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)
ADAMS, Mary E., 76, St. Pius X, Indianapolis, Aug. 29. Wife of John Adams. Mother of Johnny IV, Patrick, Stephen and Tim Adams. Sister of James and Stephen Roesinger. Grandmother of nine.
ARCEO, Jeremias E., 95, Holy Spirit, Indianapolis, June 23. Father of Lina, Lourdes, Philip and Rupert Arceo. Brother of Joselito Arceo. Grandfather of three. Great-grandfather of one.
BALTAZAR PASCUAL, Pascual, 42, St. Ambrose, Seymour, Aug. 20. Son of Sebastian Baltazar. Brother of Melecia Felipe, Ana and Tomas Baltazar Pascual.
BAUMANN, Alfred E., 99, St. John Paul II, Sellersburg, Aug. 25. Husband of Clara Baumann. Father of Barb Duncan, Janet Lee and Mike Coleman. Grandfather of two. Great-grandfather of four.
BIRCHLER, Jerry L., 86, St. Paul, Tell City, Aug. 21. Father of Leah Al-Abed, Brett, Dion, Kirk and Scott Birchler. Brother of Patsy Zellers and Ronnie Birchler. Grandfather of 16. Great-grandfather of 14.
BLACK, Ann, 78, St. John the Baptist, Osgood, June 3. Sister of Frank, Larry and Ronnie Foreman.
BLEDSOE, Anthony, 70, St. Roch, Indianapolis, Aug. 5. Brother of Therese Bippus, Rosemary Coleman, Stella Hannon, Grace Massing, Patricia McDonald, Mary Wheeler and Clinton Bledsoe, Jr. Uncle of several.
BRISCOE, Marvin T., 84, St. Bernard, Frenchtown, Aug. 4. Father of Denise Liebert, Joshua, Kevin and Marvin Briscoe, Jr. Brother of Priscilla Gettelfinger, Helen Ward, Nancy, Donald and James Briscoe. Grandfather of seven. Great-grandfather of one.
BRUGGEMAN, Bradley A., 58, St. Mark, Perry County, Aug. 22. Husband of Kim Bruggeman. Father of Kelsey Granderson and Sierra Bruggeman. Son of Henry and Margaret Bruggeman. Brother of Angie Smith.
CRIPPS, David C., 62, St. Simon the Apostle, Indianapolis, August 22. Husband of Joy Cripps. Father of Sydney and Jenson Cripps. Brother of Angela McCafferty.
CURRY, Caroline, 79, St. Roch, Indianapolis, July 8. Mother of Anne Coleman, Christina Mathis and Donald Curry. Sister of Jani Griffin, Millie Livingston, Cathy Tupper, Bud, Donald and Tom Brunson. Grandmother of five. Great-grandmother of three.
DETHY, Cletus A., 91, St. Mary-of-the-Knobs, Floyd County, Aug. 16. Husband of Jean Dethy. Father of Beth Ottersbach, Susan Stippler and Glenn Dethy. Grandfather of eight. Great-grandfather of three.
EUBANKS, William, 74, St. Pius X, Indianapolis, Aug. 23. Husband of Joyce Eubanks.
GALLAGHER, Heather K. (Essex), 60, Sacred Heart of Jesus, Indianapolis, Aug. 22. Wife of Joseph Gallagher. Mother of Lela Mathias, Ivy, Joseph and Michael Gallagher. Daughter of Judith Essex. Sister of Ann Cox and Richard Essex II. Grandmother of two.
GOMMEL, Jr., Harold E., 75, SS. Francis and Clare of Assisi, Greenwood, July 27. Husband of Barbara Gommel. Father of Elizabeth Shelley. Brother of Marcia Parrott. Grandfather of three.
HANDLON, Theresa A., 57, Prince of Peace, Madison, Aug. 21. Wife of Eric Handlon. Mother of Emily Handlon. Sister of Elizabeth Fleming, Mary Vest, Charles and Scott Kloss. Step-sister of Randall Hardy.
HAWKS, Sharon, 82, St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower), Indianapolis, July 5. Mother of Tammy Donohoo, Christine Huff, Mindy Walker, Larry Neal, Rugger and Timothy Smith. Grandmother of 15. Great-grandmother of nine.
HOFFMAN, Marie P., 82, St. Patrick, Indianapolis, Aug. 12. Mother of Steve Hoffman. Sister of David and Stephen. Grandmother of three.
MASCARI II, John A., 64, St. Lawrence, Indianapolis, Aug. 16. Father of John Mascari III. Brother of Elizabeth Mascari and Anne Wade.
MCCOY, Dwayne L., 52, Holy Spirit, Indianapolis, July 12. Husband of Beth McCoy. Father of Abbey and Avery McCoy. Son of Darlene McCoy. Brother of Heather Perry and Craig McCoy.
MOEBS, David S., 84, St. Roch, Indianapolis, Aug. 9. Father of Heather Frank, Michele Mateja, Brian, Gregory and Matthew Moebs. Grandfather of 13.
NIESSE, Henry, 79, St. John Paul II, Sellersburg, Aug. 19. Husband of Leneita Niesse. Father of Brian, David and Mark Niesse. Brother of Ann Webber. Grandfather of four.
O’BRIEN, Thomas P., 95, St. Lawrence, Indianapolis, Aug. 17. Father of Kathleen Allgood and Dorothy Miller. Brother of Barbara Minatel.
PERRY-SHAKE, Pamela L., 73, SS. Francis and Clare of Assisi, Greenwood, Aug. 13. Wife of Greg Shake. Mother of April Alvey. Sister of Deborah Gipson. Grandmother of four.
RYBICKI, Joyce L., 84, St. Lawrence, Lawrenceburg, Aug. 17. Mother of Dina Eubanks and Michelle Stonesifer. Grandmother of four. Great-grandmother of four.
SCHEELE, Mary C., 95, Holy Family, Oldenburg, Aug. 22. Sister of Clara Becker, Alice Stenger and Irene Tebbe. Aunt of several.
SCHRADER, Bernard, 79, St. Malachy, Brownsburg, Aug. 24. Husband of Jacqueline Schrader. Father of Jessica Valdez and Kristen Schrader.
SITZMAN, Robert E., 92, St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower), Indianapolis, Aug. 24. Husband of Mary Sitzman. Father of Mary Hunt, James, Robert, Stephen and William Sitzman. Brother of Dorothy Weidekamp and Richard Sitzman. Grandfather of 14. Great-grandfather of 18.
SMITH, Delbert K., 81, St. Bernard, Frenchtown, Aug. 24. Father of Sylvia Rehmel, Delbert II and George Smith. Brother of Herschel Smith. Grandfather of six. Great-grandfather of eight.
SMITH, Margaret, 89, St. Michael, Bradford, Aug. 24. Mother of Karen Funk, Ken and Kevin Smith. Sister of Carolyn Schuler. Grandmother of four. Great-grandmother of four.
SORG, Doris A., 93, Holy Spirit, Indianapolis, June 11. Aunt and great-aunt of several.
STANLEY, Shirley, 87, St. Paul, Tell City, Aug. 19. Mother of Lisa Etienne, Tina Sitzman and Debbie Stanley. Sister of Norma Young, James and Pat Howe and Bernard Lahee. Grandmother of six. Great-grandmother of five.
TILLMAN, Thomas L., 83, St. Lawrence, Lawrenceburg, Aug. 23. Father of Terri Bandenburg, Tiffany Wise and Tim Tillman.
WAGNER, Peggy, 81, St. John the Baptist, Osgood, July 31. Wife of Roger Wagner. Mother of Michelle Gasper and Julie McKittrick. Sister of Karen Bauer and Phyllis Hellmich. Grandmother of eight. Great-grandmother of six.
WEIGEL, Donald C., 95, St. Louis, Batesville, August 23. Father of Mary Callihan, Joan Tuggle, Sue Williams and Greg Weigel. Grandfather of 15. Great-grandfather of six.
WISMAN, James O., 82, St. Mary-of-the-Knobs, Floyd County, Aug. 16. Husband of Carolyn Wisman. Father of Charlotte Ipsan, James and Mervin Wisman. Brother of Kathy Daily, Christine Myrick, Cindy Phelps, Vickie Sizemore and Nancy Tomes. Grandfather of eight. Great-grandfather of 10.
Providence Sister Joseph Ellen Keitzer served as a music teacher, in parish ministry in Indiana
Providence Sister Joseph Ellen Keitzer, a member of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods in St. Mary-of-the-Woods, died on Aug. 23 at Providence Health Care on the campus of her religious community’s motherhouse. She was 92.
The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Sept. 3 at the Church of the Immaculate Conception at the motherhouse in St. Mary-of-the-Woods. Burial followed at the sisters’ cemetery.
Sister Joseph Ellen was born on Aug. 29, 1933, in Hammond, Ind. She entered the Sisters of Providence on May 26, 1951, and professed final vows on Jan. 23, 1959.
Sister Joseph Ellen earned a bachelor’s degree in music at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College and a master’s degrees in music education at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind.
During her 75 years as a member of the Sisters of Providence, Sister Joseph Ellen ministered as a music teacher in Catholic schools for 23 years in California, Illinois, Indiana and New Hampshire. She then served in parish ministry in Chicago for 18 years. After retiring, she continued to live in the city for 17 more years and served parishioners in the area as a volunteer. Sister Joseph Ellen returned to the motherhouse in 2023, where she dedicated herself entirely to prayer.
In the archdiocese, she served at the former St. Margaret Mary School in Terre Haute from 1961-66 and in Indianapolis at the former St. Andrew the Apostle School from 1968-69 and Immaculate Heart of Mary School from 1969-76.
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.
Comboni Father Michael Barton served as a longtime missionary in Sudan and South Sudan
Comboni Father Michael Barton, a member of the Comboni Missionaries, died on Aug. 28 while in hospice care in Blue Ash, Ohio. He was 78.
The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Sept. 8 at St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower) Church in Indianapolis. Burial followed at Holy Cross Cemetery in Indianapolis.
Father Barton was born on April 6, 1948, in Indianapolis and grew up as a member of St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower) Parish.
He began formation with the Comboni Missionaries in 1961 at a high school seminary of the order in Cincinnati. Father Barton received additional formation at the former Sacred Heart College in Monroe, Mich., and in Granada, Spain. He professed final vows on June 21, 1974, and was ordained a priest on Dec. 14, 1975, at Little Flower Church by Bishop Francis R. Shea of the Diocese of Evansville, Ind.
After studying Arabic in Cairo for a year, Father Barton began in 1978 decades of missionary work in Sudan and what later became South Sudan in northeastern Africa, often serving as an educator for children, youths and adults and persevering through the challenges of ministry in regions suffering from years of war and civil strife.
After spending several years in the U.S. promoting vocations and the missionary ministry of his religious community, Father Barton returned to Sudan in 1993 and remained there and later in South Sudan for nearly 30 years.
Father Barton returned to the U.S. in 2022, residing in Cincinnati where he served nursing home residents and hospice patients and assisted in a mental wellness ministry.
Surviving are his sisters, Mary Catherine Barton and Sheila Barton Boson.
Memorial contributions may be sent to Comboni Missionaries, 1318 Nagel Road, Cincinnati, OH, 45255, or can be made at combonimissionaries.org/donate. Donations designated as a memorial to Father Barton will be used to support missionary ministry in South Sudan per his request. †