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)

BERG, Joyce A., 71, St. Michael, Bradford, Jan. 28. Mother of Kelly Church and Michael Berg. Sister of Linda Barylski, Martha Kays, Patricia Schwartz, Jill, Jeff and Randy Blessinger. Grandmother of two.

BLANFORD, Robert E., 92, St. Mark the Evangelist, Indianapolis, March 13. Brother of Jeanine Binder. Uncle and great-uncle of several.

BRUCE, II, John M., 67, St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower), Indianapolis, March 27. Husband of Barbara Bruce. Father of Beth, Dawn, Julie and John Bruce and David Gerber. Brother of Kathy Bruce, Elissa Kaupisch and Donna Stahmer. Grandfather of nine.

BURGAN, Norma Jean, 93, St. John Paul II, Sellersburg, March 29. Mother of Patty Landers, Bill and Bob Burgan. Grandmother of nine. Great-grandmother of 20. Great-great-grandmother of 10.

DEXIMO, Apolonio, 76, Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Indianapolis,

March 25. Husband of Edna Deximo. Father of Christina, Alain and Mark Deximo. Grandfather of five.

FESSEL, Benjamin R., infant, St. Michael, Bradford, Oct. 1, 2023. Son of Kevin and Michelle Fessel. Brother of Abigail, Brody and Bryce Fessel. Grandson of Robert and Vicki Fessel and John and Susan Knoll.

FISHER, Patricia A., 84, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Richmond, March 25. Mother of Kim Hawkins, Debbie Reimsnyder and James Fisher, Jr. Grandmother of 14. Great-grandmother of 20.

GEARY, Nancy J., 87, St. Joseph, Corydon, March 25. Wife of James Geary, Sr. Mother of Elizabeth Costello, Susan Sanchez, Barbara Vergin, Kathleen and James Geary, Jr. Sister of William Mikesell. Grandmother of six. Great-grandmother of three.

GOINS, Deanna, 55, Prince of Peace, Madison, March 30. Mother of Alex and Reggie Perry. Daughter of Gene and Janet Jones. Sister of Mark Jones. Grandmother of four.

GRAY, Grover, 85, St. Paul, Tell City, April 1. Father of Jeff and Rick Gray. Brother of Sage Critcheloe. Grandfather of three. Great-grandfather of one.

HACKL, Christine, 96, St. Luke the Evangelist, Indianapolis, March 23. Mother of Elizabeth Brainard, Ellen Fagan, Dorothy Reiser, Martha Smith, Christine Walsh, Albert, Jr., Frederick and Robert Hackl. Grandmother of 31. Great-grandmother of one.

HOEHN, Norbert J., 86, St. Michael, Bradford, Oct. 28, 2023. Husband of Mary Catherine Hoehn. Father of Connie Mudd, Eileen, Jason, Jonathan, Marty and Nathan Hoehn. Grandfather of 11. Great-grandfather of five.

JAMES, Ronald E., 72, St. Augustine, Leopold, April 2. Husband of Carol Flamion. Father of Niki Brown, Jami Smith, Chad, Keith and Robby James. Brother of Eletta Bryant, Earlene Preher, Ramona Simpson, Joe, Kenny, Paul and Randy James. Grandfather of 13.

JOERGER, Lawrence, 89, All Saints, Dearborn County, April 1. Husband of Marilyn Joerger. Father of Laura Hartman, Ruth Hendrix, Linda Todd, Rita Wissel, Kelly, Bob and Larry Joerger. Brother of Alice Lamping. Grandfather of 20. Great-grandfather of 37. Great-great-grandfather of three.

KAUFMAN, Jacquelyn E., 60, St. Michael, Bradford, Feb. 20. Wife of Jim Kaufman. Mother of Jessica Brewer, Jillian and Josephine Kaufman. Sister of Janet Emily-Smith, Michael and Patrick Emily. Grandmother of one.

LEE, Rhonda L., 46, St. Joseph, Corydon, March 22. Wife of Christopher Lee. Mother of Brittney Pettit and Jonathan Cissell. Daughter of Deborah Lawalin. Sister of Brad, Daniel and Jason Lawalin. Grandmother of three.

MATHENA, Joyce A., 84, Holy Family, New Albany, March 24. Wife of James Mathena. Mother of Lynette Long, Kim Payne and James Capehart. Sister of Ronald Lindquist. Grandmother of 10. Great-grandmother of six.

MORIN, Jerome A., 83, St. Luke the Evangelist, Indianapolis, March 25. Father of Sara Bartelmann. Brother of Rosemary Gornowicz, Joan Graves and Andrew Morin. Grandfather of two.

O’FARRELL, Julia A. (Jennings), 92, Sacred Heart of Jesus, Indianapolis, Feb. 23. Mother of Kathleen Cook, Brigid Taylor, Mary, Brian, Pat and Thomas O’Farrell. Grandmother of 11. Great-grandmother of seven. Great-great-grandmother of one.

PFEFFER, Sylvia K., 77, St. Matthew the Apostle, Indianapolis, Dec. 18, 2023. Aunt of several.

POVINELLI, Narcisso G., 89, St. Jude, Indianapolis, March 28. Father of Ruth Copeland, Debi Murphree and Anthony Povinelli. Brother of Frank Povinelli. Grandfather of 11.

ROBERTSON, Kathleen T., 66, Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Indianapolis, March 8. Wife of David Robertson. Mother of Thomas Fritsche and Jonathan Robertson. Sister of Maureen Mathes and Christopher Meehan. Grandmother of eight. Great-grandmother of two.

ROBINSON, Phyllis (Eichenberger), 83, Holy Family, New Albany, March 30. Mother of Mary Miles, Carrie Spencer, Daniel, Kenneth, Robert and William Eichenberger. Grandmother of 31. Great-grandmother of 30.

RUMPF, Terri I., 68, Holy Family, New Albany, Jan. 6. Sister of Joan Greening and Gay McKay. Aunt of one.

SCHENCK, Bernard E., 85, St. Michael, Bradford, Sept. 9, 2023. Husband of Rosalie Schenck. Father of Rebecca LaFlamme, Pamela Waller, Bernard, Jr., and Mark Schenck. Brother of Martha Neuner and Alvin Schenck. Grandmother of 17. Great-grandmother of 14.

SMITH, Donald C., 81, Holy Family, New Albany, Jan. 30. Husband of Kathy Smith. Father of Christopher Russell and Matthew Smith. Brother of Nancy Abel, Ann Baker, Brenda Falkenstein, Charlotte Mooney and Glenn Smith. Grandfather of six. Great-grandfather of one.

TABARD, Sharon (Miller), 83, Holy Spirit, Indianapolis, March 12. Mother of LeeAnn Andrews, Tracy Miller-Moran, Dawn Pritchett and Melissa Ventresca. Sister of Forest Child. Grandmother of 12. Great-grandmother of 11.

WEILER, Lucille, 93, St. Mary, Rushville, April 8. Mother of Karen Jenkins, Melissa Lee, Darlene Marlow, Marilyn Weiler-Koster, Kevin and Ron Weiler. Sister of Bernice Harmeyer, Kathleen Knue and Wilfred Schwegman. Grandmother of 12. Great-grandmother of nine.

WHITAKER, Shirley A., 92, St. Michael, Bradford, Feb. 9. Mother of Marilyn Crumbo, Jim III and Joseph Whitaker. Sister of Bernard and John Alvey. Grandmother of 13. Great-grandmother of 23.

WILLIAMS, Donald E., 86, Christ the King, Indianapolis, March 31. Husband of Theresa Williams. Father of Molly and Mike Williams. Grandfather of four. Great-grandfather of three. †