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)
BENNETT, Jerald, 73, St. Joseph, Clark County, April 5. Husband of Charlotte Bennett. Father of Denise Beyl and Tony Bennett. Brother of Marlene Duley, Betty Hayden, Cathy Thomas and Mike Bennett. Grandfather of five.
BESSLER, Helen, 97, St. Lawrence, Lawrenceburg, May 2. Mother of Sharon Bartleson and Alice Peterson. Grandmother of eight. Step-grandmother of two. Great-grandmother of six. Step-great-grandmother of one.
BOLIN, Warren M., 71, St. Paul, Tell City, May 1. Husband of Margaret Bolin. Father of Duane Bolin. Grandfather of three.
CASTER, Michael T., 57, St. Bernadette, Indianapolis, May 3. Son of Patricia Caster. Brother of Patricia Davis, Cathi Earp, B. Kelly Kraeszig and Tommy Caster.
CLAISE, Delmar J., 86, St. Paul, Tell City, May 8. Father of Jayne Glenn, Karen Oost and Harry Claise. Brother of Regina Wilson. Grandfather of 12. Great-grandfather of 15.
COCKE, Ronald J., 72, St. Mary-of-the-Knobs, Floyd County, May 1. Husband of Barbara (Webb) Cocke. Father of Mark and Steve Cocke. Brother of Doug Cocke. Grandfather of two.
DOLCE, Mary S. (Balistreri), 89, SS. Francis and Clare, Greenwood, May 8. Mother of Mary Kukulka, Prudence Williams and Sam Dolce. Sister of Catherine Kelly. Grandmother of four. Great-grandmother of nine.
EHRESMAN, Katherine Rose, 68, Holy Spirit, Indianapolis, April 27. Wife of Earl Ehresman. Mother of Chad Ehresman. Sister of David Frazee. Grandmother of two.
FORD, Cora, 87, St. Patrick, Indianapolis, May 1. Mother of Bill Ford.
GORMAN, Bridget, 98, Holy Family, Richmond, May 3. Mother of Bernard, James and Patrick Gorman. Grandmother of three. Great-grandmother of several.
GUNTHER, Verna C., 93, Most Precious Blood, New Middletown, May 2. Mother of Rowena Hoehn and Marilyn Gunther. Sister of Audrey Albin, Georgia Blank, Matilda Monroe and Kenneth Weis. Grandmother of 10. Great-grandmother of 26. Great-great-grandmother of three.
HADLEY, Catherine Marie (Schindler), 95, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, New Albany, May 7. Mother of Beverly Brock, Rose Marie Williams, John and V. Ric Hadley. Sister of Carl Schindler. Grandmother of 13. Great-grandmother of 21.
HERRING, Thomas A., 19, St. Nicholas, Ripley County, April 30. Son of Grant and Rose Herring. Brother of Marie, Christian, Grant Jr., John and Joseph Herring. Grandson of Bob and Dolores Rolfe.
HINZY, Mark E., 51, Sacred Heart, Clinton, May 6. Husband of Terry (Upp) Hinzy. Father of Brittany Auman, Karen Nelson and Becky Short. Grandfather of six.
HUFFINE, Richard Reynolds, 82, Christ the King, Indianapolis, May 5. Father of Sally and Laurie Breen, Amy Lezon, Brian, Joe, Matt, Nick, Richard Jr. and Steve Huffine. Brother of Marilyn Landon, Janet Pitcock and Charlene Roach. Grandfather of 19.
JACOBSEN, Rose, 87, St. Patrick, Terre Haute, May 4. Mother of Lillian and Robert Jacobsen.
LOMBARDO, Vincent Lawrence, 70 Sacred Heart, Indianapolis, May 2. Cousin of one. Uncle of several.
MASCARI, Therese Ann, 60, Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Indianapolis, May 8. Wife of Thomas Michael Mascari. Mother of Marie Mascari. Daughter of Mary (Schuster) Butler. Sister of Patty Keller, Mary Snyder, Jane, Clay Jr., Mark and Robert Butler. Grandmother of one.
MAYS, James, 86, St. Mary, Richmond, May 9. Husband of Gertrude Mays. Father of Suanna Ponder, James and Stephen Mays. Brother of Betty Hammers. Grandfather of nine. Great-grandfather of five.
MESSERSCHMIDT, Harry R., 81, St. Peter, Franklin County, May 1. Father of Thea, Bill and Tim Messerschmidt. Brother of Annie Weekley and Rita Alig. Grandfather of five. Great-grandfather of two.
MEYER, Marie C., 88, St. Mary-of-the-Rock, Franklin County, May 2. Mother of Eileen Duff, Susan Everage, Grace and Yvonne Schneider, Carolyn Sorber, Mary Louise, Dennis, Eugene, Gary, Jerome, Joe, John and Roy Meyer. Sister of Edith Eickhorst, Geraldine Nobbe, Antoinette Harpring and Irvin Hartmen. Grandmother of 32. Great-grandmother of 14.
MILLER, Ronald A., 56, Holy Family, Richmond, May 9. Husband of Mary Miller. Father of Antony, Brandon and Jeremy Miller. Brother of Kathy Hammons, Donna Vance, Patty Wessel, Jack and Ken Miller. Grandfather of four.
MORRISON, Rose, 83, Holy Family, Richmond, May 6. Mother of Michael Morrison. Grandmother of two.
PATERCSAK, Nina Darlene, 73, Sacred Heart, Clinton, May 3. Mother of Lori Bauer and Lecia Bumpus. Sister of Sally Harmon. Grandmother of five. Great-grandmother of seven.
RAFFERTY, William R., 90, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, New Albany, May 7.
SARGENT, J. Lee, 82, St Vincent de Paul, Bedford, April 18. Husband of Nicol Sargent. Father of Kelly Alcock, Tracey Burton and Terri Owens. Brother of Bud Sargent. Grandfather of six.
SCHELLER, Robert Walter, 95, St. Joan of Arc, Indianapolis, April 30. Father of Karla, Suzanne and Christopher Scheller. Brother of Rita Huettl, Antoinette Connor and Vincent Scheller.
SCHMACK, Carolyn Sue, 74, St. Ambrose, Seymour, May 2.
SCHOETTMER, Richard W., 78, St. Mary, Greensburg, May 4. Husband of Leona (Matern) Schoettmer. Father of Sandra Kendall, Janet Powell, Sharon Woodhull, David, Randy and Wayne Schoettmer. Brother of Kathleen Berkemeier, Lucille Case, Margaret Greiwe, Ruth Steinkamp, Mary Ann Sullivan, Agnes Wagner, Virginia Wamsley, Ralph and Ronald Schoettmer. Grandfather of nine. Great-grandfather of two.
SCHULZ, Anna B., 94, St. Mary-of-the-Knobs, Floyd County, May 7. Mother of Judy Baker and Joseph Schulz. Grandmother of five. Great-grandmother of five. Great-great-grandmother of one.
SMITH, Glen O., 86, St. Vincent de Paul, Bedford, April 21. Husband of Mildred Smith. Father of Patricia Hutton, Larry and Timothy Smith. Brother of Ivan Smith. Grandfather of seven. Great-grandfather of 13.
STRESINO, Edgar, 86, St. Gabriel the Archangel, Indianapolis, May 3. Husband of Mary Lou Stresino. Father of Jo Cully, Kathy, Bob and Pete Stresino. Brother of Louise Gibson, Anabel Leigh and Edward Stresino. Grandfather of five.
THER, Edith, 101, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, New Albany, May 6. Mother of Juanita Millea. Grandmother of five. Great-grandmother of eight. Great-great-grandmother of three.
WHEAT, David Glenn, 61, Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Indianapolis, April 5. Husband of Janice (Peters) Wheat. Father of April Metzler and James Wheat. Brother of Connie Eland, Bonnie Laverty, Debbie Nikkila, Betty Roberts, Rosie Sullivan, Kathy Tate, Curt, Delroy and Jessie Wheat. Grandfather of three.
WINGO, R. Scott, 51, St. Joseph, Shelbyville, May 4. Husband of Kimberly (Strough) Wingo. Father of Catherine and Jacob Wingo. Son of Elizabeth Wingo. Brother of Mark Wingo.
WITTE DAVIS, Marietta A., 97, St. Lawrence, Lawrenceburg, May 6. Mother of Paulanna Jordan and Lorna Pelcha. Grandmother of nine. Great-grandmother of nine.
WITTRY, Bernice Margaret, 80, St. Mark the Evangelist, Indianapolis, May 5. Wife of Wayne Wittry. Mother of Toni Steinmeyer, Jan, Darren and Lance Wittry. Sister of Tony Zilson. Grandmother of three.
WOLTER, Charles, 89, St. Mary, Greensburg, May 8. Father of Philomena Banks, Sandy Richardson, Isabella Schoettmer, Cynthia Wickizer, Judy, Michael, Steven and Tim Wolter. Stepfather of Linda Burton. Grandfather of nine. Step-grandfather of nine. Great-grandfather of one. Step-great-grandfather of 17.
Carmelite Sister Rita Howard lived in her contemplative community for 66 years
Carmelite Sister Rita Howard died on April 30 at the infirmary of the Sisters of St. Francis in Oldenburg. She was 88.
The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on May 7 at the motherhouse chapel of the Oldenburg Franciscans. Burial followed in the Carmelite community’s cemetery in Oldenburg.
Sister Rita was born on March 2, 1926, in Washington, Ind. She later was trained as a nurse at St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis.
She entered the Carmelite Monastery of the Resurrection on December 8, 1947. She professed vows in 1949.
At the time, the community lived in a monastery in Indianapolis. The community relocated to the motherhouse of the Oldenburg Franciscans in 2008.
Sister Rita’s ministry in the cloistered community of contemplative nuns included sewing liturgical vestments and working as a typesetter, including computer-based typesetting in recent years, and singing for the community both within and outside of liturgies.
She is survived by several nieces and nephews. †