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)
ARMSTRONG, Mary, 89, St. Andrew, Richmond, Feb. 9. Mother of Nancy Rankin, Daniel, David, James and Robert Armstrong. Grandmother of six. Great-grandmother of 10.
BAKER, Donald E., Sr., 85, Holy Spirit, Indianapolis, Feb. 5. Husband of Dorothy Baker. Father of Carol Duncan, Donald Jr., Jeffery, Jerry and Steven Baker. Brother of Harold Baker. Grandfather of 15. Great-grandfather of 10.
BAKER, H.J., 78, St. Luke, Indianapolis, Jan. 25. Husband of Mary J. Baker. Father of Linda Hullet, Daniel, Michael, Robert and Timothy Baker. Stepfather of Linda Watrous and Dennis Delong.
BAUER, Thomas J., 66, St. Joseph, Shelbyville, Feb. 11. Father of Debra Braniff, Margaret Scott, Matthew and William Bauer. Brother of Grace Polly, Nell Voigt, Donald and James Bauer. Grandfather of 14. Great-grandfather of five.
BOYD, Ruth A. (Weil), 53, St. Bartholomew, Columbus, Jan. 31. Mother of Tiffany Dyette. Sister of Mary Chase, Norma Flodder, Rita Kopp, Joseph and Mark Weil. Grandmother of two.
BUSBY, Mary, infant, St. Luke, Indianapolis, Jan. 20. Daughter of Mark and Adrienne (Franco) Busby.
CASASSA, Justino, 96, Annunciation, Brazil, Feb. 9. Father of Margaret Kennedy, Mary Ann Trout, Jack and James Casassa. Brother of Christina Stough. Grandfather of eight. Great-grandfather of 10.
CLIFFORD, Alice Louise (Welch), 87, St. Matthew, Indianapolis, Feb. 3. Mother of Jane Diehl, Mary Lou Eddy, Kathy Gement, Bob, Dick and J.T. Clifford. Sister of Virginia Flanagan and Kathy Kane. Grandmother of 10. Great-grandmother of six.
FIELDS, Elizabeth F., 95, St. Gabriel, Connersville, Feb. 6 Mother of Patricia Tincu. Grandmother of three. Great-grandmother of four.
HENKEL, Margery L., 86, St. Luke, Indianapolis, Feb. 8. Wife of Richard Henkel. Mother of Susan Johnson-Hadler, David Johnson, Amy, Clare, Ellen, Daniel and John Henkel. Grandmother of 13. Great-grandmother of one.
HILGEMAN, Virginia K., 82, St. Mary, Mitchell, Feb. 7. Mother of Judith Yarbrough. Sister of Violet Funk, Doris Sieg and Mary Jane Taylor. Grandmother of three. Great-grandmother of three.
HUMPHREY, Barbara A., 79, St. Mary, New Albany, Feb. 13. Mother of Irma Cushing, Diana Lopp and Charles Humphrey Jr. Sister of Charles and John Schnell. Grandmother of five. Great-grandmother of eight.
KELLER, Joseph E., 75, Our Lady of the Greenwood, Greenwood, Feb. 9. Husband of Barbara (Lonnemann) Keller. Father of Judy Border, Jacqueline, Douglas, Jeffrey and Stephen Keller. Brother of Dorothy Alliers, Helen Hegener, Daniel and Ralph Keller. Grandfather of five.
MANKIN, Byron Douglas, 60, Mary, Queen of Peace, Danville, Feb. 2. Husband of Shirley Hahn St. Michael. Father of April Bitting, Jacquelin Franceson and Douglas Mankin. Son of Ruth (Schaffer) Mankin. Brother of Gregory Mankin. Grandfather of two.
McEACHIN, Ann K., 94, Good Shepherd, Indianapolis, Feb. 11.
McElroy Sr., Aloysius Augustine, 84, St. Luke, Indianapolis, Jan. 28. Father of Marianna Fall, Aloysisus Jr., John and Martin McElroy. Grandfather of six.
OHIME, Corbin M., infant, St. Mark, Indianapolis, Jan. 25. Son of Tim and Jessica Ohime. Grandson of Carol Price, Douglas and Carol Ohime, and Joe and Janice Stewart.
QUEISSER, Karl A., 39, St. Luke, Indianapolis, Jan. 26. Husband of Heather Queisser. Father of Alexandra and Katherine Queisser. Son of Fred Queisser. Brother of Sheila Dull, Brad, Neil and Steve Queisser.
RATZ, Ethel Margaret, 90, Holy Rosary, Indianapolis, Feb. 8. Wife of Arthur Ratz. Mother of Mary, James, John, Richard, Thomas and William Ratz. Sister of Roselyne McShane. Grandmother of 13.
RITTER, Joseph L., 84, St. Matthew, Indianapolis, Jan. 29. Husband of Mary (Hermann) Ritter. Father of Lucy Cahill, Julie Wylonis and Linda Ritter. Brother of Romilda Bertram, Dorothy Neuman, Helen Ritter, Therese Starks and Mary Weingardt. Grandfather of eight. Great-grandfather of two.
ROBINSON, Thelma P., 94, St. Michael, Brookville, Feb. 1. Mother of Evelyn Meyer.
SCHREINER, Patricia Marie, 61, Annunciation, Brazil, Feb. 9. Wife of Walter Schreiner. Mother of Michelle Crane, Patricia Marcum, Mark, Michael and Walter Schreiner Jr. Sister of Catherine Hughes, Dawn Mackin and Lorraine Oakes. Grandmother of 10.
SHEA, Joseph T., 90, St. Jude, Indianapolis, Feb. 9. Husband of Martha Shea. Father of Margaret Kane, Martha Kuntz, Bertha Marasky, Andrea Maynard, Linda Turner, Joseph Jr. and William Shea. Brother of Lenore Upton. Grandfather of 26. Great-grandfather of 25.
SMITH, Alberta, 80, Nativity, Indianapolis, Feb. 1. Mother of Linda Stephenson, Sally Kraszewski and John Breedlove. Sister of Sandra Holman and Bob Blocher.
STAHL, Richard W., 75, St. Mark, Indianapolis, Jan. 30. Husband of Clarilyn Stahl. Brother of Paul Stahl.
STILES, Patricia A., 72, St. Martin of Tours, Martinsville, Feb. 4. Wife of Harold C. Stiles. Mother of Sue Hammans, Patricia Henson, Karen Prather, Nancy Vondersaar, Joe and Stephen Stiles. Sister of Gloria Brown, Agnes Newell, Beatrice Rodgers and William Gillespie.
STRAW, Howard M., 86, Holy Spirit, Indianapolis, Feb. 9. Husband of Carol Straw. Father of Linda, Howard Jr. and Jack Straw. Stepfather of five. Grandfather of nine. Step-grandfather of five. Great-grandfather of six.
SUFANA, Nicholas W., 92, St. Pius X, Indianapolis, Feb. 7. Father of Peggy Buis and Susie Cherne. Brother of Mary, Bob and Eugene Sufana. Grandfather of four.
TERNET, Lynn J., 59, St. Malachy, Brownsburg, Feb. 6. Brother of Doris Nelson, Joanne West and Dale Ternet.
TOSCHLOG, Ethel, 94, Holy Family, Richmond, Feb. 7. Aunt of several.
TUCHER, Catherine L., 85, Holy Cross, Indianapolis, Feb. 6. Mother of Linda Brown, Brenda Smiley, Kathleen, Patty, John, Kevin, Rick and Vince Tucher. Sister of John Choat. Grandmother of 18. Great-grandmother of 23.
VALLE, Wilma Marie, 84, Sacred Heart of Jesus, Terre Haute, Feb. 3. Mother of Barbara Bach, Beverley Cronk and Larry Martin. Sister of Shirley Waldmann, Elmer and James Watson. Grandmother of five. Great-grandmother of eight.
WALLACE, Joan C., 74, Prince of Peace, Madison, Feb. 7. Wife of A. Martin Wallace. Mother of Chris, Jon and Matt Webster. Stepmother of Charlie and Scott Wallace. Sister of Eugene Clemens. Grandmother of five. Step-grandmother of one.
WATNESS, Jacqueline (McAvoy), 78, St. Barnabas, Indianapolis, Feb. 8. Wife of Robert Watness. Mother of Stephen Watness. Grandmother of two.
WHEATLEY, Connie L., 46, St. Paul, Tell City, Feb. 3. Mother of Clint Duke, Austin and Koby Powers. Daughter of William and Anna (Mullis) Wheatley. Sister of Debbie Hess, Brenda Martin, Allen and Jim Wheatley. Grandmother of one.
YARRITO, Leonard, 60, St. Anthony, Indianapolis, Feb. 9. Husband of Delores Yarrito. Father of Madge Sandoval, Pete, Ralph and Rick Dill. Brother of Helen Henderson, Sherry Jacobo, Linda Pena, Theresa Towns, John and Joseph Yarrito. †
Dr. Frank Countryman Sr. served archdiocesan
Metropolitan Tribunal and Catholic Social Services
Dr. Frank W. Countryman Sr., a member of Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Indianapolis and longtime volunteer psychiatric consultant for the archdiocesan Metropolitan Tribunal, died on Feb. 14 in Indianapolis. He was 85.
The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Feb. 18 at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Indianapolis. Burial followed at Our Lady of Peace Cemetery in Indianapolis.
A native of St. Paul, Minn., he graduated from the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale University, the Yale School of Medicine and the Menninger School of Psychiatry.
A veteran of World War II, he was a former superintendent of the Kentucky State Hospital and served on the staff of Winter Veterans’ Hospital and the Menninger Foundation School of Psychiatry.
A former assistant professor of psychiatry at the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, he also served as a consultant to the Social Security Administration’s Hearing and Appeals Committee, the Circle City Evaluation Center, the Medicaid program and Indiana Bell Telephone Co.
He also served on the Governor’s Council on Mental Health and, after his retirement, was a member of Volunteers in Medicine.
He was a board member of the archdiocesan Catholic Social Services, Jewish Social Services and Boy Scout Troop #174, and sang in the choir at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish and St. Pius X Parish in Indianapolis.
He also was a life fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and member of the Marion County Medical Association, Indiana Psychiatric Society and Central Neuropsychiatric Association, which he served as president.
He also was a member of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine and professional advisory board of La Leche League International.
Surviving are his wife, Betty Ann Countryman; six children, Elisabeth Allen, Marianne Burkhart, Christopher, Lt. Col. Frank Jr., Dr. Philip and Stuart Countryman; 15 grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, 5692 Central Ave., Indianapolis, IN 46220, or La Leche League International. †