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)
CHAFFEE, Jeffrey L., 56, St. Anthony, Morris, April 19. Husband of Diane Chaffee. Father of Heather Reese, Jason Rowlett and Brandon Chaffee. Son of Patricia Chaffee. Brother of Lindy, Kevin, Kyle and Tim Chaffee. Grandfather of seven.
COUGHLAN, Nelson L., 77, St. Malachy, Brownsburg, April 17. Husband of Judith Coughlan. Father of Janice Sanders and Jayne Stone. Grandfather of four.
CRAWFORD GESWEIN, Edna L., 87, St. Mary, New Albany, April 8. Mother of Joyce Mehling and Virginia Renn. Aunt, great-aunt and great-great aunt of several.
DRURY, Paul E., 84, St. Mary, Navilleton, April 23. Husband of Lois Drury. Father of Paula Moore, Mary and Missy Drury. Brother of Anna Lee Bray and Regina Portman. Grandfather of one. Step-grandfather of two.
GEHRING, Cheryl, 66, Holy Family, Oldenburg,
April 4. Wife of Thomas Gehring. Mother of Christina Merritt and David Gehring. Sister of Barbara Burns, Pat Koral and Carol Gehring. Grandmother of four. (correction)
GUZICKI, Stella D., 98, St. Mary-of-the-Knobs, Floyd County, March 24. Wife of Eugene Guzicki. Mother of Carol Kelton and Gary Guzicki. Grandmother of seven. Great-grandmother of seven.
HARTMAN, Paul W., 80, St. Louis, Batesville, April 20. Father of Melanie Hartwell. Stepfather of Gary Nobbe. Brother of Irene McCann and Stella Wulfeck. Grandfather of two.
KING, Jeane, 80, St. Malachy, Brownsburg, April 13. Wife of Frank King. Mother of Tom King. Sister of Bill Christley. Grandmother of one.
MELTZER, Ronald L., 63, St. Joseph, Shelbyville, April 14. Brother of Sharon Rounds, Gary and James Meltzer. Uncle of several.
MEYER, Ruth A., 80, Holy Family, Oldenburg, April 22. Mother of Denise Hartman, Debra Krieger, Darlene and Doug Meyer. Sister of Kenny Moeller. Grandmother of seven. Great-grandmother of eight.
MICHAEL, Anthony, Jr., 73, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Richmond, April 18. Husband of Elaine Michael. Father of Karen Newman and Kelli Michael. Brother of Patricia Welch. Grandfather of one.
MORAN, Marydel, 73, Holy Spirit, Indianapolis, April 12. Wife of Lee Moran. Mother of Joellen and Keven Ayres, Julie Brown and Marc Moran. Grandmother of 12. Great-grandmother of five.
NAVILLE, Deborah J., 64, St. Mary, Navilleton, April 16. Wife of Gerald Naville, Sr. Mother of Bethany Custis, Daniel, Gerald, Jr., and Matthew Naville. Daughter of Mary Lucille Missi. Sister of Lisa Huber, Donnie, Pat, Rick and Tim Missi. Grandmother of 15.
POPCHEFF, Connie J. (Dinn), 67, St. Christopher, Indianapolis, April 17. Wife of Ed Popcheff. Mother of Matthew and Robert Dinn. Sister of Cathy Meinert, Carolyn Polomchak and Cindy Rubino. Grandmother of five.
SCHOENTRUP, John W., 83, St. Joseph, Shelbyville, April 8. Husband of Judith Schoentrup. Father of John Schoentrup. Grandfather of two.
STIENEKER, John R., 77, St. Joseph, Shelbyville, April 14. Husband of Karen Stieneker. Father of Laura Stieneker-Taylor and Troy Stieneker. Brother of Catherine Creel, Joseph and Phillip Stieneker. Grandfather of three. Great-grandfather of one.
WALTER, Anthony J., 94, Holy Family, New Albany, April 13. Father of Margaret Grace and Linda Jennings. Grandfather of five. Great-grandfather of 17. Great-great-grandfather of three.
WARNER, Nancy (Degitz), 89, SS. Francis and Clare of Assisi, Greenwood, April 8. Mother of Michelle, Larry, Mike, Tim and Tom Warner. Grandmother of 14. Great-grandmother of three.
WEIR, Xavier I., 16, St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower), Indianapolis, April 8. Son of Bobby Weir and Michelle Raines. Brother of Ania Raines and Dillon Weir. Grandson of Cindy Neely, Dianna Raines and Joseph Noriega. Uncle of two.
WENNING, Ralph, 88, St. Louis, Batesville, April 8.
Husband of Rosemary Wenning. Father of Jackie Fitzgerald, Connie Grider, Mary Kay Mollaun, Brenda Moorman and Kim Wenning. Brother of Marlene Camarota, Don, Eugene and Jim Wenning. Grandfather of seven. Great-grandfather of four.
WITTRY, Wayne W., 85, St. Mark the Evangelist, Indianapolis, April 12. Father of Toni Steinmeyer, Jan, Darren and Lance Wittry. Brother of Lynne Halloran. Grandfather of three. Great‑grandfather of one.
ZONKEL, Julieta (Brabante), 78, St. Charles Borromeo, Bloomington, April 15. Mother of Mary Rose Pitman, Christine and Joe Zonkel. Sister of Alicia Dayao. Grandmother of five.
Providence Sister Mary Jo Stewart ministered in education and health care
Providence Sister Mary Jo Stewart, formerly Sister Joseph Maureen, died on April 20 at Lourdes Hall at the motherhouse of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods in St. Mary-of-the-Woods. She was 91.
The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on April 26 at the Church of the Immaculate Conception at the motherhouse. Burial followed at the sisters’ cemetery.
Mary Johann Stewart was born on Sept. 25, 1927, in Terre Haute, where she grew up as a member of the former St. Ann Parish. Sister Mary Jo entered the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods on Jan. 8, 1945, and professed final vows on Aug. 15, 1952.
She earned a bachelor’s degree at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, and a licensed practical nursing degree from Indiana Vocational Technical School.
During her 74 years as a member of the Sisters of Providence, Sister Mary Jo ministered as an educator for 25 years in schools in California, Illinois and Indiana. She later served as a licensed practical nurse for 23 years in California and at the motherhouse. Sister Mary Jo also ministered in health care for 15 years in Mississippi.
In the archdiocese, Sister Mary Jo served at the former St. Patrick School in Indianapolis from 1967-68, at St. Mary School (now St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School) in Richmond from 1968-70, and at Providence Health Care at the motherhouse from 1973-78 and 1981-86.
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.
Franciscan Sister Mary Stella Gampfer served as an educator for 56 years
Franciscan Sister Mary Stella Gampfer died on April 12 at the motherhouse of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis in Oldenburg. She was 81.
The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on April 16 at the Motherhouse Chapel in Oldenburg. Burial followed at the sisters’ cemetery.
Carolyn Rose Gampfer was born on Feb. 25, 1938, in Covington, Ky. She entered the Sisters of St. Francis on Nov. 21, 1956, and professed final vows on Aug. 12, 1962.
Sister Mary Stella earned a bachelor’s degree at Marian University in Indianapolis and a master’s degree in English at the University of Notre Dame in northern Indiana.
During 62 years as a member of the Sisters of St. Francis, Sister Mary Stella ministered as an educator for 56 years in Catholic schools in Indiana and Ohio.
In the archdiocese, she served as the directress of the aspirancy program at the motherhouse from 1967-71 while also teaching English and history to postulants and novices. Beginning in 1974, Sister Mary Stella began ministry in the English department at Marian University. In addition to teaching courses on writing and literature, she moderated the university’s literary anthology, Fioretti. She retired to the motherhouse in 2015.
Sister Mary Stella is survived by three brothers, David, Joseph and Terrance Gampfer, all of Ohio.
Memorial gifts may be sent to the Sisters of St. Francis, P.O. Box 100, Oldenburg, IN 47036-0100.
Franciscan Sister Ruth Ann Wirtz served as a music educator for 67 years
Franciscan Sister Ruth Ann Wirtz died on April 21 at the motherhouse of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis in Oldenburg. She was 95.
The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on April 26 at the Motherhouse Chapel in Oldenburg. Burial followed at the sisters’ cemetery.
Dolores Wirtz was born on Oct. 8, 1923, in Princeton, Ind. She entered the Sisters of St. Francis on Aug. 15, 1941, and professed final vows on Aug. 12, 1947.
Sister Ruth Ann earned a bachelor’s degree in music at Marian University in Indianapolis and a master’s degree in music at Butler University, also in Indianapolis.
During her 78 years as a member of the Sisters of St. Francis, Sister Ruth Ann ministered as an educator for 67 years in Catholic schools and parishes in Indiana and Ohio, at times also serving as an organist in the parishes to which she was assigned.
In the archdiocese, she ministered at Our Lady of Lourdes School in Indianapolis from 1946-49, St. Andrew School (now St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School) in Richmond from 1949-50, and at St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower) School from 1952-59. Beginning in 1959, Sister Ruth Ann served on the music faculty of Marian University, retiring as an associate professor of music in 2011.
She is survived by a brother, Edward Wirtz of Florida.
Memorial gifts may be sent to the Sisters of St. Francis, P.O. Box 100, Oldenburg, IN 47036-0100. †