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)

BANET, Robert, Jr., 71, St. Mary, Lanesville, Sept. 3. Husband of Tere Banet. Father of Bethany Banet. Brother of Sheree Banet, Debby McDaniel and Vickie Meredith. Grandfather of two.

DICKEY, Gerald, 83, St. Roch, Indianapolis, Oct. 4. Husband of MaryAnn Dickey. Father of Lisa Babb, John and Thomas Dickey. Brother of George Ashworth. Grandfather of eight. (correction)

DONLAN, Mary Lou, 89, Holy Spirit, Indianapolis, Oct. 8. Mother of Carol Hill, Kathy Means, Jim, John and T.C. Donlan. Grandmother of 18. Great-grandmother of 16.

ECKSTEIN, Carol J., 91, St. Nicholas, Ripley County, Oct. 8. Mother of Kathy Johnson, Anita Wallace, Darrell, Greg, Mark, Rodney and Steve Eckstein. Sister of Laurene Britton, Shirley Campbell and Daren Lattire. Grandmother of 20. Great‑grandmother of 30. Great-great-grandmother of 13.

EFINGER, Joyce, 83, St. Paul, Tell City, Oct. 16. Wife of James Efinger. Mother of Jane Efinger-Hayden and Barbara Walling. Sister of Janet Tillman. Grandmother of two. Great‑grandmother of five.

ELDER, Barry L., 64, St. Paul, Tell City, Oct. 20. Husband of Mary Elder. Father of Ern and Eric Elder. Brother of Allyson Cravens and Joey Elder.

FOGARTY, Ann M. (Barry), 79, Prince of Peace, Madison, Oct. 14. Mother of Maureen Banning, Margaret Daly, Kathleen Paz and John Fogarty. Sister of Peggy Catanzaro. Grandmother of eight.

GERBERICK, Alma P., 95, St. Jude, Indianapolis, Oct. 7. Mother of Sandy Jackson, Phyllis Lance, Donna Schultz, Randall and Steven Ritter. Sister of Ed Maxwell. Grandmother of seven. Great-grandmother of eight. Great-great-grandmother of two.

HESS, Frances, 100, St. Mary, Lanesville, Oct. 4. Mother of Marilyn Fuhrman, Shirley Jones, Larry, Robert and Tony Hess. Grandmother of 19. Great-grandmother of 42. Great-great-grandmother of two.

Johnson, Julia M. (Eck), 48, Our Lady of the Greenwood, Greenwood, Oct. 18. Wife of Don Johnson. Mother of Caitlin, Jacob and Nate Johnson. Daughter of Richard and Patricia Eck. Sister of Dan, Kevin and Randy Eck.

JOHNSON, Kenneth L., 66, St. Augustine, Jeffersonville, Oct. 15. Brother of Dorothy Kelly, Donald Johnson and Mike Lomangino. Uncle of several.

MCGILL, Mary K., 82, St. Thomas More, Mooresville, Sept. 30. Mother of Janet Weeks and Paula Wilson. Sister of Gloria Gramme. Grandmother of three. Great‑grandmother of two.

MCGUINNESS, Nicholas, 40, St. Pius X, Indianapolis, Oct. 6. Son of Bernie and Michele McGuinness. Brother of Courtney Cooper, Shannon Kennedy and Bernie McGuinness, III. Uncle of several.

MEINERS, Joseph, 93, Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Jeffersonville, Oct. 2. Father of Catherine Bremmer, Lee Phelps. Teresa Weber, Charles and William Meiners. Grandfather of 10.

O’BRIEN, Charles C., 85, Our Lady of the Greenwood, Greenwood, Oct. 3. Husband of Rosemary O’Brien. Father of Kelly O’Brien Gartenhaus and John O’Brien. Stepfather of Kim Lain Cramer, Doug and Michael Lain. Brother of Denise Fruchtnicht, Monica O’Brien and Linda Ricke. Grandfather of five. Step‑grandfather of six.

PENNINGTON, Robert D., 67, St. Mary, North Vernon, Oct. 16. Husband of Carol Pennington. Father of Brandy Rodriguez and John Pennington. Brother of Hope Deppe and Jerry Pennington. Grandfather of two.

PETRONIE, Angeline, 75, St. Jude, Indianapolis, Oct. 8. Wife of Edward Petronie. Mother of Sara Keen, Jennifer Sheard and Michael Petronie. Grandmother of three.

PURDY, Sr., Robert D., 86, St. Vincent de Paul, Bedford, Oct. 13. Father of Tina Dixon, Sherri Hoggatt, Suzanne and Robert Purdy, Jr. Brother of Vivian McKee and William Purdy. Grandfather of eight. Great-grandfather of 15.

RAY, Charles W., 95, St. Vincent de Paul, Bedford, Oct. 15. Father of Charla, Elizabeth and Charles Ray. Grandfather of five. Great‑grandfather of five.

WILHELM, Earl L., 77, All Saints, Dearborn County, Oct. 9. Husband of Roberta Wilhelm. Father of Kelly Baker, Victoria, Earl and Jacob Wilhelm. Brother of Judy Kraus, Bob and John Wilhelm. Grandfather of four.

YOUNG, Patricia, 76, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Richmond, Oct. 17. Mother of Wendy Bane, Beth Carter, Cynthia Ropp, Drew, John and Mark Duncan. Stepmother of Christina Embry. Sister of Mary Barth and Nancy Manning. Grandmother of 18. Great‑grandmother of nine.

Providence Sister Dorothy Drobis served in Catholic schools for 40 years

Providence Sister Dorothy Drobis (formerly Sister Irene Therese) died on Oct. 15 at Mother Theodore Hall at the motherhouse of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods in St. Mary-of-the-Woods. She was 88.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, a virtual funeral service was held. Burial followed at the sisters’ cemetery.

Sister Dorothy was born on Feb. 20, 1932, in Chicago. She entered the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods on Feb. 2, 1952, and professed final vows on Aug. 15, 1959. Sister Dorothy earned a bachelor’s and a master’s degree at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Ill.

During her 68 years as a member of the Sisters of Providence, Sister Dorothy spent 40 years as an educator in schools in Illinois, Indiana, North Carolina and Oklahoma. In the archdiocese, she served at St. Joan of Arc School in Indianapolis from 1956-58. After returning to live at the motherhouse, Sister Dorothy ministered as coordinator of health care transportation from 2000-06. In 2016, she committed herself entirely to prayer.

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. †