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)

AMRHEIN, Michael A., 82, St. Louis, Batesville, May 14. Husband of Donna Amrhein. Father of Christina Ashley, Sarah Foley, Andrew and David Amrhein. Brother of Mary Horinger, Gary, Mark, Rodger and Steve Amrhein. Grandfather of eight.

BELL, Patricia (Griffo), 83, Christ the King, Indianapolis, May 19. Mother of Ann Collins, Maureen Mifsud and Robert Bell. Sister of Mary Grant, Chuck, Greg, Tony and Vince Griffo. Grandmother of six. Great-grandmother of one.

BLANTON, Randell, 75, St. Gabriel, Connersville, May 17.

CARPENTER, Mary L., 67, St. Malachy, Brownsburg, May 15. Mother of Jennifer McKinney and John Carpenter. Sister of Diane Evans, Barbara Land, Roberta Pratt, Susan and Alan Murphy. Grandmother of one.

EDEN, Joanne C., 84, St. Bartholomew, Columbus, April 26. Mother of Beverly Grable, Howard and Joseph Eden. Sister of Brenda Dietrick, Patricia Frazier, Vicky Ott and David Sherrill. Grandmother of three. Great-grandmother of five.

EQUIHUA-RAMOS, Felipe, 65, St. Bartholomew, Columbus, April 30. Husband of Maria Del Carmen Urbina Equihua. Father of Liz, Lucia, Noel, Lupe and Sandy. Brother of eight. Grandfather of two. Great-grandfather of one.

FINNEY, Jack C., 75, St. Jude, Indianapolis, May 18. Father of Erin, Jacqueline, Michael and Timothy Finney. Brother of Patricia Checkawitz. Grandfather of 10. Great-grandfather of three.

FREEMAN, J. B., 92, St. Bartholomew, Columbus, May 16. Husband of Jeanette Freeman. Father of Deborah Beal, Karen Johnson, Rita Zirgibel and Wayne Freeman. Grandfather of 10. Great-grandfather of 21.

HARRISON, Ann M., 98, Prince of Peace, Madison, May 16. Mother of Troy Harrison. Grandmother of two. Great-grandmother of three. Great-great-grandmother of six. Great-great-great grandmother of two.

HOLD, Rose Marie (Javorski), 84, St. Joseph, Corydon, May 12. Mother of Wendy Chitwood, Sandra Morrison, Elaine Richardson, Carrie Whitehead and Louise Schenck. Sister of Bernadette, Cecelia and Kathleen. Grandmother of four. Great-grandmother of six.

HOLMES, John C., 73, St. Gabriel, Connersville, April 25. Husband of Frances Holmes. Father of Darcy Rowley and Nate Holmes. Son of Keith Holmes. Brother of Susan Gansert, Julie Greeson, Sarah McKinney and Jim Holmes. Grandfather of three.

KAISER, Martha K., 83, St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Aurora, May 20. Mother of Jennifer Fiedeldey, David and Mark Kaiser. Grandmother of four. Great-grandmother of three.

LARK, Sharon, 70, Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Indianapolis, May 3. Wife of Robert Lark, Jr. Mother of Mary Kathleen Lark. Sister of Nancy Chapin, Eileen Doyle, Kathleen Wills, Patricia, Michael and Thomas McShane.

LIVINGSTON, Marlene J. (Conway), 89, St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Aurora, May 12. Mother of Judy Cooper, Kathy Meyer, David and Donny Livingston. Sister of Judy Ernst and Nancy Koslowski. Grandmother of eight.

MAGNAYE, Emeteria L., 84, St. Thomas More, Mooresville, May 17. Mother of Judith Garcia, Cleo Sinamban, Agnes, Clodelicia and Angelo Magnaye. Grandmother of seven.

MEYER, Howard, 87, St. Mary, Greensburg, May 11. Husband of Rita Meyer. Father of Jenny Gehring, Marcia Kurtz, Marlene Tichenor, Becky Walter, Adam, Steve and Ted Meyer. Grandfather of 24. Great-grandfather of 31.

MILLER, Kathleen, 84, Holy Spirit, Indianapolis, May 14. Wife of Ross Miller. Mother of Sandy Hogan, Joyce Moore, Kathy Sutherlin, Larry and Tom Foley and Kevin and Kyle Miller. Sister of Maureen Craft, Patricia Lill, Bob, Jim and Mike McCoy. Grandmother of 12. Great-grandmother of 24. Great-great-grandmother of three.

MILLS, David K., 62, St. Gabriel, Connersville, May 9. Husband of Sheri Mills. Father of Kenzy Zmyslo, Ashley, Sam and Shane Mills. Brother of Linda Birnie and Lisa Martens. Grandfather of four.

MOWAT, Lawrence, 81, SS. Francis and Clare of Assisi, Greenwood, April 18. Father of Jennifer Danek, Rebecca Skeel, Laurie and Lawrence Mowat, Jr. Grandfather of eight.

SANDER, Jr., Bernard, 79, Immaculate Heart of Mary, Indianapolis, May 7. Husband of Antoinette Sander. Father of Amy Martin, Ben, Kevin and Stephen Sander. Grandfather of 10.

SCHAUB, Sara A., 80, St. Bartholomew, Columbus, April 27. Wife of Ronald Schaub.

SHARPNACK, Judge John T., 90, St. Bartholomew, Columbus, March 25. Husband of Helen Sharpnack. Father of Roseanne and Christopher Sharpnack. Grandfather of one.

STRAWN, Julie E., 85, Holy Name of Jesus, Beech Grove, May 11. Mother of Theresa Cole and Paul Meiring. Grandmother of two.

THOMPSON, Thomas J., 65, St. Mark the Evangelist, Indianapolis, May 10. Husband of Theresa Thompson. Father of Patrick Thompson.

TOWNSEND, Mercedes, 80, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Richmond, May 4. Mother of Rhonda McClure, Tracey Mitchell and David Townsend. Sister of Michele Switzler. Grandmother of four. Great-grandmother of two.

WILLHELM, Michael D., 66, St. Gabriel, Connersville, May 5. Son of Mary Ann Willhelm. Brother of Peggy Bates, Sue Doulen, Kathy Huber, Pamela and Mark Willhelm. Uncle and great-uncle of several.

WITUSZYNSKI, Michael P., 85, St. Malachy, Brownsburg, March 17. Husband of Mary Ellen Wituszynski. Father of Melissa Dafoe, Melodi Jonas, Martin and Michael Wituszynski. Grandfather of 13. Great-grandfather of 13. †

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Benedictine Father Aurelius Boborek taught at Saint Meinrad, American College in Louvain, Belgium

Benedictine Father Aurelius Boborek, a monk of Saint Meinrad Archabbey in St. Meinrad, died on May 27, at the monastery. He was 94.

The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on June 1. Burial followed at the Archabbey Cemetery.

Father Aurelius was a jubilarian of monastic profession, having celebrated 71 years of monastic profession. He was also a jubilarian of ordination, having celebrated 67 years of life and ministry as a priest.

Father Aurelius was born on Feb. 12, 1930, in Brooklyn, N.Y., and was given the name Francis Ambrose at his baptism.

Father Aurelius was invested as a novice at Saint Meinrad in 1951. He professed simple vows on Aug. 1, 1952, and solemn vows on Sept. 8, 1955. He was ordained a priest on May 3, 1957.

Father Aurelius earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and classics in 1954 at the former Saint Meinrad College in St. Meinrad. He later earned a master’s degrees in classical languages and liturgical studies in 1962 at the University of Notre Dame in northern Indiana. In 1966, he earned a doctorate in education at Indiana University in Bloomington.

Father Aurelius was also awarded an honorary doctorate in sacred theology in 2001 by the former American College of the Immaculate Conception in Louvain, Belgium.

Father Aurelius taught Latin and religion and served as dean of students at Saint Meinrad College for many years. He ministered as

vice rector of Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology from 1965-69 and as a professor of liturgy from 1988-95.

Father Aurelius also served as the director of liturgical formation, a professor of homiletics and vice rector for two years at the American College in Louvain from 1983 until he retired in 2005. When he retired, he was awarded the college’s first Archbishop Fulton Sheen Medal.

In the monastery, Father Aurelius served as master of ceremonies from 1971-78, on several liturgical committees and on the renovation committee for the Archabbey Church of Our Lady of Einsiedeln from 1993-97.

Memorial gifts may be sent to Saint Meinrad Archabbey, 200 Hill Drive, St. Meinrad, IN 47577. †