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)
BARDON, John Don Douglas, 65, St. Michael the Archangel, Indianapolis, Jan. 13. Husband of Marilyn (Wiwi) Bardon. Father of Elizabeth Hunt and Jeb Bardon. Brother of Laura Bardon. Grandfather of four.
BLONG, Mark, 51, St. Lawrence, Indianapolis, Jan. 13. Brother of Pat Flain.
BOHANNON, Jacqueline A., 72, St. Roch, Indianapolis, Jan. 26. Wife of Wayne Bohannon. Mother of Laurie Burnett, Babbie Pitcock, Jill Shanley, Amy, Dennis and Patrick Bohannon. Sister of Patricia Stonebraker. Grandmother of 13. Great-grandmother of three.
FRY, Kathleen M., 83, St. Mary, Greensburg, Jan. 24. Mother of Carol Schwendenmann, David and Ronald Fry. Grandmother of six.
GATES, Bob, 36, Sacred Heart of Jesus, Indianapolis, Jan. 20. Husband of Lisa Gates. Father of Kayla and Jordan Gates. Son of Eva (Gates) Hummel. Brother of George Gates.
GATES, Jeffrey Lee, 36, Holy Name of Jesus, Beech Grove, Jan. 13. Father of Justin, Nicholas and Tyler Gates. Son of Sandra Hawk. Brother of Jennifer Jackson.
HARPER, Mary Suzanne, 48, St. Paul, Sellersburg, Jan. 6. Wife of Gregg Harper. Mother of Mary, Sarah and Michael Harper. Daughter of Lawrence and Marie Schafer. Sister of Teresa Anderson, Joann Ettel, Sharon Hubbard and Larry Schafer.
HILL, Robert E., 84, Prince of Peace, Madison, Jan. 15. Father of Nancy Hogg, Dianne and Susan Hill. Brother of Janet Conner, Cathryn Horton, Mary Alice Wasnok, Fred, Harry and Paul Hill.
KEILMAN, Joan M., 87, St. Gabriel, Connersville, Jan. 19. Mother of Eloise Reeves. Grandmother of five.
KOORS, Rosemary E., 75, St. Mary, Greensburg, Jan. 24. Wife of Dale Koors. Mother of Cynthia Laker, Cheryl Wulf and Robert Huber. Sister of Lucille Effinger, Eileen Moorman, Ambrose, James and John Nobbe. Grandmother of 21. Great-grandmother of one.
LEGGE, Janet (Dugan), 82, St. Michael the Archangel, Indianapolis, Dec. 30. Wife of Norman Legge. Mother of Ruthann Aull, Pamela Lunsford, David, Douglas, Michael and Norman Legge. Sister of Jean Carmazzi. Grandmother of 14. Great-grandmother of two.
LENGERICH, Robert C., 80, St. Lawrence, Lawrenceburg, Jan. 11. Husband of Gloria Lengerich. Father of Kathleen Raney, Dennis, Donald, Joseph and Robert Lengerich. Brother of Jack, Jim and Tom Lengerich. Grandfather of six. Great-grandfather of eight.
MURPHY, Charles E., 81, Christ the King, Indianapolis, Jan. 15. Husband of Marie (Kirby) Murphy. Father of Margo Angelo, Molly Kinnett, Maureen Ward, Michele, Terry, Todd and Tom Murphy. Brother of Suzanne Leo. Grandfather of 11.
NOWICKI, Boleslaw H., 68, St. Andrew the Apostle, Indianapolis, Jan. 15. Husband of Wally (Shelley) Nowicki. Father of Anne Bollinger, Greta Erhardt, Regina Guerra, Jeffery and Michael Nowicki. Brother of Wanda Kasperski, Phyllis Matuszak, Emily Temple, Edward, John, Stanley and Victor Nowicki. Grandfather of eight.
PAFFORD, Robert E., Sr., 74, St. Gabriel the Archangel, Indianapolis, Jan. 13. Husband of Ester Pafford. Father of Erlinda, Jeanette, Olivia, Bradley, Brett, Robert and Romero Pafford. Son of Wanda Pafford. Grandfather of 13. Great-grandfather of 15. (correction)
RADY, Betty J., 85, Mary, Queen of Peace, Danville, Jan. 17. Mother of Julie Miller, Janette Milhon and Pat Rady. Grandmother of seven. Great-grandmother of four.
REARDON, Guyulla, 91, St. Lawrence, Indianapolis, Jan. 17. Stepmother of Terry Reardon. Sister of James and Jerry Keithley. Grandmother of one. Great-grandmother of two. Great-great-grandmother of two.
RIGGS, Jeanne A., 78, St. Joseph, Shelbyville, Jan. 17. Mother of Sue Harding, Cindy Huber, Kathy Downing, Debbie Montgomery, James, Rick and Terry Riggs. Sister of Dorothy Webster and Jerry Warble. Grandmother of 17. Great-grandmother of 13.
RING, Teresa A., 92, Christ the King, Indianapolis, Jan. 18. Aunt of one.
SANFORD, Patricia A., 99, St. Lawrence, Indianapolis, Jan. 9. Mother of Barbara Broadlick and Cynthia DeAtley. Stepmother of Lois Martin and Cody Sanford. Sister of Anne Morris. Grandmother of seven. Great-grandmother of 15.
SCHAFER, George W., 77, Prince of Peace, Madison, Jan. 15. Husband of Mary V. Schafer. Father of Rose Connelly, Franciscan Sister Mary Frances, Mary Martha and Carl Schafer. Brother of Delphine Rothbauer and Martha Vest. Grandfather of two.
SCHULTE, Harry A., 60, St. Michael, Brookville, Jan. 19. Husband of Barbara (Thoman) Schulte. Father of Aimme and Marc Galante, Angela Lyons, Allyson, Alexander, Ambrose and Andrew Schulte. Brother of Rose O’Brien, Henrietta and Richard Schulte. Grandfather of four.
SEARLES, James K., 84, SS. Francis and Clare, Greenwood, Jan. 21. Husband of Sandra K. (Witt) Merriman Searles. Father of Patricia Kirsch, Cynthia Stein, Pamela, David and Stephen Searles. Grandfather of 12. Great-grandfather of one.
SITZMAN, Roman, 82, St. Meinrad, St. Meinrad, Dec. 12. Husband of Dorothy (Pieper) Sitzman. Father of Sheryl Smith, Paul Hubert and Clayton Sitzman. Brother of Anna Kern, Romilda Oser and Dan Sitzman. Grandfather of seven.
SPELLACY, Thomas F., 73, St. Michael the Archangel, Indianapolis, Dec. 13. Husband of Patricia Spellacy. Father of Kerry Bender, Colleen Cline, Meghan MacKelly, Kathleen Scaletty, Mary Clare, Daniel, Kevin, Patrick and Shawn Spellacy. Brother of Kathleen Grob. Grandfather of 16.
STEINER, James Robert, 66, Most Precious Blood, New Middletown, Dec. 23. Father of Missy Priddy, Tom and Tony Steiner. Son of Ruth Steiner. Brother of Donnie and Paul Steiner. Grandfather of seven. Great-grandfather of one.
STRACK, Fred C., 83, Holy Name of Jesus, Beech Grove, Jan. 18. Father of Mary Ann Pelley, Carolyn Sulima, Cindy Wolf, Don and Gary Strack. Brother of Mary Casey, George and James Strack. Grandfather of four. Great-grandfather of one.
TREACY, William F., Jr., 71, St. Lawrence, Indianapolis, Jan. 13. Husband of Jacqueline Treacy. Brother of Elizabeth McMullen and Robert Treacy.
VIAN, Oscar, 84, St. Anthony, Indianapolis, Jan. 1. Husband of Elsa Vian. Father of Franco, Mario and Nives Vian. Grandfather of two. Great-grandfather of two.
WAIZ, Herb, St. Paul, Sellersburg, Jan. 19. Father of Susan, Jeff and Kirk Waiz. Brother of Dolores Gehlbach, Bill, Bob, Charlie and Joe Waiz Jr. Grandfather of four.
WALSMAN, Cletus P., 74, St. Louis, Batesville, Jan. 28. Husband of Maxine Walsman. Father of Tina Duncan, Teresa Fitzpatrick, Tonya Fledderman, Tami Peters, Tim and Toby Walsman. Grandfather of 14. Great-grandfather of two.
WETHINGTON, Barbara, 64, Holy Name of Jesus, Beech Grove, Jan. 12. Mother of Kerri Locigno, Brad and Kevin Wethington. Sister of Mary Jo Munn. Grandmother of eight.
WISSEL, Herman J., 84, Holy Family, Oldenburg, Jan. 21. Brother of Florence Kreuzman, Carl and Paul Wissel. Uncle of several.
Charity Sister Patricia Rocap ministered in Indianapolis
Sister Patricia Rocap, a member of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, died on Jan. 27 at Marian Hall, the congregation’s skilled care center, in Dubuque, Iowa. She was 85.
The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Jan. 31 at the Marian Hall Chapel. Burial followed at the congregation’s Mount Carmel Cemetery.
She was born on Sept. 19, 1922, in Indianapolis. She graduated from Mundelein College in Chicago.
She entered the congregation on Sept. 8, 1944, professed first vows on March 19, 1947, and professed final vows on Aug. 15, 1952.
During 63 years as a member of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Sister Patricia ministered at parishes and Catholic schools.
In Indianapolis, Sister Patricia served as a parish minister at St. Matthew Parish from 1993-94 and St. Michael the Archangel Parish from
1995-98.
Sister Patricia also ministered as a high school drama and social studies teacher at Catholic schools in Arizona, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa and Illinois.
She also served as a parish minister in California and on the staff of Franciscan Communications in Los Angeles.
Surviving are a sister, Eileen Rocap of Indianapolis, and several nieces and nephews.
Memorial gifts may be sent to the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Retirement Fund, 1100 Carmel Drive, Dubuque, IA 52003. †