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)
DUNN, Kelly, 39, St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower), Jan. 30. Daughter of Robert Dunn. Sister of Angela Sagri. Aunt of several.
ELBERT, Jean, 90, St. Joseph, Corydon, Feb. 6. Wife of Lambert Elbert. Mother of Connie Lahue, Cathy McCarty, Mary Ann Wells, Jim, John, Randy, Richard and Steve Elbert. Sister of Isma Simler, Joe and Robert Hurst. Grandmother of 17. Great‑grandmother of 27.
GROVE, Thomas, 63, Holy Family, New Albany, Feb. 5. Son of Trudy Grove. Brother of Susan Grove‑Jennings, Jim, John, Steve and Tim Grove. Uncle of several.
GUTZWILLER, Audrey A., 101, St. Louis, Batesville, Feb. 11. Mother of Roberta Lodi, Marla Vandevier and Mike Gutzwiller. Grandmother of seven. Great-grandmother of nine.
HALL, Robert, 65, Christ the King, Indianapolis, Feb. 10. Husband of Barb Hall. Father of Elizabeth Dobrowski and Allison Witmeier. Brother of Mary, Rita, Sharon, Tracie, Bill and Gary. Grandfather of four.
HEISE, David A., 68, St. Barnabas, Indianapolis, Feb. 8. Husband of Patricia Heise. Father of Shannon Stafford, David and Jonathan Heise. Brother of Linda Alcorn, Eileen Enterline, Mary Beth McQuary, Sherri Poppe, Bill and Scott Heise. Grandfather of six.
HENDERSON, Lori M., 56, St. Christopher, Indianapolis, Jan. 31. Mother of Chelsea and Kaleigh Stachura and Patrick Henderson. Daughter of Martha Caldwell. Sister of Cyndi Kramer and Randall Caldwell.
JONES, Stanley, 67, St. Roch, Indianapolis, Feb. 6. Husband of Karen Jones. Father of Emily Hawthorne, Monica Jones and Stan Jones III. Step-father of Becky Schmalz and Chris Deery. Son of Lois Jones. Brother of Betsy Rice and Sara High. Grandfather of three.
LINDSAY, Wanda M., 92, St. Gabriel, Connersville, Feb. 6. Mother of Brad and Gary Lyndsay. Grandmother of two.
LYNETTE, Della E., 86, St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower), Jan. 26. Mother of Larry and Mark Lynette. Sister of Connie Wright. Grandmother of four. Great‑grandmother of nine.
MAY, James J., 91, St. Pius X, Indianapolis, Feb. 3. Father of Lisa Kolakowski and Charles May. Brother of Bob and Tom May. Grandfather of three. Great-grandfather of three.
MARTIS, John G., 90, St. Vincent de Paul, Bedford, Feb. 7. Husband of Judy Martis. Father of Linda Heironimus, Lorrie McFadden, Daryl and David Martis. Grandfather of 10. Great‑grandfather of several.
MIKESELL, James, 79, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Richmond, Feb. 12. Husband of Janice Mikesell. Father of Douglas Mikesell. Brother of Karen Anderson and George Mikesell. Grandfather of three. Great-grandfather of four.
MILLER, Ronald E., 80, Holy Family, New Albany, Feb. 6. Father of Shara Augsburger, Julie Killermann, Leslie Lowe, Ronda Stumler, Dawn Wilson and Chris Miller. Brother of Mitzi O’Leary, Diana Witt and Martin Rouck. Grandfather of 17. Great‑grandfather of seven.
NEISWINGER, James D., 40, Christ the King, Indianapolis, Jan. 30. Father of Simone Acheson and Patrick Shea.
Son of Karen and James D. Neiswinger, Sr. Brother of Elizabeth Neiswinger. Grandson of Bonnie Neiswinger.
ODER, Carol K. (Piotroski), 75, Most Sorrowful Mother of God, Vevay, Feb. 8. Mother of Cherie Schoonover, Michele Wuebbing and Douglas Oder. Sister of Donald Piotroski. Grandmother of 11. Great‑grandmother of 14.
POTTRATZ, F. Thomas, 81, formerly of St. Lawrence, Indianapolis, Feb. 11. Father of Bill, Bryan, David, John, Michael and Scott Pottratz. Brother of Becky Andersen, Angela Lager, Christy Lampert, Dennis, Lloyd and Robert Pottratz. Grandfather of 19. Great-grandfather of four.
ROSEMAN, Sr., James, 75, Our Lady of Lourdes, Indianapolis, Jan. 4. Husband of Irene Roseman. Father of Melanie Malone, Marcia Robb, James Jr. and Russell Roseman. Grandfather and great‑grandfather of several.
SANDERS, Joyce A. (Kunkel), 80, St. Barnabas, Indianapolis, Feb. 8. Mother of Mary Rebrukh, Julie Thomas, Joann Yensel, John, Robert and Stephen Sanders. Grandmother of eight.
SCHUMACHER, Arvilla M., 94, St. Louis, Batesville, Feb. 14. Mother of Victoria Creeger, Sherry Ertel, Amy Gallo, Kris Lindemann, Mary Jon McCaig and Kim Oblinger. Sister of Rita Halman, Betty Lamping, Vera Michalowicz and Eugene Andrews. Grandmother of seven. Great-grandmother of nine.
SCHUNK, Arthur, 94, Christ the King, Indianapolis, Feb. 5. Father of Mary Louden, Arthur, David, Michael and Pete Schunk. Brother of Edward and Millard Schunk. Grandfather of seven. Great-grandfather of six.
SKILES, Joan E., 55, St. Christopher, Indianapolis, Feb. 4. Wife of Robbie Skiles. Mother of Theresa King, Bridget and Emily Skiles. Sister of Kathy Abney, Marlene Buntin, Cindy Ortiz, Mary Jo Turner, Janie, Margaret, Charles and John McElfresh. Grandmother of seven.
SNYDER, Genevieve, 97, Holy Spirit, Indianapolis, Feb. 6. Sister of Dorothy King, Charlotte Raby, Ruth Ross, James, John and Norman Snyder. Aunt of several.
SPECK, Floyd L., 57, St. Christopher, Indianapolis, Feb. 3. Husband of Belinda Speck. Father of Caitlin Speck. Brother of Mary Bishop and Marcia Catterton.
TROY, Nancy, 77, Holy Family, New Albany, Feb. 4. Mother of Michelle Koetter. Grandmother of two. Great-grandmother of three.
Franciscan Sister Mary Catherine Eschenbach was a missionary, educator in Indiana
Franciscan Sister Mary Catherine Eschenbach died on Feb. 12 at the motherhouse of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis in Oldenburg. She was 93.
The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Feb. 15 at the Motherhouse Chapel in Oldenburg. Burial followed at the sisters’ cemetery.
Mary Catherine Eschenbach was born on Feb. 15, 1923, in Indianapolis where she grew up as a member of the former St. Catherine of Siena Parish.
She entered the Sisters of St. Francis on Sept. 8, 1939, and professed final vows on Aug. 12, 1945.
During 77 years as a Sister of St. Francis, Sister Mary Catherine ministered as an educator for 40 years in Catholic schools in Indiana, Illinois, Missouri and Ohio. In the archdiocese, she served at St. Louis School in Batesville from 1941-47, the former St. Francis de Sales School in Indianapolis from 1947-50, St. Lawrence School in Lawrenceburg from 1961-68, St. Michael the Archangel School (now St. Michael-St. Gabriel Archangels School) in Indianapolis from 1968-81 and at her community’s motherhouse in Oldenburg from 1998-2017.
Sister Mary Catherine served from 1983-98 as a missionary to Papua New Guinea. While there, she helped a new native community of Franciscan women religious, the Franciscan Sisters of Mary, taught at a parish grade school and a teacher’s college, and ministered at two seminaries.
She is survived by two sisters, Leanore Cox and Angela Kriese, both of Indianapolis.
Memorial gifts may be sent to the Sisters of St. Francis, P.O. Box 100, Oldenburg, IN 47036-0100. †
Josephine Gottemoeller, mother of
Father Mark Gottemoeller, died on Feb. 14
Josephine (Hansing) Gottemoeller, the mother of retired Father Mark Gottemoeller, died on Feb. 14. She was 90.
The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Feb. 21 at St. Roch Church in Indianapolis. Burial followed at Calvary Cemetery in Indianapolis.
Gottemoeller was born on July 9, 1926, in Indianapolis. She earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and education at Marian University in Indianapolis, and a master’s degree in education at Butler University in Indianapolis.
She served as an elementary school teacher for 34 years in schools in Indianapolis, including at St. Jude School, St. Roch School and various Indianapolis Public Schools.
A member of St. Jude Parish, Gottemoeller served in the past as a lector and extraordinary minister of holy Communion.
She was preceded in death by her husband Walter Gottemoeller, and her sister, Florence Kuntz, and is survived by her daughter Christine Dittman, her son Father Mark Gottemoeller, and three grandchildren.
Memorial gifts may be sent to Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology, 200 Hill Drive, St. Meinrad, IN 47577, or to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation at give.bcrfcure.org. †