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)

ALLEN, Gloria A. (Bailey), 96, St. Gabriel, Connersville, April 17. Mother of Joan Brockman, Lisa Campbell, Jane Ann Stidham and Mark Allen. Grandmother of eight. Great‑grandmother of two.

ALLEN, Richard L., 91, St. Jude, Indianapolis, April 25. Father of Diana Castner, Linda King, Nancy Mills, David and Daniel Allen. Brother of Rosemary Heidelberger and Robert Allen. Grandfather of seven. Great-grandfather of seven.

BOKELMAN, Arnold, 84, St. Mary, Greensburg, April 24. Husband of Rita Bokelman. Father of Ann Sciarra, Mark and Mike Bokelman. Grandfather of six. Great-grandfather of five.

BOONE, James R., 89, Prince of Peace, Madison, April 17. Husband of Rita Boone. Father of Collista Krebs, Linda Huber, Joe and Todd Boone. Brother of Amanda Battcher, Charlotte Blair and Ann Hagan. Grandfather of nine. Great‑grandfather of six.

CREBBE, Jocelyn A., 85, St. Malachy, Brownsburg, April 22. Wife of Kenneth Crebbe. Mother of Carrie Lange, Susan Sonomyama and Neil Crebbe. Sister of Cathy Hayes and William Gallagher. Grandmother of seven.

GANNON, William, 76, Our Lady of Lourdes, Indianapolis, April 19. Brother of Mary Mattingly. Uncle of several.

HABOUSH, Natalie, 96, St. Malachy, Brownsburg, April 20. Mother of Barbara, Jacqueline and Alexander, Jr. Grandmother of seven. Great‑grandmother of 13. Great‑great-grandmother of five.

HAGAN, Robert J., 61, St. Michael the Archangel, Indianapolis, April 24. Father of Amanda Stephenson. Brother of Mary McAuley, Donny, Greg, Jeff, Marty, Michael, Ricky and Timmy Hagan. Grandfather of five.

HARMON, Timothy J., 64, St. Mary, Greensburg, April 26. Husband of Janet Harmon. Father of Hillary Ebejer, Kellen and Ryan Lawrence. Grandfather of three.

KLOSE, Gilbert, 88, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Richmond, April 29. Father of Megan, Christopher and Kevin Klose. Grandfather of five.

KREKEL, George M., Jr., 84, St. Mary-of-the‑Knobs, Floyd County, April 27. Husband of Joanne Krekel. Father of Kelley Blasdel, Pamela Seewer, Chris and Patrick Krekel. Brother of Joyce Koeberlein, Diane Wibbels and Donald Krekel. Grandfather of six. Great‑grandfather of two.

LAYNE, Kathy A., 68, St. Mark the Evangelist, Indianapolis, April 17. Sister of Diane Chastain and Robert Layne. Aunt and great-aunt of several.

MAHONEY, Thomas R., Sr., 83, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, New Albany, April 27. Husband of Betty Mahoney. Father of Lisa Howard, Laurie Pry, Rick and Tom Mahoney, Jr. Brother of Linda Stravakis and Jenny Youngs. Grandfather of 10. Great-grandfather of eight.

MEDENWALD, James J., 86, St. Pius X, Indianapolis, April 13. Father of Paula Berry, Sandra Fansler, Arlene Sheean and Dean Medenwald. Grandfather of nine. Great‑grandfather of 14.

RIPBERGER, Henrietta J. (Brunsman), 83, St. Gabriel, Connersville, April 29. Mother of Dianna Caudle and Joyce Ruckel. Grandmother of three. Great‑grandmother of one.

ROTHBAUER, Charlie, 91, St. John Paul II, Sellersburg, April 26. Husband of Elizabeth Rothbauer. Father of Donna Koenig, Diana Waggoner and Richard Rothbauer. Brother of Henry and Steve Rothbauer. Grandfather of four. Great‑grandfather of nine.

SCHEIDLER, Jamie (Prang), 60, St. Luke the Evangelist, Indianapolis, April 23. Wife of John Scheidler. Mother of James, John, Jr. and Joseph Scheidler. Sister of Debbie Phelps and Doug Prang. Grandmother of six.

SULLIVAN, Sherrey T., 70, Our Lady of Lourdes, April 4. Wife of Michael Sullivan. Sister of Yvonne Grismore, Robin Slye and Wanda Thompson. Aunt of several.

TAYLOR, Amy C. (Weber), 39, St. Lawrence, Lawrenceburg, April 22. Mother of Tiffany Taylor. Daughter of Larry and Mary Weber. Sister of Lori Pol.

Providence Sister Mary Leahy served in education and development work

Providence Sister Mary Leahy, formerly Sister Marie Anita, died on April 30 at Mother Theodore Hall at the motherhouse of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods in St. Mary-of-the-Woods. She was 84.

The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on May 17 at the Church of the Immaculate Conception at the motherhouse. Burial will follow at the sisters’ cemetery.

Mary Ann Leahy was born on Jan. 25, 1935, in Chicago. She entered the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods on Jan. 7, 1952, and professed final vows on Aug. 15, 1959.

Sister Mary earned a bachelor’s degree in biology at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, a master’s of education degree in science at the University of Pennsylvania, a master’s degree in biology at St. Mary’s University in Winona, Minn., and a master’s degree in business administration at Rosary College (now Dominican University) in River Forest, Ill.

During her 67 years as a member of the Sisters of Providence, Sister Mary ministered as an educator for 25 years in schools in Illinois, Indiana and Washington, D.C. In the archdiocese, she served at the former St. Margaret Mary School in Terre Haute from 1954‑55 and as vice president for institutional advancement at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College in St. Mary-of-the-Woods from 1985-87.

After earning a master’s degree in business administration, she moved from education to development work, serving in a parish in Illinois, at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College and in Washington at Georgetown University and the National Catholic Education Association.

In 1997, Sister Mary began service as director of the National Religious Retirement Office at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington, retiring in 2000. She then served as a development consultant and in ministry at a parish in Bradenton, Fla., until returning to the motherhouse in 2018, where she committed herself entirely to prayer.

She is survived by two sisters: Sheila Ruskauff of Mount Pleasant, S.C., and Margaret Frederick of Libertyville, Ill.

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. †