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)
DALY, Mary Louise (Stoke), 86, St. Mark the Evangelist, Indianapolis, Aug. 31. Mother of Lee Ann, Dr. John, Dr. Joseph and Dr. Robert Daly. Grandmother of 12. Great-grandmother of four.
DILLANE, John Michael, 87, St. Mary, Indianapolis, Aug. 27. Brother of Kathleen Kremer. Uncle of several.
FENSKE, Dorothy, 95, Nativity, Indianapolis, Aug. 25. Mother of David, Edward and George Fenske. Sister of Mary Ruth Jackson and Alice Riley. Grandmother of nine. Great-grandmother of three.
FONTANILLA, Daniel M., 69, St. Michael the Archangel, Indianapolis, Aug. 13. Husband of Joyce (Duyanen) Fontanilla. Father of Raquel Miguel and John Fontanilla. Son of Balbina Fontanilla. Brother of Lita, Mely and Ruding Fontanilla.
GRIBBINS, Roberta Diane Lee, 57, St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower), Indianapolis, Aug. 12. Wife of Tom Gribbins. Mother of Becky Berry, April Roth and Trina Gribbins. Sister of Brenda Fowler. Grandmother of six.
HEITKEMPER, John J., 93, St. Mary, Lanesville, Aug. 26. Husband of Mildred (Weyer) Heitkemper. Father of Rosalee Elble, Linda Hubbard, Donna Hublar, Norma Menges, Ruth Shumaker, Mary Wismann, Guy, Jim and Robert Heitkemper. Brother of Dorothy Heitkemper. Grandfather of 19. Great-grandfather of 20. Step-great-grandfather of six.
HIGGINS, Virginia, 83, Holy Family, New Albany, Sept. 1. Wife of William Higgins. Mother of Diane Laslie, Karen Pearce, Cathy, Denny and Mickey Higgins. Grandmother of 15. Great-grandmother of 22.
KLEESE, Madeline, 88, St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower), Indianapolis, Aug. 16. Wife of Edward Kleese. Mother of Ed and Mike Kleese. Sister of Claire, Emily, Julie and Sarah Kleese. Grandmother of six.
LITTEN, Carl A., St. Charles Borromeo, Bloomington, Aug. 4. Husband of Diane (Cason) Litten. Father of Lori Cardinal, Lisa Gates, Carla Harvey, Larry and Todd Litten. Grandfather of 10.
Franciscan Sister Paulita Schuman served in Papua New Guinea, helped found religious order
Franciscan Sister Paulita Schuman died on Aug. 26 at Christ Hospital in Cincinnati. She was 81.
The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Aug. 29 at the motherhouse chapel of the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis in Oldenburg. Burial followed at the sisters’ cemetery.
The former Alvera Rose Schuman was born on May 30, 1927, in St. Leon.
She entered the Oldenburg Franciscan community on Sept. 8, 1945, and professed her final vows on Aug. 12, 1951.
Sister Paulita was a teacher for 26 years before becoming a missionary in Papua New Guinea for 25 years.
She taught at St. Joseph School in Shelbyville, the former Holy Family School in Oldenburg and Catholic grade schools staffed by the sisters in Illinois, Ohio and Michigan.
In 1973, Sister Paulita began her ministry in Papua New Guinea, where she taught adult education and literacy. She also served as coordinator of Our Mother of Good Shepherd Parish in Mendi.
During her last 11 years in New Guinea, Sister Paulita was instrumental in forming a native sisters’ religious community presently known as the Franciscan Sisters of Mary.
She returned to the United States in 1998 and retired to the motherhouse in Oldenburg.
Surviving are two brothers, Leroy and Albert Schuman of West Harrison, and two sisters, Lucille Roell of Harrison, Ohio, and Franciscan Sister Mary Inez Schuman of Oldenburg.
Memorial gifts may be sent to the Sisters of St. Francis, P.O. Box 100, Oldenburg, IN 47036. †