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)

BAYES, John Lee, Sr., 75, St. Joseph, Corydon, Dec. 1. Husband of Janice (Vaughn) Bays. Father of Jolene Downs, Jaime, Jay and John Bays Jr. Brother of Mildred Despain and Sherry Kopp. Grandfather of 12. Great-grandfather of one.

BISHOP, Ann, 82, St. Mary, North Vernon, Nov. 27. Mother of Theresa Browning, Elizabeth Murphy, Amy Ponsler, Catherine Webster, John and William Bishop. Sister of Elizabeth Sullivan. Grandmother of 14. Great-grandmother of 12.

CLAISE, Clara, 86, St. Paul, Tell City, Dec. 7. Wife of Delmar Claise. Mother of Jayne Glenn, Karen Oost, Jaci and Harry Claise. Grandmother of 12. Great-grandmother of 14.

DUFEK, Paul F., 85, St. Christopher, Indianapolis, Nov. 26. Husband of K. Florence (Zener) Dufek. Father of Paula DeLong and Suzanne Mulligan. Brother of Don, Jerry and John Dufek. Grandfather of seven. Great-grandfather of two.

ERNE, Carol Ann, 71, St. Anthony of Padua, Morris, Dec. 5. Wife of Robert Erne. Mother of Matt Sr., Rob and Ted Erne. Sister of Arlene Orth, Mark and Mike Hester. Grandmother of three. Great-grandmother of one.

FENSKE, Daniel Edward, 58, St. Louis, Batesville, Dec. 7. Husband of Wanda Hedrick-Lomeli. Father of Erin Daily, Stan and Steve Lomeli. Brother of Sue Dickman, Karen and Tim Fenske. Grandfather of one.

HORSTMAN, Betty, 84, St. Mary, North Vernon, Dec. 3. Sister of Bill Horstman.

MATTINGLY, Joseph Warner, 90, St. Paul, Sellersburg, Nov. 18. Father of Elizabeth and Joseph Mattingly. Brother of Mary Riley. Grandfather of three. Great-grandfather of seven.

McMAHON, Katherine, 77, St. Paul, Tell City, Nov. 28. Wife of Mack McMahon. Mother of Lori Thompson, Tim and Tom McMahon. Sister of Pat Boardman. Grandmother of one. Great-grandmother of two.

MESSMER, David J., 51, St. Malachy, Brownsburg, Dec. 2. Husband of Debra Messmer. Father of Abigail, Samantha and Kyle Messmer. Son of Virgil and Clara Mae Messmer. Brother of Dorothy Mendel, Joann, Frank, Joe and Tony Messmer.

NICHOLS, Donald, 73, St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower), Indianapolis, Nov. 29. Husband of Judith (Della Penna) Nichols. Father of Donna Dunn, Victoria Hendley, Julie Winters, Matthew Henninger and Jeff Nichols. Stepson of Alice Nichols. Brother of Patty Brown.

OWENS, Ronald W., 81, Holy Family, New Albany, Nov. 30. Father of Karen Cullen and David Owens. Brother of Harold Owens. Grandfather of two.

RAUCK, Jim, 69, St. Joseph, Clark County, Dec. 3. Father of Chrissy Cook. Son of Luella Rauck. Brother of Linda Helms, Patty Hendricks, Carolyn Thomas and Ron Rauck Sr. Grandfather of three.

ROLPH, Harold Joseph, Jr., 79, St. Bartholomew, Columbus, Dec. 1. Father of Lisa, Greg and Mark Rolph. Grandfather of one.

SIMPSON, Leo K., 95, St. Paul, Tell City, Dec. 7. Father of Bill, Kenny and Richard Simpson. Brother of Frank Simpson. Grandfather of 14. Great-grandfather of four.

SOLITO, Ricardo S., 89, St. Luke the Evangelist, Indianapolis, Dec. 4. Father of Leo Solito. Grandfather of eight.

STRANGE, Raymond J., 93, St. Benedict, Terre Haute, Dec. 1. Husband of Mary (Bruno) Drake Strange. Stepfather of Roberta Cordell, Anthony, Larry and Paul Drake. Step-grandfather of several. Step-great-grandfather of several.

SWIEZY, Thomas Jerome, 43, St. Mark the Evangelist, Indianapolis, Dec. 9. Son of Anthony Swiezy. Brother of Annamarie Bachman, Jeannette Bowling, Jeanene Doughty, Aura Lyons, Andrew, Anthony II, Matthew and Thaddeus Swiezy. Uncle of several.

Providence Sister Mildred Dudine taught music at Catholic schools in several states for 55 years

Providence Sister Mildred Anne Dudine died on Nov. 21 at Mother Theodore Hall at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. She was 94.

The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Nov. 30 at the Church of the Immaculate Conception at the motherhouse. Burial followed at the sisters’ cemetery.

Mildred Veronica Dudine was born on Jan. 3, 1918, in Jasper, Ind.

She entered the congregation of the Sisters of Providence on Jan. 12, 1935, professed her first vows on Aug. 15, 1937, and professed her final vows on Aug. 15, 1943.

Sister Mildred earned a bachelor’s degree in music education at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College.

During 77 years as a Sister of Providence, she ministered as a music teacher for 55 years at Catholic schools in Indiana, Illinois, California and Washington, D.C.

In the archdiocese, Sister Mildred taught at the former Sacred Heart School in Terre Haute from 1942-43 and St. Philip Neri School in Indianapolis from 1948-53.

In 1992, she retired to the Precious Blood Convent in Jasper, where she taught piano lessons part-time.

In 2003, Sister Mildred moved to the motherhouse and dedicated herself to the ministry of prayer full-time with the senior sisters.

Surviving is a sister, Doris Kirksen of Santa Maria, Calif.

Memorial gifts may be sent to the Sisters of Providence, 1 Sisters of Providence Road, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, St. Mary-of-the-Woods, IN 47876. †