claver was born on Aug. 9, 1927, in St. Louis. She entered the Oldenburg Franciscan community on July 29, 1944, and professed her final vows on Aug. 12, 1950.
Sister Mary Claver taught at Catholic grade schools in Indiana and served in pastoral ministry in Ohio and Montana.
In 1960, she was one of four founding sisters to begin the order’s missionary work in Papua New Guinea.
This year, the Oldenburg Franciscans are celebrating a half-century of their educational ministry there.
In Indiana, Sister Mary Claver taught at Catholic schools in the Evansville Diocese and at the former St. Vincent Orphanage in Vincennes, Ind.
In later years, she served in retreat ministry, pastoral ministry and hospital ministry.
She retired to the Oldenburg motherhouse in 1991.
Surviving are two brothers, Donald Ehren of Winston-Salem, N.C., and Michael Ehren of San Diego as well as seven sisters, Mildred Brewer of Cuba, Mo.; Cecelia Browning of Peoria, Ariz.; Margie Clarke of Hazelwood, Mo.; Joann Glaser of Cuba, Mo.; Loretta Jakubiec of Royal Oak, Mich.; Evelyn Mar of Cuba, Mo.; and Frances Wilkerson of Rolla, Mo.
Memorial gifts may be sent to the Sisters of St. Francis, P.O. Box 100, Oldenburg, IN 47036.
Providence Sister Thomasine Griffin served as a teacher and provincial administrator
Providence Sister Thomasine Griffin died on Oct. 23 at Mother Theodore Hall at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. She was 85.
The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Oct. 27 at the Church of the Immaculate Conception at the motherhouse. Burial followed at the sisters’ cemetery.
The former Margaret Griffin was born on Aug. 30, 1925, in Boston.
She entered the congregation of the Sisters of Providence on July 20, 1942, professed her first vows on Jan. 23, 1945, and professed her final vows on Jan. 23, 1950.
Sister Thomasine earned a bachelor’s degree in biology at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College and master’s degree in secondary education counseling at the University of New Hampshire.
During 68 years as a Sister of Providence, she ministered for 43 years at Catholic schools in Indiana, Illinois, Texas and Massachusetts.
In Indiana, she taught at Holy Cross School in Indianapolis in 1950, St. Joan of Arc School in Indianapolis from 1950-52, the former St. Ann School in Terre Haute from 1952-54 and Our Lady of Providence High School in Clarksville from 1966-69.
From 1971 to 1976, Sister Thomasine served in provincial administration for the congregation.
In 1995, she retired from active ministry then volunteered for four years at parishes in Boston.
In 2000, she returned to the motherhouse, where she managed the Providence Co-op, a second-hand clothing store.
In 2002, she dedicated herself to the ministry of prayer full-time.
Surviving are several nieces and nephews.
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. †