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)

ALBERS, Virginia, 84, St. Mary, Lanesville, Feb. 23. Mother of Judy Kilgore, Deborah, Greg, Jeffrey, John, Kevin, Michael and Stephen Albers. Sister of Ruby Dixon. Grandmother of 21. Great-grandmother of 20.

BISHOP, Alan R., 55, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, New Albany, Feb. 24. Husband of Veronica Bishop. Father of Zachary Fain, Sarah and Grant Bishop. Son of Vivian Bishop. Brother of Debbie Crawford, Karen Stoner, Vickie Wilson, Curtis, Dennis, Douglas and Terry Bishop. Grandfather of four.

BYRLEY, Sue (Haller), 81, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, New Albany, Feb. 23. Mother of Teresa Bierly, Brenda Curl and Anthony Byrley. Grandmother of six. Great-grandmother of three.

CENTO, Paul, 79, St. Mark the Evangelist, Indianapolis, Feb. 21. Husband of Lisa Cento. Father of Mike and Tony Cento. Brother of Katherine LaMonaca, Antoinette Pizzi, Rosa and John Cento. Grandfather of six.

DesJEAN, Elsie Jean (Bell) Taylor, 88, St. Mark the Evangelist, Indianapolis, Feb. 23. Wife of Cyril DesJean. Mother of Jeanne Goedde, Jeffrey, Lawrence, Philip and Stephen Taylor. Stepmother of Denise Hunter, Colette Tellmann, John, Mark, Matthew, Phillip and Thomas DesJean. Grandmother of 29. Great-grandmother of 17.

ERNSTES, Henry A., 98, St. Mary, Greensburg, March 1. Father of Franciscan Sister Christine Ernstes, John and William Ernstes. Brother of J. Howard Ernstes. Grandfather of seven.

FAUST, Mary Patricia, 84, St. Matthew the Apostle, Indianapolis, Dec. 21. Wife of Stanley Faust. Mother of Kathy Craig, Linda Frederick, Dan, Mark and Tom Faust. Sister of Arthur Smock. Grandmother of 10. Great-grandmother of four.

HIGBIE, Mary E., 88, St. Gabriel, Connersville, Feb. 25. Mother of Kathleen Byrd, Patricia Keenan, Martha Nobbe, Mary Margaret Pitstick, Georgetta, Marvin, Melvin and Robert Higbie. Grandmother of 17. Great-grandmother of 40. Great-great-grandmother of five.

HINDER, Virginia, 85, St. Christopher, Indianapolis, Feb. 26. Wife of David Hinders. Mother of June Richie, Jean Tenney and James Hinders. Sister of Elsie Wilson and William Shreves. Grandmother of nine. Great-grandmother of 16. Great-great-grandmother of one.

JOHNSON, Jeanne Ann, 85, St. Michael the Archangel, Indianapolis, Feb. 26. Wife of Frank Johnson. Mother of Susan Gibson, Donald, Michael and Stephen Johnson. Grandmother of 13.

KEOUGH, Anne (Beck), 68, Former member St. Michael the Archangel, Indianapolis, Feb. 19. Wife of Daniel Keough. Mother of Erin Phillips, Anne, Daniel and Joseph Keough. Daughter of J. Robert and June Beck. Sister of Barbara Chapman, Pat Coffman, Susan Watson, Stephen and Thomas Beck.

MANSFIELD, Lena Catherine (Buch), 87, St. Bernadette, Indianapolis, Feb. 21. Mother of Judy Greeson, Yvonne O’Brien, Lynda Toops and David Mansfield. Grandmother of 10. Great-grandmother of 16.

McATEE, James, 79, St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower), Indianapolis, Feb. 24. Father of Lisa Britton and Barbara McAtee. Brother of Francie Atwood and Bernie McAtee. Grandfather of one. Great-grandfather of one.

MOAKLER, Carolyn D., 77, St. Augustine, Jeffersonville, Feb. 26. Mother of Lynn Evanczyk, Rayetta Graff and Raymond Moakler. Grandmother of seven. Great-grandmother of one.

MOELLER, Edward G., 95, St. Anne, Hamburg, Feb. 21. Husband of Coletta Moeller. Father of Jane Boldrick, Patricia Long, Jacqueline Moorman and Donald Moeller. Stepfather of Sandra Gutzwiller, Judith, Ronald, Thomas and William Leising. Grandfather of two. Step-grandfather of 21. Step-great-grandfather of 36.

MOUNTJOY, Bailey Waller, Jr., 97, Holy Spirit, Indianapolis, Feb. 21. Father of Mary Chambers, Kathleen VanVelse, Jo Wagoner, Betsy and Teri Dougherty and Wally Mountjoy. Grandfather of 21. Great-grandfather of 17.

NEUMAN, Rose J., 99, St. Paul Hermitage, Beech Grove, March 2. Mother of Nancy Bartkowski, Elaine Trippeer and Benedictine Father Matthias Neuman. Grandmother of three. Great-grandmother of five.

ROBERTS, Jean (Marrs), 87, St. Paul, Sellersburg, Feb. 24. Mother of Nancy Emery, Bonnie Smith, Sarah Townsend, Theresa Uhl, James and Robert Roberts. Sister of Judy Lewis. Grandmother of 20. Great-grandmother of 22.

SANGER, Christopher, 35, St. Bartholomew, Columbus, Feb. 25. Husband of Sarah Sanger. Father of Lilly and Luke Sanger. Son of Phillip Sanger. Brother of Julia Minocha, Anne and Tim Sanger.

SMITH, Geneva Margaret (Buechler), 93, St. John the Baptist, Starlight, Feb. 24. Mother of Ann Baker, Brenda Falkenstein, Evelyn Heilgenberg, Charlotte Mooney, Nancy, Donald, Glenn and Kenny Smith. Sister of Valeria Daus and Herman Buechler. Grandmother of 24. Great-grandmother of 42. Great-great-grandmother of seven.

WUENSCH, Ronald W., 78, St. Luke the Evangelist, Indianapolis, Feb. 20. Father of Cheryl Mayo, Gina Meriwether, Ronna, Christopher and Jeffrey Wuensch. Brother of Sonya Deiter and Michelle Whitaker. Grandfather of 12. Great-grandfather of five.

Providence Sister Ann Denise Reger taught in Catholic schools for 36 years, including in Indiana

Providence Sister Ann Denise Reger died on March 12 at Mother Theodore Hall at St. Mary-of-the-Woods. She was 94.

The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on March 15 at the Church of the Immaculate Conception at the motherhouse. Burial followed at the sisters’ cemetery.

Ann Dolores Reger was born on May 5, 1918, in Chicago.

She entered the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods on July 16, 1936, and professed final vows on Jan. 23, 1945.

Sister Ann Denise earned a bachelor’s degree in education at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College and a master’s degree in counseling and guidance at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wis.

During 76 years as a Sister of Providence, she ministered as an educator for 36 years in Catholic schools in California, Illinois, Indiana, and Washington, D.C. In the archdiocese, she taught at the former St. Margaret Mary School in Terre Haute in 1964, and in Indianapolis at Immaculate Heart of Mary School from 1956-57 and Holy Spirit School from 1966-67.

From 1975-93, Sister Ann Denise taught English as a second language and was a parent educator for the Unified Schools of Los Angeles. She returned to the motherhouse in 1998 and ministered in a variety of ways. Starting in 2009, she devoted herself entirely to prayer.

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. †