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)
ALTER, Mary Louise, 90, Christ the King, Indianapolis, Sept. 17.
BENDER, Kathy L., 68, St. Nicholas, Ripley County, Sept. 18. Wife of Michael Bender. Mother of Kristen Zaffiro. Sister of Rita Jacobs, Charles, Frank, Fred, Henry, Jeff, Ken, Len and Tom Eckstein. Grandmother of two.
BERTORELLO, David T., 48, St. Pius X, Indianapolis, Sept. 24. Husband of Laura Burton. Son of Frances (Schilling) Marek. Brother of Connie Hellyer, Elizabeth Hutson, Denny, Doug, Jim and Tom Fogal.
BOWRON, Catherine (Oechsli), 94, St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower), Sept. 14. Mother of Judy Good, Carol Bowron-Payne, Bev Bowron-Staley, Susan Bowron-White, Sharon Steinmetz, Patricia, Greg and Michael Bowron. Sister of Mary Shacklette, Bernard, Edward and Gilbert Oechsli. Grandmother of 16. Great-grandmother of five.
BROWN, Gerald F., 82, St. Mary, Lanesville, Sept. 24. Husband of Anna Marie Brown. Father of John and Paul Brown. Brother of Shirley Heishman and Melvin Brown. Grandfather of several.
BRYANT, Marilyn R., 78, St. Mary, Lanesville, Sept. 25. Wife of Bill Bryant. Mother of Marci Robertson and Clark Bryant. Grandmother of one.
EDWARDS, Gary S., 83, St. Vincent de Paul, Bedford, July 28. Husband of Doris Edwards. Father of Jane Harker, Elizabeth Young and Steve Edwards. Grandfather of four. Great-grandfather of one.
FROEHLING, Olivia, 92, St. Mary, Greensburg, Sept. 20. Mother of Kathy Grimes, Theresa Stapp and Richard Froehling. Sister of Dorine Wolsiefer, Mark and Omer Weintraut. Grandmother of 10. Great-grandmother of 19.
HAUNGS, Mary Theresa, 86, St. Vincent de Paul, Bedford, Sept. 13. Mother of John and Michael Haungs. Grandmother of three.
LAVENDER, John D., 28, St. Charles Borromeo, Bloomington, Sept. 10. Son of Troy and April Lavender. Brother of Angela, Nikki, Stephani and Dylan Lavender.
McGRAW, Kathleen, 69, St. Matthew the Apostle, Indianapolis, Sept. 26. Mother of Mary Elizabeth Dixon and Matthew McGraw. Stepmother of Patty and Annette McGraw. Sister of Sue Ann Thompson and Peggy Sneyd. Grandmother of three.
McKIBBEN, Daniel B., 61, St. Malachy, Brownsburg, Sept. 16. Husband of Patricia McKibben. Son of Robert and Mary (Dodd) McKibben. Brother of Sara Boren, Marilyn Enteman, Amanda Maguire, Brian, Marty and Michael McKibben.
MacWILLIAMS, Robert H., 83, St. Pius X, Indianapolis, Sept. 23. Husband of Mary Pat MacWilliams. Father of Maureen Alleman, Patricia Bowe, Nancy O’Reilly, Mark and Robert MacWilliams. Brother of Raphael MacWilliams. Grandfather of five.
REITMAN, Dolores M., 85, St. Ann, Jennings County, Sept. 16. Mother of Monica Anderson, Annette Trejo, Barbara Vander Hart, Denise Woodard, Anthony, Douglas, Jeffrey, Ronald and Thomas Reitman. Sister of Robert Ley. Grandmother of 24. Great-grandmother of 23.
RUSSELL, Beth Ann, 78, St. Jude, Indianapolis, Sept. 18. Mother of Mary Ball, Lisa Hudson and Brian Russell. Sister of Kathy Baker and Chuck Woerdeman. Grandmother of 11.
SCHUTTE, Robert L., 78, Holy Family, Oldenburg, Sept. 16. Husband of Donna (Ferkinhoff) Schutte. Father of Jenny Ilderton and Tricia Williamson. Brother of Eileen Stirn. Grandfather of four.
SELIG, John Milburn, 89, Prince of Peace, Madison, Sept. 25. Husband of Mary France (Lear) Selig. Father of Caroline Jones and John Selig. Brother of James Selig. Grandfather of two.
SENG, Maureen, 65, St. Mary, Lanesville, Sept. 11. Wife of Mike Seng. Mother of Lori Briscoe, Tricia Willis and David Seng. Sister of Dan, Sean and Tim McCarthy. Grandmother of six.
WRIGHT, David A., 50, St. Barnabas, Indianapolis, Sept. 25. Son of David and Geraldine Wright. Brother of Anne Chaney.
WUNDERLICH, George V., 95, St. Lawrence, Lawrenceburg, Sept. 20. Father of Anne Ravazzoli and Bill Wunderlich. Brother of Mary Mattingly and John Wunderlich. Grandfather of three. Great-grandfather of three.
Benedictine Brother Benedict Barthel lived as a monk of Saint Meinrad Archabbey for 76 years
Benedictine Brother Benedict Barthel, a monk of Saint Meinrad Archabbey in St. Meinrad, died on Sept. 15 in the monastery infirmary. He was 95.
The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Sept. 18. Burial followed at the Archabbey Cemetery.
Brother Benedict was a jubilarian of monastic profession, having celebrated 76 years of living his monastic vows.
Carl Frank Barthel was born on Nov. 3, 1919, in Evansville, Ind.
He was a student at Reitz Memorial High School in Evansville for two years before entering St. Placid Hall at Saint Meinrad, a former high school for men discerning a call to be a Benedictine brother.
He was invested as a novice in Saint Meinrad Archabbey on Feb. 9, 1938, and professed temporary vows on Feb. 10, 1939. He later professed solemn vows on March 21, 1973.
During his 76 years of monastic life, Brother Benedict worked in Saint Meinrad’s former blacksmith shop, gave clerical assistance at Abbey Press, worked with a variety of printing machines and in the monastery’s former Sculpture Shop. In his later years, he assisted at the Scholar Shop (the bookstore of Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology) and served as an assistant guestmaster, preparing worship aids for visitors to the Archabbey Church of Our Lady of Einsiedeln and welcoming them to the church.
He is survived by a brother, Holy Cross Brother Romard Barthel.
Memorial gifts may be sent to Saint Meinrad Archabbey, 200 Hill Drive, St. Meinrad, IN 47577.
Louisville Ursuline Sister Yvonne Moran ministered as an educator in Indiana, children’s writer
Ursuline Sister Yvonne Moran died on Sept. 8 at Mercy Sacred Heart nursing home in Louisville, Ky. She was 90.
The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Sept. 19 at the Motherhouse Chapel for the Ursuline Sisters of Louisville. Burial followed at St. Michael Cemetery in Louisville in a section designated for the Ursuline Sisters.
Sister Yvonne was born on Dec. 16, 1924, in Louisville.
She entered the Ursuline Sisters of Louisville in 1942, and professed final vows on July 5, 1947. She earned a bachelor’s degree in education from the former Ursuline College in Louisville.
During 73 years as a member of the Ursuline Sisters of Louisville, Sister Yvonne ministered as an educator for decades in Indiana, Kentucky and Mississippi. In the archdiocese, she taught at the former St. Mary School in Madison from 1962-63 and at Pope John XXIII School from 1967-68.
Sister Yvonne also wrote plays and poems for children that were published in Catholic journals and magazines. She also wrote and designed grade school activity books for the Boston-based Daughters of St. Paul Books & Media.
She is survived by a sister, Nancye Inman of Naples, Fla., and several nieces and nephews.
Memorial gifts may be sent to Ursuline Sisters, Mission Advancement Office, 3105 Lexington Road, Louisville, KY 40206.
Providence Sister Marie Victoria Podesta ministered as an educator for 54 years, including in Indiana
Providence Sister Marie Victoria Podesta died on Sept. 8 in Mother Theodore Hall at St. Mary-of-the-Woods. She was 92.
The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Sept. 11 at the Church of the Immaculate Conception at the motherhouse. Burial followed at the sisters’ cemetery.
Catherine Victoria Podesta was born on Nov. 29, 1922, in Chicago.
She entered the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods on July 22, 1944, and professed final vows on Jan. 23, 1952.
Sister Marie Victoria earned a bachelor’s degree from Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College in St. Mary-of-the-Woods, and a master’s degree from St. Louis University in St. Louis.
During her 71 years as a member of the Sisters of Providence, Sister Marie Victoria ministered in education for 54 years in schools in Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts and Texas.
In the archdiocese, Sister Marie Victoria served in Indianapolis at St. Philip Neri School in 1947, and at St. Joan of Arc School from 1947-50. She later ministered as the principal of St. Paul School in Sellersburg from 1963-69.
Her last assignment as an educator was at St. Mark School in Chicago. When she retired from education in 2004, she continued to minister in the city, serving as a tutor to children and assisting her fellow sisters.
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. †