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)

BOOK, Chad, 46, St. Augustine, Jeffersonville, Feb. 6. Father of Analise, Josephine and Julia Book. Son of Christopher and Barbara Book. Brother of Mark Book.

BOWE, Elizabeth E., 91, St. John Paul II, Sellersburg, March 5. Mother of Denise and Joyce Banet, Janice Butler, Julie Schindler-Withers, Dennis and Steven Bowe. Sister of Agnes Shirley, Darlene Stoeffler and Vincent Jacobi. Grandmother of 11. Great‑grandmother of 15.

BROWNE, Larry M., 75, Our Lady of Lourdes, Indianapolis, Feb. 28. Husband of Patricia Browne. Father of Ben, Bill and Bob Browne. Grandfather of seven. Great‑grandfather of nine.

CHAVEZ, Reynaldo, 75, St. Lawrence, Indianapolis, March 8. Husband of Karen Sue Chavez. Father of Jennifer Crawford and Lisa Chavez. Brother of Elizabeth, Lillian, Medy, Antonio, Edward and Ronald. Grandfather of three.

DOWD, Steven, 62, Our Lady of Lourdes, Indianapolis, March 5. Father of Mary Hazzard and Katie Dowd. Brother of Al, Bob, Gary and Joe Dowd.

FANNON, Francis, 69, St. Luke the Evamgelist, Indianapolis, March 3. Husband of Susana Fannon. Father of Francis Fannon. Brother of Christine Fannon. Grandfather of three.

GAITHER, Steven A., 65, St. Roch, Indianapolis, March 9. Husband of Jane Gaither. Father of Allison Horsley, Samantha, Stephanie, Adam and Alex Gaither. Son of Donna Gaither. Brother of Cherie, Bill, Don, John, Mike and Tom Gaither. Grandfather of eight.

GRAF, Theodore L., 87, St. John Paul II, Sellersburg, March 11. Husband of Marcella Graf. Father of Becky Graf Mayfield, Ray and Rick Graf. Brother of Juanita Popp and Virginia Townsend. Grandfather of 10. Great‑grandfather of five.

HARMEYER, Mae, 81, St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Bright, March 2. Mother of Karen Janson, Kimberly McFarland and David Harmeyer. Grandmother of nine. Great-grandmother of six.

HARRELL, Mary C., 91, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Richmond, March 7. Wife of George Harrell. Mother of Kevin, Mark and Timothy Harrell. Sister of William Haller. Grandmother of seven. Great‑grandmother of 12.

HOCHADEL, Elizabeth, 73, St. Mary, New Albany, March 5.

HOFFMAN, Clement, 91, Prince of Peace, Madison, March 6. Husband of Joann Hoffman. Father of Judy Gayle, Kathy Stivers and Sara Stockdale. Grandfather of three.

HOLZER, Lois A. (McIntire), 83, St. Barnabas, Indianapolis, March 11. Mother of Julie Daeger, Kara and Lori Miller and Greg Holzer. Sister of David McIntire. Grandmother of 12. Great-grandmother of eight.

KRUER, Jacqueline L. (Stewart), 73, St. Mary-of-the-Knobs, Floyd County, March 13. Wife of Dennis Kruer. Mother of Elizabeth Mosier, Cheryl Smith, Deborah Zoeller, Dennis and Michael Kruer. Grandmother of 10. Great‑grandmother of two.

LEE, Willet L., 68, St. John Paul II, Sellersburg, March 2. Husband of Janet Lee. Father of Jeffrey Lee. Brother of Sally Lee.

MEIMAN, Catherine F. (Falkenstein), 70, St. Augustine, Jeffersonville, Jan. 26. Mother of Justin Meiman. Sister of Frank and Paul Falkenstein.

MILLER, Jeanette M., 51, Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Indianapolis, March 8. Wife of Bruce Miller. Mother of Gianna and Lauren Miller. Daughter of Patricia Poinsatte. Sister of Julie Nill and Phillip Poinsatte.

NEVILLE, Cynthia, 69, St. Agnes, Nashville, Feb. 3.

PAUL, Larry D., 76, St. Matthew the Apostle, Indianapolis, March 3. Father of Michael Paul. Grandfather of two.

PAULOSKI, James E., 89, Christ the King, Indianapolis, Feb. 25. Husband of Eleanor Pauloski. Father of Elyse Turula, Providence Sister Pam, James and Jeffrey Pauloski. Brother of Dolores Finn and John Pauloski. Grandfather of six.

SCHMITT, Vivian L., 94, St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower), Indianapolis, Feb. 25.

SMITH, Marie, 96, St. Paul, Tell City, Feb. 27. Mother of Mary Thomasson. Grandmother of two. Great‑grandmother of five.

SNYDER, Anna M., 77, St. Peter, Franklin County, March 12. Sister of Clara Clark, Anthony and Frank Riehle. Aunt of two.

SPEARING, Mary (Schott), 90, Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Indianapolis, March 2. Wife of Thomas Spearing. Mother of Joan Dudash, Carol Leonberger, Phyllis Shea, Edmund and Paul Spearing. Grandmother of 12. Great‑grandmother of three.

VANNICE, Lawrence G., III, 73, Immaculate Heart of Mary, Indianapolis, Jan. 13. Husband of Ann Vannice. Father of Andrew, Charles, Jack, Nathan and Quentin. Brother of Katherine, Thaddeus and William. Grandfather of two.

WATSON, Marjorie F., 87, St. Luke the Evangelist, Indianapolis, Feb. 27. Wife of Richard Watson. Mother of Cathy Beuoy and Betty Vandivier. Grandmother of five. Great-grandmother of five.

WERNER, Thomas J., 78, St. Anthony of Padua, Morris, March 10. Father of Lisa Marksberry, Amy Prickel, Jeff, John, Thomas and Tony Werner. Brother of Mary Grace Bischoff, Dottie Gillman, Rosie Lohman and Alean Sanders. Grandfather of 18. Great‑grandfather of one.

WHITWORTH, Thomas S., 80, St. Augustine, Jeffersonville, March 8. Husband of Darlene Whitworth. Father of Melodie Fridley, Douglas and Stephen Whitworth. Brother of Douglas and Jack Whitworth. Grandfather of five. Great‑grandfather of one.

WILLIAMS, Evelyn, 95, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Richmond, March 7. Mother of Linda Price, Janet Shelton, Patricia Sparks, Rebecca Unger, Ted and Tim Williams. Sister of Jane Johnson, Elmer, Fred and Howard Turner. Grandmother of 11. Great-grandmother of 15.

WILLIAMSON, Therese, 82, St. Augustine, Jeffersonville, March 5. Mother of Mark Williamson. Grandmother of two.

Providence Sister Martha Steidl served on Saint Mary-of-the-Woods music faculty

Providence Sister Martha Steidl died on March 12 at Providence Hall at St. Mary-of-the-Woods. She was 92.

The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on March 22 at the Church of the Immaculate Conception at the motherhouse in St. Mary‑of-the-Woods. Burial followed at the sisters’ cemetery.

Martha Ann Steidl was born on April 26, 1925, in Paris, Ill. She entered the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods on July 22, 1945, and professed final vows on Jan. 23, 1953.

Sister Martha earned a bachelor’s degree in music from Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College in St. Mary-of-the-Woods, and master’s degrees from the Catholic University of America in Washington and the University of Saint Mary of the Lake in Mundelein, Ill., in music and religious studies respectively.

During her 73 years as a member of the Sisters of Providence, Sister Martha ministered for 25 years as a teacher in Catholic grade schools and high schools in Indiana, Illinois and Washington D.C. She joined the music faculty of Saint Mary‑of-the-Woods College in 1973, and retired there in 2001. She served as she was able as an organist in the sisters’ Church of the Immaculate Conception. In 2015, she dedicated herself completely to prayer.

In addition to her time at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, Sister Martha served in the archdiocese at Cathedral High School in Indianapolis from 1950-52.

Sister Martha is survived by two brothers: Frank Steidl of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, and Walter Steidl of Cookeville, Tenn.

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. †