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)

BATTA, Susan, 60, All Saints, Dearborn County, Sept. 20. Wife of George Batta. Mother of Emily Hartnett, Christy Stratton, Andy and Michael Batta. Daughter of Carolyn Lamppert. Sister of Sandy Hammond and Steve Lamppert. Grandmother of seven.

BONWELL, Daniel W., 69, Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Indianapolis, Sept. 20. Husband of Rose Bonwell. Brother of Donna Raco and Gary Bonwell. Uncle of several.

BOWE, George G., Jr., 66, St. John Paul II, Sellersburg, Aug. 15. Husband of Doraveen Duvall Bowe. Father of Chance Carlile, Angela Mooney, Charles Duvall, Dana and Bruce Bowe. Grandfather of seven.

BREWER, Dorothy J., 74, St. Patrick, Salem, Sept. 4. Mother of Thomas Turner and Darin Brewer. Sister of Drucilla Campbell, Mary Elizabeth Lunceford, Florence McKnight and Earl Wayne Johnson. Grandmother of two.

CROUCH, Martha, 95, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Richmond, Sept. 21. Mother of Carolyn Fisher, Martyn and Robert Crouch. Grandmother of 10. Great-grandmother of 19.

EDMONDS, Charles W., 73, St. Jude, Indianapolis, Sept. 25. Husband of Rita Edmonds. Father of Jennifer Turner, Andy and Charlie Edmonds, Jr. Brother of Sandra Margason. Grandfather of eight. Great-grandfather of seven.

EWING, Reina, 28, St. Joseph, Shelbyville, Sept. 7. Daughter of Reina Ewing. Sister of Sonrisa Stovall, Rico Petrino, Tiffany, Patrick and Stanley Ewing. Aunt of several.

GERTH, Larry J., 82, St. Mary, Lanesville, Sept. 9. Brother of Phyllis Combs and Leroy Gerth. Uncle of several.

GRAF, Donald L., 88, St. John Paul II, Sellersburg, Sept. 17. Husband of Helen Graf. Father of Karen Graves, Dale, Gary, Kenneth and Paul Graf. Grandfather of 14. Great-grandfather of 17.

HANNAH, Michael W., 65, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Richmond, Sept. 18. Husband of Christine Hannah. Father of Timothy Larsen, Elizabeth, Mary and Michael Hannah. Brother of Kathy Eckersberg.

HERBERT, Robert J., 82, St. Mary, Greensburg, Sept. 23. Brother of Dennis and Lotus Herbert. Uncle and great-uncle of several.

MCGREEVY, Michael V., 63, St. Roch, Indianapolis, Sept. 8. Father of Michael McGreevy II. Brother of Kathleen McGreevy.

O’GARA, Norma J., 91, Holy Name of Jesus, Beech Grove, Sept. 2. Mother of Maggie Allen, Mariann Carpenter, Jean Gibson, Charlotte Haughey, Barbara Kennedy, Charles, James, John, Michael, Patrick and Thomas O’Gara. Sister of Pat Fischer, Kathy Hoffman, Marilyn Keutzer, Angie Lee and Paul Hornberger. Grandmother of 24. Great-grandmother of 39.

PFIEFFER, Barbara J., 66, St. Lawrence, Indianapolis, Sept. 1. Wife of Bill Pfeiffer. Mother of Amy Nims and Brian Pfeiffer. Sister of Bud and Jim Hufnagel. Grandmother of four. (correction)

POSANTE, Isadore, 97, St. John Paul II, Sellersburg, Sept. 2. Husband of Anna Lee Krider. Father of Tracy Johnson, Lee Ann, Rebecca, David, Mark and Ronald Posante. Brother of Marty and Presley Posante. Grandfather of seven. Great-grandfather of one.

SCHOETTLE, Paul B., 76, St. Roch, Indianapolis, Sept. 9. Father of Eric, Greg, R.J. and Steve Schoettle. Brother of Helen Gilkey, Susie Thornburg, Theresa Hull, David, Jeff, Jim, Mark, Mike and Ned Schoettle. Grandfather of 14.

SCHUTTE, Mary E., 99, St. Louis, Batesville, Sept. 20. Mother of Mary Edwards, Brenda Moll, Pauline Prickel, Debbie Salatin, Sheila Shadday, Theresa Volz, Denis, John, Larry, Lloyd, Rick, Tim and Vic Schutte. Sister of Alberta Amberger. Grandmother of 47. Great-grandmother of 83. Great-great-grandmother of nine.

SPALDING, Dorothy, 87, St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower), Indianapolis, Sept. 21. Mother of Judy Mueller, Kathy Sutherland, Debbie and Frederick Spalding. Grandmother of 11. Great-grandmother of 30. Great-great-grandmother of eight.

WHEELDON, Donald A., 83, St. Mary, Rushville, Sept. 16. Husband of Nelda Wheeldon. Father of Patricia Caudill and Colin Wheeldon. Brother of James Wheeldon. Grandfather of three. Great-grandfather of five.

WHISTLER, Theresa S., 65, St. Lawrence, Indianapolis, Aug. 23. Wife of Gary Whistler. Mother of Tiffany Hughes, Andrew, Chad and Jeremy Whistler. Grandmother of 14.

WHITE, Kathleen J. (O’Gara), 87, St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower), Indianapolis, Sept. 11. Mother of Colleen Allgood, Maureen Battles, Mary Margaret Curren, Kathleen Foley, Ann Land, Kelly, Brian, Kevin, Michael, Patrick, Sean and Thomas White. Grandmother of 37. Great-grandmother of five.

WILLIAMS, Roger C., 90, St. Roch, Indianapolis, Sept. 15. Father of Cheryl Gray, Jeanine Ziedonis, Julie, David, Michael and Richard Williams. Grandfather of seven. Great-grandfather of two.

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Benedictine Father Sebastian Leonard served as a professor, chaplain and parish priest

Benedictine Father Sebastian Leonard, a monk of Saint Meinrad Archabbey in St. Meinrad, died on Sept. 21 at the monastery. He was 88.

The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Sept. 25. Burial followed at the Archabbey Cemetery.

Father Sebastian was a jubilarian of monastic profession, having celebrated 67 years of monastic profession. He was also a jubilarian of ordination, having celebrated 62 years of life and ministry as a priest

Father Sebastian was born on Sept. 4, 1931, in Indianapolis and grew up as a member of the former Holy Cross Parish.

He entered Saint Meinrad’s former Minor Seminary in 1944 and was invested as a novice at Saint Meinrad Archabbey on July 31, 1951.

Father Sebastian professed temporary vows on Aug. 1, 1952, and solemn vows on Sept. 8, 1955. He was ordained a priest on May 3, 1957.

Father Sebastian earned a bachelor’s degree in sacred theology in 1958 from The Catholic University of America, a master’s degree in modern European history in 1962 from Georgetown University, and a doctorate in modern history in 1968 from Oxford University in England.

At Saint Meinrad Archabbey, Father Sebastian served as choirmaster. At Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology, he served as an associate dean of students, director of Conley Hall and taught history during periods from 1971-83.

Father Sebastian then served as associate pastor of St. David Parish in Davie, Fla., from 1983-94. Starting in 1995, he began ministry as chaplain and professor at Canterbury School in New Milford, Conn., where he served for the next 20 years. Since 2015, he has resided in the monastery’s infirmary.

Father Sebastian is survived by a sister, Margaret Maxwell.

Memorial gifts may be sent to Saint Meinrad Archabbey, 200 Hill Drive, St. Meinrad, IN 47577. †