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)
ASCHERMAN, Norman John, 79, St. Lawrence, Lawrenceburg, March 11. Father of Nan Doll, Rhea LaFollette, Jim, John and Mark Ascherman. Brother of Harriett Mendell. Grandfather of nine.
CLAYPOOL, Edward L., 91, St. Luke the Evangelist, Indianapolis, March 7. Husband of Genevieve Claypool. Father of Elizabeth Koschnick, John and Joseph Claypool. Grandfather of nine. Great-grandfather of nine.
DEES, Ralph, 76, Sacred Heart of Jesus, Indianapolis, March 12. Husband of Loretta Dees. Father of Nancy Gootee, Dianne Phillips-Flynn, Kathy Thompson and John Dees. Grandfather of nine. Great-grandfather of nine.
DRAGAN, Louis J., 83, Holy Trinity, Indianapolis, March 9. Brother of Martin Dragan. Uncle of several.
DRANSFIELD, R. Marie, 84, St. Rose of Lima, Franklin, March 10. Wife of Thomas Dransfield. Mother of David and Michael Dransfield. Grandmother of seven. Great-grandmother of six.
FORNEFELD, Elsie Madeline, 85, St. Luke the Evangelist, Indianapolis, March 9. Mother of Mary Lea Blackberr, Christina Kohmescher, Greg, Joseph and Matthew Fornefeld. Grandmother of 16.
GAINEY, Mary, 80, Our Lady of the Greenwood, Greenwood, Jan. 20. Wife of Ray Gainey.
GETTYS, Catherine J., 87, Christ the King, Indianapolis, March 9. Mother of Theresa Feltman, Bernard and Michael Gettys. Grandmother of 14. Great-grandmother of 18.
GEYMAN, Raymond J., 87, Prince of Peace, Madison, March 6. Husband of Mary Geyman. Father of Cynthia Cline, R. Michael and Theodore Geyman. Brother of Alice Juengel and Herman Geyman. Grandfather of eight. Great-grandfather of 11.
GLAUB, Betty, 77, St. Gabriel, Connersville, March 10. Wife of Edwin Glaub. Mother of Mary Frasur and Anita Scott. Sister of Donna Back, Dorothy Boyle, Ruth Kirschner, Norma Knecht, Rita Riehle and Ray Amrheim. Grandmother of four. Great-grandmother of two.
GRAU, Judy, 61, St. Anthony of Padua, Clarksville, Feb. 29. Mother of Gwendolyn Burr and Heather Harris. Sister of Anita Lyons and Mary Rose Redford. Grandmother of six.
HANLEY, Evelyn, 88, Holy Spirit, Indianapolis, March 11. Mother of Catherine Lutholtz Bridge and John Hanley. Sister of Mary Elizabeth Joyce and Helen McRae. Grandmother of six.
ILIOHAN (Mohr), Anna L., 72, St. Peter, Buena Vista, Feb. 18. Mother of Debra Strabel and Sharon Iliohan. Sister of Rose Mohr. Grandmother of three.
JANSING, Marcella, 87, St. Mary-of-the-Rock, St. Mary-of-the-Rock, March 12.
KALB, Anna C., 96, Prince of Peace, Madison, March 11. Sister of George Kalb.
KAPPMEYER, Pauline Marie, 100, Holy Trinity, Indianapolis, March 11. Grandmother of two. Great-grandmother of four.
KOCHERT, Bernadine E., (Hoehn), 78, St. Joseph, Corydon, Feb. 13. Mother of Sharon Deatrick, David, Dennis, Joe, Mark and Stephen Kochert. Sister of Mary Louise, Herbert, Norbert and Raymond Hoehn. Grandmother of 10. Great-grandmother of one.
KONECHNIK, Anthony J., 77, Mary, Queen of Peace, Danville, March 12. Husband of Joanna (Krebs) Konechnik. Father of Susan Kersey, Anthony Jr. and Thomas Konechnik. Brother of Margaret Ford, Pauline Loviscek and Mary Zupancic. Grandfather of five.
Joseph Huber Jr. helped Catholic ministries in southern Indiana
Joseph H. Huber Jr., a Catholic philanthropist in southern Indiana and lifelong member of St. John the Baptist Parish in Starlight, died on March 10 after a brief struggle with leukemia. He was 74.
The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on March 14 at St. John the Baptist Church in Starlight. Burial followed at the parish cemetery.
A native of Starlight, Huber was born on March 20, 1933. He was married to Bonnie C. (Kruer) Huber for 53 years.
Huber was a well-known fruit and vegetable grower and restaurant owner in southern Indiana.
He started the first “you-pick” farm in the Midwest in 1967 in Starlight, and opened the Joe Huber Family Farm and Restaurant there in 1983.
The restaurant, community center, animals, pony rides, hayrides and other attractions brought millions of people to his family’s 260-acre farm during the past three decades.
Huber was president of the Indiana Vegetable Growers Association for 17 years, and was a former director of the National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation, the Harrison County R.E.M.C. and National City Bank.
He received an honorary agricultural degree from Purdue University.
In 2005, Joe and Bonnie Huber received the prestigious St. John Bosco Award from Catholic Youth Ministries in southern Indiana for their lifetime of distinguished service to benefit young people.
Ray Lucas, executive director of Catholic Youth Ministries in southern Indiana, recalled Huber’s trademark phrase, “Do good.”
Lucas said “Joe was a great believer in giving back through philanthropy, and he shared much of his resources and time” with a variety of charitable causes. (See related story on page 4.)
“The impact of Mr. Huber’s generosity to the Catholic Church and the New Albany community is widespread and has touched countless persons,” said Joseph Therber, executive director of Stewardship and Development for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.
“He has made a tremendous difference,” Therber said, “and will continue to do so as his legacy lives on through his family and friends.”
Surviving are his wife, Bonnie Huber; five children, Beverly Engleman, Kimberly Kaiser, Charles, Joseph III and Lewis Huber; three brothers, David, John and Norbert Huber; five sisters, Cecilia D’Apice, Carol Griswold, Doris Wathen, Benedictine Sister Kathryn Huber and Maryknoll Sister Rosemary Huber; 12 grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.
Memorial gifts may be sent to St. Elizabeth–Catholic Charities in New Albany. †