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)

BAURLEY, William J., 83, St. Mary, North Vernon, Jan. 28. Husband of Kathlene Baurley. Father of Vera Lohner and Gordon Baurley. Brother of Theresa Spurr, Betty Wells, Butch and Irvin Baurley. Grandfather of five. Great-grandfather of one.

BECK, Thomas, 65, St. Michael the Archangel, Indianapolis, Feb. 2. Brother of Barbara Chapman, Patricia Coffman and Stephen Beck. Uncle and great-uncle of several.

BISHOP, Joseph A., 76, St. John Paul II, Sellersburg, Jan. 26. Husband of Ann Bishop. Father of Joanna Bergum, Laura Birnbaum, Alex, Mark and Todd Bishop. Brother of Marjorie Bolly, Caroline Embry, Anna May Scherzer, Charlotte Stith and Raymond Bishop. Grandfather of eight.

BOESING, Joseph, 89, Holy Family, New Albany, Jan. 28.

Husband of Pat Boesing. Father of Danny, Joe, Jr., and John Boesing. Brother of Marty Renn, Margaret Stublefield and Collette Zumstein. Grandfather of 10. Great-grandfather of five.

BRANNAN, Jonathan, 38, St. Simon the Apostle, Indianapolis, Jan. 20. Father of Charlotte, Elliott and Wyatt Brannan. Son of Jennifer Brannan. Brother of Megan and Andrew Brannan. Grandson of Ellen Brannan.

BRUNNER, Mary M., 90, St. Lawrence, Lawrenceburg, Jan. 19. Mother of Vickie Mathews, Dennis, John, Jr., Joseph, Kevin and Paul Brunner. Grandmother of 15. Great-grandmother of 28.

COX, Michael T., 65, St. Joan of Arc, Indianapolis, Feb. 2. Husband of Maureen Cox. Son of Judith Cox. Brother of Julie McCullough. Uncle and great-uncle of several.

CUERDON, Alfred, 97, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, New Albany, Feb. 5. Husband of Irene Cuerdon. Father of Elizabeth Navarro, Kathleen, Lauren and Donald Cuerdon. Stepfather of Kay Jacobs and Phillip Neely. Grandfather of seven. Great-grandfather of one.

CUMMINGS, Dorothy, 65, St. Mary, Lanesville, Jan. 19. Mother of Adriane and Richard Cummings. Sister of Marilyn Bennett, Susan Hester, Don and Mike Seng.

DEFFNER, Maryann, 90, St. Michael, Brookville, Feb. 2. Wife of Dale Deffner. Mother of Dee Dee Erhart, Cathy Feller, Debbie Krause, Karen Kuntz, Mike and Steve Deffner. Sister of Rita Apsley, Eileen Hyde, Janie Stivers and Ed Ortman. Grandmother of 19. Great-grandmother of 44.

DILLANE, Anna L., 101, St. Mark the Evangelist, Indianapolis, Feb. 2. Mother of Terrie Dillane and Susan Powell. Sister of Ethel Gahimer. Grandmother of six.

EFFINGER, Margaret Mary (Hill), 86, Prince of Peace, Madison, Feb. 7. Wife of William Effinger. Mother of Diane Steveley and Vicki Stuckwisch. Sister of Betty Henderson, Wilma Ramseyer, Al and Jerry Hill. Grandmother of five. Great-grandmother of five.

GODDING, Nellie, 84, St. Ambrose, Seymour, Jan. 22. Mother of John, Louis and Peter Godding. Grandmother of five. Great-grandmother of four.

HEILERS, Charles R., 86, St. Ann, Jennings County, Jan. 26. Husband of Sara Heilers. Father of Brian, Chris and Michael Heilers. Grandfather of seven. Great-grandfather of seven.

HIATT, Thurman B., 81, All Saints, Dearborn County, Feb. 1. Husband of Carol Hiatt. Father of Christina, James, John and Matthew Hiatt. Grandfather of 10. Great-grandfather of seven.

HIGDON, Lawrence, 74, American Martyrs, Scottsburg, Jan. 29. Father of Kimberly Lawrence, Lisa McClanahan, Stephanie Provines and Laura Vance. Brother of Norma Jean Burress, Rose Jones, Jim, Raymond and Walter Higdon. Grandfather of 18. Great-grandfather of 13.

HIRT, Richard E., 67, Holy Family, Oldenburg, Feb. 3. Brother of Doris McKee, Darlene, Donna and Dennis Hirt. Uncle and great-uncle of several.

JAMES, Gerald A., 74, St. Augustine, Leopold, Jan. 25. Brother of Phyllis Hagedorn and Brenda James. Uncle of one. Great-uncle of one.

LAMPING, Jerome M., 86, Holy Family, Oldenburg, Jan. 20. Wife of Alice Lamping. Father of Brenda Meyer and Brian Lamping. Brother of Irene Meyer, August, Carl, Cletus and John Lamping. Grandfather of three. Great-grandfather of one.

LAUCK, Thomas, 77, SS. Francis and Clare of Assisi, Greenwood, Jan. 28. Husband of Sheila Lauck. Father of Elizabeth Godfrey and Matthew Lauck. Brother of Peggy Delaney, Gary, George and Rick Lauck. Grandfather of one.

MUSCATELLO, Daniel B., 79, St. Mary-of-the-Knobs, Floyd County, Jan. 23. Husband of Joyce Muscatello. Father of Danielle Cerbin and Deanna Kempinski. Grandfather of seven.

MYERS, Katherine, 86, Christ the King, Indianapolis, Jan. 24. Mother of Daniel and Michael Myers. Sister of Anita Witham. Grandmother of three.

O’NEILL, Vilma, 85, St. Bartholomew, Columbus, Jan. 13. Wife of Dennis O’Neil. Mother of Erin, Leslie and Dennis O’Neill II. Sister of Edward Vargo. Grandmother of two. Great-grandmother of one.

PEARSON, Martha, 98, SS. Francis and Clare of Assisi, Greenwood, Jan. 22. Mother of Ann Emery and Ted Pearson. Grandmother of six. Great-grandmother of 10.

PINSONNEAULT, Elizabeth, 87, St. Bartholomew, Columbus, Feb. 2. Mother of Elaine DeClue, Cathy Schooler and Dan Pinsonneault. Sister of Bob Parent and Father Mike Parent. Grandmother of six. Great-grandmother of eight.

RIEGER, Donald J., 76, St. Patrick, Indianapolis, Jan. 30. Father of Laura and Joseph Rieger. Brother of Ronald Rieger. Grandfather of one.

SCHAEFER, Ruth C. (Windholtz), 91, All Saints, Dearborn County, Feb. 8. Mother of Jen, Julie, Jerry, Jim and Joe Schaefer and Jeanette Wilder. Grandmother of six. Great-grandmother of one.

SCHROEDER, Donald F., 90, St. Ambrose, Seymour, Feb. 6. Husband of Patricia Schroeder. Father of Gary, Greg, Jeff and Mike Schroeder. Grandfather of eight. Great-grandfather of two.

SCHWERING, Phyllis A., 84, St. Mary, Greensburg, Feb. 2. Mother of Michael and Stephen Schwering. Sister of Robert Hardebeck. Grandmother of three. Great-grandmother of one.

SOMMERS, James E., 85, St. Jude, Indianapolis, Jan. 21. Father of Catherine Wycoff, John and Mark Sommers. Brother of Helen Kieffer, Theresa Mathis, Mary Schrader Gephart and Raymond Sommers. Grandfather of seven. Great-grandfather of two.

WALTON, Thomas, 89, St. Mary, New Albany, Jan. 16. Husband of Donna Walton. Father of Tami Grable, Nancy Hoolihan, Sue Ann Mattox and David Walton. Brother of Pat Peterson. Grandfather of 10. Great-grandfather of seven.

WELCH, Barbara E., 84, St. Joan of Arc, Indianapolis, Jan. 14. Mother of Justina Moran, Billy, Brendan, Connor and Tim Welch. Sister of George Seal. Grandmother of 10. Great-grandmother of nine.

WRIGHT, Margaret, 79, St. John Paul II, Sellersburg, Dec. 31. Sister of Alice and Michael Truitt. Aunt, great-aunt and great-great-aunt of several.

YATSKO, Pauline M., 92, St. Luke the Evangelist, Indianapolis, Jan. 31. Aunt and great-aunt of several.

Providence Sister Clelia Cecchitti served in Catholic schools, at bishops conference

Providence Sister Clelia Cecchetti, previously Sister Rosina, a member of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods in St. Mary-of-the-Woods, died on Feb. 3

at the Gibson Family Center in Terre Haute. She was 86.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Feb. 9 at the Church of the Immaculate Conception at the motherhouse in St. Mary-of-the-Woods. Burial followed at the sisters’ cemetery.

Sister Clelia was born on April 22, 1937, in Brooklyn, N.Y. She entered the Sisters of Providence on Feb. 2, 1959, and professed final vows on Aug. 15, 1966.

Sister Clelia earned a bachelor’s degree in music education at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College and a master’s degree in music education at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind.

In her 65 years as a member of the Sisters of Providence, Sister Clelia served for 24 years

in Catholic education in schools in Indiana, Maryland and Washington, D.C. She later served in offices of her community at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington and in the Secretariat for Divine Worship of the

U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Before retiring to the motherhouse, Sister Clelia ministered in a parish in Maryland for eight years.

In the archdiocese, Sister Clelia served at the former St. Ann and Sacred Heart schools in Terre Haute from 1963-66, the former St. Joseph and St. Ann schools in Indianapolis and at St. Malachy School in Brownsburg from 1966-67, and at the business office of the motherhouse from 1989-94.

Sister Clelia is survived by a sister, Laura Bueche of Johnson City, Tenn., and three brothers, George Cecchetti of Arlington, Va.; Ralph Cecchetti of Cary, N.C.; and Richard Cecchetti of Manasquan, N.J.

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. †