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)

BEIER, Richard J., 84, St. Boniface, Fulda, Nov. 25. Father of Denise Gehlhausen, Carla Libbert, Joyce Merkley, Daniel and Stephen Beier. Brother of Eleanor Schaeffer and Lorine Voegerl. Grandfather of 17. Great-grandfather of 32. Great-great-grandfather of one.

BUERGER, Mary Jane, 76, St. Anthony of Padua, Clarksville, Dec. 7. Mother of Katy Buerger, Mindy Dablow and Jaime Williams. Grandmother of three.

CHAMBERLIN, Janice K., 83, Our Lady of the Greenwood, Greenwood, Nov. 20. Mother of Renee Dougherty, Erin, Brian and Eric Chamberlin. Sister of David and Matthew McAllister. Grandmother of 10. Great-grandmother of seven.

FORNI, Angela T., 88, St. Jude, Indianapolis, Dec. 9. Mother of Beth Chalupa, Marie Glaspie, Jane, David and Tom Forni. Grandmother of eight. Great-grandmother of six.

GORGOL, Nancy C., 67, St. Malachy, Brownsburg, Dec. 5. Wife of Robert Gorgol. Mother of Joseph and Robert Gorgol. Sister of Jeanne Rollins, David and Edward Ormerod. Aunt and great-aunt of several.

HAGER, Barbara, 91, St. Bartholomew, Columbus, Nov. 19. Mother of Camilla Gehring, Michelle Hager-Harrison-Prado, Veronica Kagley, Bridget Mitchell, Damian and Tim Hager. Grandmother of nine. Great-grandmother of two.

HAMILTON, Elizabeth J., 96, St. Mary, Greensburg, Dec. 7. Sister of Margaret Hash, and Sharon, John and Thomas Tumilty.

HANDT, Teresa D., 62, St. Bartholomew, Columbus, Oct. 21. Sister of Sandra Allman, Linda Sneed, and Barbara, Ken and Leon Handt. Aunt and great-aunt of several.

HARRINGTON, Dennis P., 80, St. Barnabas, Indianapolis, Dec. 11. Father of Patricia Sinovic, Kathleen Zendejas, Colleen, Eileen, James, John and Kevin Harrington. Brother of Joan Rysavy, and James, Larry and Raymond Harrington. Grandfather of 21. Great-grandfather of one.

HEMMER, Paul J., 76, Prince of Peace, Madison, Dec. 4. Father of Paula Black, Teresa Carson, Brian, Eric and Gabriel Hemmer. Brother of Carolyn Koontz. Grandfather of five. Great-grandfather of two.

LAWRENCE, LaVerne, 91, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, New Albany, Dec. 5. Mother of Dr. Steve and Dr. Tom Lawrence. Step-sister of Irma Johnson. Grandmother of three. Great-grandmother of eight.

QUINN, Christopher S., 49, SS. Francis and Clare of Assisi, Greenwood, Dec. 7. Husband of Jennifer Quinn. Son of Quentin and Marilyn Quinn. Brother of Jeff Quinn.

RENNIE, James, 67, St. Paul, Tell City, Dec. 9. Husband of Beverly Rennie. Father of Brad and Mason Rennie. Brother of Kathryn Fisher, Rita Mahoney and Mary Sparrow.

ROSS, Barry S., 69, St. Anthony of Padua, Clarksville, Dec. 8. Husband of Anne Ross. Father of Tommy Kennady and Michael Ross. Brother of David Ross. Grandfather of two.

SAGE, Jr., Bill, 78, Prince of Peace, Madison, Dec. 8. Husband of Linda Sage. Father of Alison Sutton. Son of Margaret Sage. Brother of Sherri Sage.

SHANE, Irene G., 94, St. Louis, Batesville, Dec. 4. Mother of Annette Swanson, Daniel, Guy, Steven and Thomas Shane. Sister of Thomas Voegele. Grandmother of 17. Great-grandmother of 39. Great-great-grandmother of four.

SIMMERMEYER, Raymond E., 78, Holy Family, Oldenburg¸ Dec. 6. Husband of Edith Simmermeyer. Father of Carla Dwenger, Rebecca Hornerberger and Anthony Simmermeyer. Grandfather of seven. Great-grandfather of five.

SNYDER, Richard B., 78, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, New Albany, Dec. 5. Husband of Teresa Snyder. Father of Sandy Foley, Annette Kron and Kathy Striegel. Brother of Mary Fink. Grandfather of seven. Great-grandfather of three.

STEWART, Samuel J., 68, St. Ambrose, Seymour, Dec. 5. Husband of Billie Stewart. Father of Kara Schneider, Ashleigh and Ben Stewart. Brother of Sharon Burger, Anne Marie Goss, Sally Mogle, Mary Jane Prewitt and Steve Stewart. Grandfather of five.

STRONG, Amanda L., 87, Holy Angels, Indianapolis, Dec. 3. Mother of Cheryl Schields, Jerilyn Strong and Pamela Strong-Tender. Grandmother of four. Great-grandmother of four.

WALSMAN, Robert R., 101, St. Louis, Batesville, Dec. 10. Father of Robert and Thomas Walsman. Grandfather of five. Great-grandfather of seven.

WILLIAMS, Jean M., 91, St. Barnabas, Indianapolis, Dec. 8. Mother of Angela Garraux, Elaine Heiden and Michael Williams. Grandmother of 10. Great-grandmother of five.

WISSEL, Paul H., 88, Holy Family, Oldenburg, Nov. 3. Husband of Lois Wissel. Father of Ruth Cooper, Carey Giffen and Ann Wissel. Grandfather of four. Great-grandfather of two.

Providence Sister Thomas Jeanne Doriot served the Church as a teacher and journalist

Providence Sister Thomas Jeanne Doriot, a member of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods in St. Mary-of-the-Woods, died on Dec. 19, 2022, at Westridge Health Center in Terre Haute. She was 85.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Dec. 29 at the Church of the Immaculate Conception at the motherhouse in St. Mary-of-the-Woods. Burial followed at the sisters’ cemetery.

Sister Thomas Jeanne was born on Oct. 20, 1937, in Fort Wayne, Ind. She entered the Sisters of Providence on Feb. 2, 1960, and professed final vows on Aug. 15, 1967.

Sister Thomas Jeanne earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College and a master’s degree in English at Indiana University in Bloomington.

During her 63 years as a member of the Sisters of Providence, Sister Thomas Jeanne ministered in Catholic schools for five years in California, Illinois and Indiana. She also worked as a journalist at secular newspapers in Indiana and Illinois and at a diocesan newspaper in California. Beginning in 1983, she began ministering in a variety of pastoral settings in California and Nevada until she retired to the motherhouse in 2019.

In the archdiocese, Sister Thomas Jeanne served at the former Chartrand High School in Indianapolis from 1966-69 and at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College in St. Mary-of-the-Woods in public relations from 1972-75.

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. †