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)

BOLANDER, John A., 32, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, New Albany, July 4. Son of Albert Bolander, Jr. Brother of Rose Licata, Maria Stulz and Albert Bolander III. Grandson of Mary Bolander.

BOVA, Michael A., 20, St. Jude, Indianapolis, June 11. Son of Michael and Melissa Bova. Brother of Katelyn, Adam and Vincent Bova. Grandson of Mike and Margaret Bova. Great-grandson of Marguerite Bova.

BRAUN, Daniel G., 62, Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, Indianapolis, June 30. Son of Betty Jane Braun. Brother of David and Tim Braun.

DOOLITTLE, Joel L., 73, St. Lawrence, Lawrenceburg, June 19. Husband of Debora Doolittle. Father of Meghan, Bryan and Gary Doolittle. Grandfather of nine.

EAST, Bernard R., 88, St. Jude, Indianapolis, July 14. Father of Tammy Hanley, Tim and Tom East. Brother of Rita and Steve East. Grandfather of six. Great-grandfather of four.

EISFELDER, Tricia, 57, St. Joseph, Crawford County, June 23. Wife of Jeff Eisfelder. Mother of Cathy Clift and Josh Eisfelder. Daughter of Joe and Mary Jo Titkos. Sister of Tabbi Gibbons, Bridgett Pittmen. Tommie St. John, Tami Schwentk, Trina and Joey Titkos. Grandmother of four.

FULLEN, Paula A., 58, St. Malachy, Brownsburg, July 18. Mother of Jessica, Jonathan, Josh and Justin Fullen. Daughter of Wallace Blue. Sister of Michael and Patrick Blue. Grandmother of eight.

GREEN, Robert L., 89, St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Aurora, July 16. Husband of Marlene Green. Father of Judy Copper, Victoria Facemyre, Kathy Meyer, Keith Green, David and Donny Livingston. Grandfather of eight. Great-grandfather of 16.

GRUT, George W., 72, St. Mary, Lanesville, July 15. Husband of Rita Grut. Father of Rhonda Blanford and Joseph Grut. Brother of Virginia Smith and David Grut. Grandfather of eight. Great-grandfather of 13.

KLINE, Douglas R., 71, St. Pius X, Indianapolis, July 14. Husband of Mary Ann Kline. Father of Andrea Padilla, Megan, Sarah and Jon Kline. Brother of Barbara Becker, Kathleen McArdle and Kurt Kline. Grandfather of three.

KNABLE, Ann, 86, St. Mary, New Albany, July 17. Mother of Tammy Gibson, Denise Konkle, Diane Lilly and Donna Resch. Sister of Mary Ellen Sprigler, Delores Striegel, Marcella Stumler, Hilda Thieneman, David and Joe Gettlefinger. Grandmother of eight. Great-grandmother of 14.

LAGRANGE, Dorothy A., 92, St. Mark, Perry County, July 14. Wife of Ovalee LaGrange. Mother of Mary Carter, Sheila Kleeman, Debbie, Joan, Dave, John, Stan and Tim LaGrange. Grandmother of 18. Great-grandmother of 47.

MANUS, Mary Jane, 87, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, New Albany, July 15. Mother of Cheryl Gettelfinger, Sue Stauble and Mark Manus. Grandmother of five. Great-grandmother of 10.

MARTINEZ, Jose Luis Cruz, 49, Holy Spirit, Indianapolis, July 4. Father of Erick, Jose Luis and Sergio Cruz Galan. Son of Francisco Cruz Acosta and Pauline Martinez Garcia. Brother of several. Grandfather of three.

MCCOOL, William R., 77 St. Lawrence, Lawrenceburg, July 14. Husband of Christine McCool. Father of Kimberly Brooks-McCool and Patrick McCool. Son of Helen Zimmer. Brother of Suzanne Craig. Grandfather of four.

MEIRLE, Garry W., 81, Prince of Peace, Madison, July 19. Husband of Janet Meirle. Uncle and great-uncle of several.

MILLER, Patricia M., 63, St. Philip Neri, Indianapolis, July 6. Mother of Kathleen Bullock, Mitchell and Scott Miller. Sister of Mary Anne Wayne, Daniel, James and Michael Hagist. Grandmother of five.

NARDINA, Sara, 92, St. Jude, Indianapolis, June 15. Wife of Charles Nardina. Mother of Debbie Santerre, Lisa Smeltzer, Shawn Altman and Ron Blackgrave. Sister of Mary Auberle. Grandmother of six. Great-grandmother of three.

POTOSNAK, Richard, 59, St. Luke the Evangelist, Indianapolis, July 12. Husband of Kimberly Potosnak. Father of Olivia Hempleman and Paul Potosnak. Brother of Mari Ann Miller, Mari Beth Sylvster and Juli Williams.

RITZMANN, James M., 68, St. Lawrence, Lawrenceburg, July 14. Husband of Ann Hammond-Ritzmann. Father of Catherine, Charles, Edward and James Ritzmann. Grandfather of two.

ROGERS, Harvey, 82, St. Mary, Rushville, July 16. Husband of Donna Rogers. Father of Tiffany, Charles and Scott Rogers. Brother of Susie and Nicholas. Grandfather of two.

RUTH, Margaret E. (Wilson), 95, Sacred Heart, Indianapolis, July 14. Mother of Mary Feldhake, Ann and Michael Ruth. Grandmother of three.

SCHUTZ, Mary A., 89, St. Jude, Indianapolis, June 15. Mother of Sandy Garrett, Sarah Koors, Scott, Stan and Stephen Schutz. Grandmother of 18. Great-grandmother of 22.

SKINNER, Frank B., 87, St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower), Indianapolis, July 12. Father of Anne Marie Sutton, Andy, David and Doug Skinner. Brother of Mary Snyder and Lewis Skinner. Grandfather of nine.

SMALLWOOD, Phyllis (Becht), 85, St. Mary-of-the-Knobs, Floyd County, July 16. Mother of Cheryl Bigler, Donna Cain, Bernadette Mudd, Cynthia Niehoff, Karen Stacksteder, Nicholas Seng and Tony Smallwood. Sister of Mary Becht, Sandy Pinnick and Linda Steinbrenner. Grandmother of 16. Great-grandmother of 14. Great-great-grandmother of one.

STEWART, Krista K., 67, St. Mary, Greensburg, July 10. Wife of James Stewart. Mother of Brian and Dwayne Stewart. Daughter of Francis and Shirley Fetter. Sister of Kathy Jackson, Karey Miller and Scott Fetter. Grandmother of four.

STRACK, Margaret M. (Stahl), 85, St. Mark the Evangelist, Indianapolis, July 4. Mother of Andrea Carver, Theresa Chaniga, Jeanine Currans and David Strack. Sister of Yoko Boyer, Carolyn O’Donnell, James and William Stahl. Grandmother of six. Great-grandmother of one.

TIMBERLAKE, Lisa J., 60, St. Mary, Lanesville, July 11. Wife of Gary Timberlake. Mother of Nicholas Timberlake. Daughter of JoAnn Millner. Sister of Debora Bushau and David Brown.

TORLINE, Charles J., 85, Prince of Peace, Madison, July 19. Father of Brian, James, Joseph, Robert and William Torline. Brother of Dr. Phillip Torline. Grandfather of 17. Great-grandfather of 17.

WAGNER, Sharon M., 65, St. Pius X, Indianapolis, July 15. Wife of Chris Wagner. Stepdaughter of Donna Wagner. Sister of John, Mark, Mike, Deacon Rick and Steve Wagner. Stepsister of Cathy Fiala and Mark Crayton.

WOOD, Julia P., 98, Christ the King, Indianapolis, July 20. Mother of Melissa Wood Buechler, Carolyn Charles, Janie Richardt, Jennifer Wood Thompson, Ellen, Jackie, Julie, Jeremy, Joe and John Wood. Grandmother of 14. Great-grandmother of nine.

Providence Sister Adele Beacham served in Catholic schools, parish ministry

Providence Sister Adele Beacham, previously Sister Joseph Therese, a member of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods in St. Mary-of-the-Woods, died on

Aug. 7 at Mother Theodore Hall on the campus of her religious community’s motherhouse. She was 97.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Aug. 17 at the Church of the Immaculate Conception at the motherhouse in St. Mary-of-the-Woods. Burial followed at the sisters’ cemetery.

Sister Adele was born on March 9, 1926, in Toronto, Canada, and later lived with her family in Dayton, Ohio. She entered the Sisters of Providence on July 22, 1946, and professed final vows on Jan. 23, 1954.

Sister Adele earned a bachelor’s degree in education at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, a master’s degree in reading at Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee and a master’s degree in theological studies at Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology in St. Meinrad.

In her 77 years as a member of the Sisters of Providence, Sister Adele served for 30 years in Catholic education in schools in Illinois and Indiana. In 1979, she began ministering in parishes. Retiring from ministry in 1998, Sister Adele continued to volunteer in prison ministry. Beginning in 2020, she dedicated herself entirely to prayer.

In the archdiocese, Sister Adele served in Indianapolis at St. Anthony School from 1949-50, as a school supervisor in the archdiocesan Office of Catholic Education from 1969-72 and at the former Holy Cross Central School from 1972-79, and as a pastoral associate at St. Anne Parish in New Castle from 1979-82. At the motherhouse, she ministered as director of development from 1987-90.

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.

Providence Sister Helen Vinton was an environmental advocate for 43 years

Providence Sister Helen Vinton, a member of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods in St. Mary-of-the-Woods, died on Aug. 5 in New Iberia, La. She was 90.

A funeral service was held on Aug. 12 at the David Funeral Home in New Iberia. Burial followed at Our Lady of the Rosary Cemetery in Jeanerette, La.

Sister Helen was born on Dec. 12, 1932, in Gordon, Neb. She entered the Sisters of Providence on July 22, 1953, and professed final vows on Jan. 23, 1961.

Sister Helen earned a bachelor’s degree in English at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, a master’s degree in biology at St. Mary University in Winona, Minn.

A member of the Sisters of Providence for 70 years, Sister Helen served in Catholic education for nine years in schools in Illinois and Indiana. She then served on the staff of publications of the National Catholic Rural Life Conference in Des Moines, Iowa.

In 1980, Sister Helen began ministry with the Southern Mutual Help Association in Jeanerette, La., serving in it until her death In this organization, she was an advocate on environmental issues, assisted families involved in farming and fishing and sought to remedy problems related to pesticides in Louisiana agriculture.

In the archdiocese, Sister Helen served at St. Mary School (now St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School) in Richmond from 1958-64, and in Indianapolis at the former Ladywood School for Girls from 1964-70 and the former Ladywood-St. Agnes High School from 1970-75.

Sister Helen is survived by a sister, Donnie Connealy.

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. †