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)
BUENING, Raymond E., 75, SS. Francis and Clare of Assisi, Greenwood, July 16. Husband of Margaret Buening. Father of Martin and Michael Buening. Brother of Mildred, Ruth, Jerome, John, Joseph, Philip and Robert. Grandfather of five.
CORAGGIO, Michael C., 87, St. Lawrence, Indianapolis, July 28. Husband of Rosemary Coraggio. Father of Chris, Paul, Peter, Robert, Steven and Terry Coraggio. Grandfather of seven. Great-grandfather of four.
DEWESTER, Diana E., 80, St. Jude, Indianapolis, June 18. Mother of Mari Corazzi, Frank Pyle and Mike Schlitt. Sister of Frank DeWester. Grandmother of 11.
ECKERLE, Barbara A., 77, St. Lawrence, Lawrenceburg, July 16. Wife of Martin Eckerle. Mother of Renee Caldwell, Mark and Michael Eckerle. Sister of Clara and Paul Meyer. Grandmother of five.
EVENSON, Clare M., 95, St. Matthew the Apostle, Indianapolis, July 22. Mother of Karen, Brent and Mark Evenson. Sister of Frank Horvath. Grandmother of 13. Great-grandmother of 11.
FULTON, Donna S., 77, Our Lady of Lourdes, Indianapolis, July 10. Wife of Robert Fulton. Mother of Michael, Robert, Jr. and Sean Fulton. Grandmother of four. Great-grandmother of one.
HARDING, Mildred, 89, Holy Family, New Albany, July 18. Mother of Sheridan Mann and Robert Harding II. Sister of Thelma Stumler. Grandmother of five. Great‑grandmother of four.
HEIDLAGE, Robert C., 75, St. Louis, Batesville, July 25. Husband of Carla Heidlage. Father of Jill Belter, Jeffrey and Robert Heidlage II. Stepfather of Steven Griffin. Brother of Becky Mitchell and Sue Stearns. Grandfather of nine. Great‑grandfather of one.
HEIS, Barbara, 71, St. Michael, Brookville, July 15. Mother of Angel Ripperger, James and John Heis, Jr. Sister of Richard Putnick. Grandmother of eight. Great‑grandmother of two.
HOP, Carolyn, 74, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, New Albany, July 24. Mother of Shari Murphy and Mike Amburn. Grandmother of five. Great‑grandmother of five.
HURST, Dorothy M., 76, Holy Spirit, Indianapolis, July 20. Mother of Denise and Gary Hurst. Sister of Harold McPhillips.
HUTH, Myron E., 87, St. Mary-of-the-Knobs, Floyd County, July 25. Husband of Carolyn Sue Huth. Father of Myra Huls, Lisa Montgomery and Mark Huth. Grandfather of seven. Great-grandfather of six.
KRAFT, Helen, 89, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, New Albany, July 25. Wife of Richard Kraft. Stepmother of Charla Perez and Martha Truman.
LINNE, Elizabeth S., 90, St. Pius V, Troy, July 23. Mother of Betty Cash, Cindy Hubert, Mary Linne-Saylor, Bernard, Chris and Peter Linne. Sister of Martha Chanley, Urma Henning, Nancy Little, Bill Elder and Paul Bowman. Grandmother of 13. Great-grandmother of 10.
MACDONALD, Roderick A., 80, St. Joan of Arc, Indianapolis, July 24. Husband of Judy MacDonald. Father of Sarah Cox, Martha Fischer, Mary Woolington and Katherine MacDonald. Grandfather of three.
MAHAN, Wayman, 90, St. Mary, Rushville, July 28. Husband of Marjorie Mahan. Father of Christy Hall, Kevin, Mike, Tom and Tony Mahan. Grandfather of 14. Great‑grandfather of 13. Step‑great-grandfather of one.
MUNTEAN, George L., 86, St. Bartholomew, Columbus, July 23. Husband of Eva Muntean. Father of Marta Garza, Eva and George Muntean. Brother of Maria Mahos. Grandfather of 10. Great-grandfather of five.
ROGIER, Curtis A., 77, St. Augustine, Leopold, July 23. Husband of Sue Rogier. Father of Tonya Harpenau, Neil and Rick Rogier. Brother of Yvonne Etienne and Elaine Sandleben. Grandfather of six.
RUDOLF, Helena J., 69, Holy Name of Jesus, Beech Grove, July 26. Sister of Jane Cox, Gerald, Lawrence, Rick and Roger Rudolf. Aunt of several.
SCHURA, Katherine S., 27, St. Jude, Indianapolis, July 19. Daughter of Michael and Elizebeth Schura. Sister of Kyle Schura. Granddaughter of Barbara Schura.
SOMMER, Carl F., 85, St. Augustine, Leopold, July 24. Husband of Mary Sue Sommer. Father of Peggy Sue Mallory, Lori Stowe, Carl, Kenny and Travis Sommer. Grandfather of 15. Great-grandfather of 21.
SOROA, Dolores Del Carmen, 67, SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral, Indianapolis, July 19. Wife of Mario Esteban Zambrano. Mother of Carmen Dumaual, Anthony Zambrano and Roberto Soroa. Sister of Jose Lopez. Grandmother of 11.
SPALDING, Helen M., 93, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, New Albany, July 23. Grandmother of two. Great‑grandmother of six. Great-great-grandmother of six.
STAPP, Lilburn, Jr., 88, St. Jude, Indianapolis, July 27. Husband of Mary Stapp. Father of Lisa Lowery, Nancy Smith and Jeffrey Stapp. Brother of Lois Canter, Kenneth, Lynn, Robert and Rollin Stapp. Grandfather of five. Great‑grandfather of six.
WILLIAMS, Thomas, Jr., 76, Holy Family, New Albany, July 18. Husband of Sue Williams. Father of Cassi Hogge, Tammi Levandowsky, Elyce Lovett and Zach Williams. Brother of Judy Gnadinger, Mary Kay, Don and Larry Williams. Grandfather of 10.
ZIPP, Alberta A. (Kruer), 78, St. Mary-of-the-Knobs, Floyd County, July 27. Mother of Betty Batliner, Barbara Lamb, Larry and Ronald Zipp. Sister of Ralph Kruer. Grandmother of seven. Great‑grandmother of six.
Franciscan Sister Justin Louise Stiker ministered in Catholic education for 48 years
Franciscan Sister Justin Louise Stiker died on July 23 at the motherhouse of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis in Oldenburg. She was 94.
The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on July 30 at the Motherhouse Chapel in Oldenburg. Burial followed at the sisters’ cemetery.
Jeanette Stiker was born on April 29, 1925, in Indianapolis. She attended Holy Name of Jesus School in Beech Grove as a child and later graduated from the Oldenburg Academy of the Immaculate Conception in Oldenburg.
She entered the Sisters of St. Francis on Sept. 8, 1942, and professed final vows on Aug. 12, 1948.
Sister Justin Louise earned a bachelor’s degree at Marian University in Indianapolis.
During 77 years as a Sister of St. Francis, Sister Justin Louise ministered as an educator for 48 years in Catholic schools in Illinois and Indiana. In the archdiocese, she served at St. Joseph School in Shelbyville from 1953‑60, at St. Mary School in Rushville from 1974-80, and at St. Vincent de Paul School in Bedford from 1983-89. She also served at her community’s motherhouse from 1960-74, and 1980-83. Sister Justine Louise retired from ministry in 1999.
She is survived by two brothers, Joseph and Robert Stiker, both of Indianapolis.
Memorial gifts may be sent to the Sisters of St. Francis, P.O. Box 100, Oldenburg, IN 47036-0100.
Franciscan Sister Virginia Ann Streit ministered in Catholic education for 40 years
Franciscan Sister Virginia Ann Streit died on July 28 at the motherhouse of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis in Oldenburg. She was 97.
The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on August 5 at the Motherhouse Chapel in Oldenburg. Burial followed at the sisters’ cemetery.
Emma Josephine Streit was born on Nov. 20, 1921, in North Vernon. She grew up as a member of St. Ann Parish in Jennings County and later graduated from the Oldenburg Academy of the Immaculate Conception in Oldenburg.
Sister Virginia Ann entered the Sisters of St. Francis on Sept. 8, 1939, and professed final vows on Aug. 12, 1945.
She earned a bachelor’s degree at Marian University in Indianapolis.
During 80 years as a Sister of St. Francis, Sister Virginia Ann ministered as an educator for 40 years in Catholic schools in Indiana and Ohio. In the archdiocese, she served at St. Mary School in Greensburg from 1947-49, at the former St. John the Evangelist School in Enochsburg from 1957-58, at St. Joseph School in Shelbyville from 1967-69, and at St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Aurora from 1969-73. She later served as a nursing assistant at the motherhouse from 1981-86 and as assistant coordinator of Olivia Hall there from 1985-96. Sister Virginia Ann retired from ministry in 1996.
Memorial gifts may be sent to the Sisters of St. Francis, P.O. Box 100, Oldenburg, IN 47036-0100. †