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)
BRUNS, Viola M., 90, St. Louis, Batesville, May 8. Cousin of several.
BUERGLER, Louis J., 90, St. Roch, Indianapolis, April 29. Husband of Betty Ann (Wendling) Buergler. Father of Mary Jan Betzler, Sandy Ruhana, Debbie Stokes, Linda Vance, Bob, Dick and John Buergler. Brother of Bea Clark, Ed and Joe Buergler. Grandfather of 12. Great-grandfather of 20.
CAMPBELL, Kennith, Sr., 66, St. Mary, Lanesville, May 6. Father of Emilie Henry, Julie Osborne, Kennith Jr. and Mark Campbell. Brother of Kimberly Harbeson, Diane Howerton, Barbara Malone and Bennitt Campbell. Grandfather of three. Great-grandfather of one.
DiSANO, Joseph, 57, St. Jude, Indianapolis, May 7. Father of Alyssa Harvey. Son of Eileen DiSano. Brother of Rosemary Talbot, Keith, Kevin and Roy DiSano.
GONG, Alice, 85, St. Jude, Indianapolis, May 9. Mother of David, Jeffrey, Mark and Timothy Gong. Grandmother of five. Great-grandmother of two.
HILBERT, Robert, 67, All Saints, Dearborn County, May 6. Husband of Mary Lou Hilbert. Father of Michelle Vess and Rob Hilbert. Brother of Julie Wilhelm and Jim Hilbert. Grandfather of four.
KELLY, James Patrick, 86, St. Anthony, Indianapolis, April 28. Uncle of several.
LaFEVER, Selma M., 93, St. Augustine, Jeffersonville, May 4. Sister of Violet Carlson. Grandmother of five.
PRICE, Floyd Robert, 68, St. Michael, Greenfield, April 20. Husband of Vera (Keller) Price. Father of Jennifer Hadley, Kathy Mullis and Joe Price. Grandfather of nine. Great-grandfather of two.
SMITH, Lisa Marie, 51, St. Simon the Apostle, Indianapolis, April 23. Daughter of Raymond Smith. Sister of Carla Borkowski. Aunt of several.
SNYDER, Karen Ann, 63, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, New Albany, April 29. Mother of Brian and Eric Shaughnessy. Sister of Howard McLean. Grandmother of five. Great-grandmother of one.
SPITZNAGEL, Frank J., Jr., 91, St. Anthony of Padua, Clarksville, April 30. Husband of Dolores Spitznagel. Father of Susan Block, Kathy Coleman, Carol Fisher, Mary Lou Fisher, Sandra Herman, Debra Reiter, Danny, Frank III, Gary and Richard Spitznagel. Brother of Hubert and Joseph Spitznagel. Grandfather of 25. Great-grandfather of 36.
STAHLEY, Edward F., 72, St. Lawrence, Lawrenceburg, May 4. Husband of Norma Jean Stahley. Father of Carla Stuard, James and Mark Stahley. Brother of Ruth Evans Burman. Grandfather of four.
TOSCANO, Steven A., 44, St. Roch, Indianapolis, May 2. Son of Philip and Carole Toscano. Brother of Laura Rhinehart, Amy Rittenhouse, Angela Schubach, Nancy and Mike Toscano. Uncle of several.
TOSCHLOG, Wilber, 87, St. Andrew, Richmond, May 1. Father of Randy Toschlog. Grandfather of four. Great-grandfather of three.
UNDERWOOD, Leo Roy, 82, St. Patrick, Salem, May 8. Father of Becky Ledbetter, Denise Sowder and Sharon Ward. Grandfather of seven. Great-grandfather of 10.
WEBER, Coletta, 89, All Saints, Dearborn County, May 9. Mother of Marisa and Tina Callahan, Regina Laugle, Kathleen Sturgill, Marianne Vickers, Alan, Gregory, Gerard, John, Joseph, Roger and Ronald Weber. Sister of Romilda Hoeing, Nicholas and Sylvester Riehle. Grandmother of 37. Great-grandmother of 26.
Benedictine Father Aelred Cody, 83, was a leader in biblical scholarship for more than 50 years and was a monk for 62 years
Benedictine Father Aelred Cody, a monk of Saint Meinrad Archabbey in St. Meinrad, died on May 11 in the monastery infirmary. He was 83.
The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on May 13. Burial followed at the Archabbey Cemetery.
Father Aelred was a jubilarian, having celebrated 62 years of monastic profession. He was also a jubilarian of ordination, having celebrated 58 years of life and ministry as a priest
Joseph Francis Cody Jr. was born on Feb. 3, 1932, in Oklahoma City, OK.
After attending a Catholic grade school and high school in his hometown, Father Aelred briefly studied music at the University of Oklahoma in Oklahoma City.
He then transferred to the former Saint Meinrad College and was invested as a novice in Saint Meinrad Archabbey in 1951, professed temporary vows on Aug. 1, 1952, and solemn vows in 1955. He was ordained a priest on May 3, 1957.
From 1955 to 1970, Father Aelred earned six college degrees: a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Saint Meinrad College; a licentiate and doctorate in sacred theology from Ottawa University; a licentiate in sacred Scripture from the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome; a doctorate in sacred Scripture from the Pontifical Biblical Commission; and a degree from the Ecole Biblique et Archéologique Française in Jerusalem.
Involved in biblical scholarship for over half a century, Father Aelred authored an extensive list of publications, including books, entries in encyclopedias and reference works, articles and essays in a half-dozen languages.
He was a trustee and member of the executive board of the Catholic Biblical Association of America. Father Aelred also served as an associate editor and later general editor of the Catholic Biblical Quarterly, a member of the consultative committee of Concilium and a member of the editorial board of Biblica.
From 2003 to 2005, he served first as vice-president and then president of the Catholic Biblical Society of America. He was also a member of the International Organization for the Study of the Old Testament and the Society of Biblical Literature.
In 1970, Father Aelred was appointed as consultor to the Holy See for the opening session of the Mixed Study Commission of the Roman Catholic Church and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches. In 1981, he was appointed by the United States Bishops’ Committee as a member of the Oriental Orthodox-Roman Catholic Consultation in the United States.
Father Aelred was a professor at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome from 1968-78, and served at the same time and later in leadership positions in the Swiss-American Congregation of Benedictine monasteries, of which Saint Meinrad is a member. In 1978, he returned to Saint Meinrad and served as novice-junior master for 14 years.
An accomplished organist, Father Aelred was a member of London’s Royal College of Music and Royal College of Organists.
He is survived by a brother, Robert Cody of Ames, Iowa.
Memorial gifts may be sent to Saint Meinrad Archabbey, 200 Hill Drive, St. Meinrad, IN 47577.
Franciscan Sister Marie Werdmann taught in several schools and ministered in several parishes in central and southern Indiana
Franciscan Sister Marie Werdmann died on April 29 at the motherhouse of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis in Oldenburg. She was 85.
The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on May 4 at the Motherhouse Chapel in Oldenburg. Burial followed at the sisters’ cemetery.
Marie Carol Werdmann was born on Oct. 19, 1929, in Cincinnati.
She entered the Sisters of St. Francis on Sept. 12, 1947, and professed final vows on Aug. 12, 1953.
Sister Marie studied at Marian University in Indianapolis, Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee, Xavier University in Cincinnati and Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans.
During 67 years of life and ministry as a Franciscan, Sister Marie served in Catholic schools and parishes in Indiana, Missouri, Ohio and Mexico.
In the archdiocese, she ministered in Indianapolis at the former Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary School from 1950-52, St. Monica School from 1963-69, the former St. Gabriel the Archangel School from 1969-72, the former St. Rita, St. Bridget and Holy Trinity schools from 1973-79 and Holy Cross Central School from 1985-90. Sister Marie also served in archdiocesan offices from 1972-73.
In some of her ministry assignments, Sister Marie also served in parish ministries. She retired to the motherhouse in 2006.
Surviving is her brother, John Werdmann, of Cincinnati, and several nieces and nephews.
Memorial gifts may be sent to the Sisters of St. Francis, P.O. Box 100, Oldenburg, IN 47036-0100. †