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)

BLAKE, Robert E., 87, Sacred Heart of Jesus, Indianapolis, July 25. Husband of Alma Blake. Father of Christina Tuley. Grandfather of one.

BOYD, Alice E., 88, St. Mary, Mitchell, July 8. Mother of Vanessa Dorsett, Stephanie Houchins, Sonja and Jeffrey Boyd. Grandmother of 15. Great-grandmother of 34.

COKER, Mary J., 76, St. Joseph University Parish, Terre Haute, Feb. 28.

COLLERAN, Dennis P., 64, St. Charles Borromeo, Bloomington, June 22. Father of Hollie and Lenell Colleran. Brother of Karen Colleran. Grandfather of three.

COMBS, Kristina, 41, St. Bernard, Frenchtown, June 27. Wife of Quentin Combs. Mother of Avi, Bae, Kye and Taj Combs. Daughter of Allen Fessel and Lisa Sieg. Sister of Lindsay Adams, Dakota and Nathan Fessel. Granddaughter of Doris Sieg.

CRUM-HIEFTJE, Drew C., 21, St. Charles Borromeo, Bloomington, July 13. Son of Chris and Courtney Crum-Hieftje. Brother of Bree, Tory, Zoe and Carter Crum-Hieftje. Grandson of Paul Crum and Gary and Susan Hieftje.

ECKSTEIN, Edmund, 97, St. Nicholas, Ripley County, May 22. Father of Janie Anderson, Nancy Denni and Daniel Eckstein. Brother of Verena Fette, Matilda Nordmeyer, Father Francis and Walter Eckstein. Grandfather of five. Great-grandfather of eight.

ECKSTEIN, Trever, 51, St. Nicholas, Ripley County, June 23. Husband of Cindy Eckstein. Father of Emma and Hunter Eckstein. Son of Len and Marcia Eckstein. Brother of Jeremy Eckstein. Grandson of Mary Jo Disney.

FELISKY, Deborah, 68, St. Malachy, Brownsburg, July 22. Sister of Francine Figg, Jennifer Johnson and James Felisky. Aunt of several.

FETTE, Verena T., 93, All Saints, Dearborn County, July 24. Mother of Regina Fullenkamp, Patricia Giltner, Monica Honnert, Annette Meier, Maurita Weber, Anthony, Joe and Larry Fette. Sister of Matilda Nordmeyer, Father Francis and Walter Eckstein. Grandmother of 26. Great-grandmother of 41.

FORTWENDEL, Jerry, 72, St. Pius V, Troy, July 23. Husband of Susie Fortwendel. Father of Amy Carter and Kevin Fortwendel. Brother of Martha Cutrell¸ Annette Doherty, Cletus, Jr., Tim and Tony Fortwendel. Grandfather of two.

FRANK, Andrew, 84, St. Gabriel, Connersville, July 21. Father of Deborah and Steven Frank. Brother of Leo Frank. Grandfather of three.

GEYMAN, Alois, 94, Prince of Peace, Madison, July 24. Husband of Joyce Geyman. Stepfather of Linda Pierson, Brian and David Irwin. Stepgrandfather of two.

HILTZ, Gary, 72, All Saints, Dearborn County, July 28. Husband of Jane Hiltz. Father of Doug, Jacob, Jared and Kent Hiltz. Brother of Melanie Gutziller, Cheryl Lieland, Lisa Nobbe, Rhonda Trabel and Tim Hiltz. Grandfather of seven.

HOLTEL, Catherine F., 92, Holy Family, Oldenburg, July 22. Aunt and great-aunt of several.

HOUNTZ, Paul A., 68, St. Nicholas, Ripley County, August 1. Husband of Marilyn Hountz. Father of Jenna and Zach Hountz. Brother of Dorita Hodges, Betty Hoff, Jim, Joe and Leroy Hountz. Grandfather of two.

HUNTINGTON, Don, 85, St. Paul, Tell City, July 10. Husband of Mercedes Huntington. Father of Luz Huntington-Moskos and Linda Ray. Grandfather of five.

JAMES, Dorothy A., 95, All Saints, Dearborn County, July 22. Mother of Mary Lou Knollman. Grandmother of five. Great-grandmother of 11.

JOHNSON, William M., 66, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Richmond, July 15. Son of Judith Johnson. Brother of Andrea Curren, Carmen Mills, Bridgette Scott, Rochelle Smith and Mark Johnson. Uncle of several.

JORDAN, Jerry, 91, St. Paul, Tell City, July 14. Husband of Dorothy Jordan. Father of Chris, Mark and Robert Jordan. Grandfather of four. Great-grandfather of three.

LEGARS, Judith, 86, St. Michael the Archangel, Indianapolis, July 16. Wife of Richard LeGars. Mother of Gregory LeGars. Sister of Susie Cipolla, Joanie Fresh, Constance Inzana and Marian Dolney.

OEDING, Sheila, 83, St. John the Apostle, Bloomington, May 23. Mother of Melody Dennis, Pamela Easton, Roxann Finch, Heidi Leisz, Catherine, Brett and Brian Oeding. Grandmother of 13. Great-grandmother of 14.

PERKINS, Emily I., 90, St. Lawrence, Indianapolis, May 26. Mother of Sandy Fox, Karen Omran and Robert Perkins. Grandmother of five.

RAFTER, Suzanne, 87, St. Joseph University Parish, Terre Haute, July 22. Sister of Joan Whitehouse and Eugene Rafter. Aunt of several.

RHODES, Paul J., 77, St. John Paul II, Sellersburg, July 23. Husband of Phyllis Rhodes. Father of Jessica Rexroat, Jenna Schrock and Joshua Rhodes. Grandfather of five. Great-grandfather of two.

RYALL, Alexander J., 18, St. Mary-of-the-Knobs, Floyd County, July 24. Son of Jacob Ryall and Shalene Sumter. Brother of Jacob Ryall.

SABLAN, Jesse T., 70, St. Lawrence, Indianapolis, May 11. Husband of Hui Jeong. Father of June Love, Michelle, Valerie, Jesse, Jr. and Richard Sablan. Brother of Karen Campbell, Ann Lopez, Colleen Woods, Anthony and Kenneth Sablan. Grandfather of one.

SCHMELZ, Marvin, 88, St. Mary, Lanesville, July 19. Father of John, Michael, Paul and Stephen Schmelz. Brother of Darrell and Leroy Schmelz. Grandfather of eight. Great-grandfather of eight.

SCHNEIDER, Mary C., 84, St. Mary, Rushville, July 24. Mother of Kate DeCleene, Karen and Michael Schneider. Sister of Eileen Settles and Edna Thompson. Grandmother of four. Great-grandmother of two.

SCHRODER, Gerald L., 84, St. Mary, New Albany, June 28. Husband of Gwen Schroder. Father of Brie and Brooke Wamsley, Kristin Yates and Kurt Schroder. Brother of William Schroder. Grandfather of nine. Great-grandfather of four.

SHEA, Scott R., 57, St. Monica, Indianapolis, June 30. Husband of Anne Shea. Father of Emma and William Shea.

SMITH, Carolyn H., 91, St. Lawrence, Indianapolis, January 18. Mother of Bruce, Keith, Ralph and William Smith. Grandmother of six. Great-grandmother of three.

SPENCER, Judith, 91, St. Nicholas, Ripley County, May 1. Mother of Jenny Purdy, Joany and Jeff Spencer. Grandmother of eight. Great-grandmother of 12.

TALBOTT, Roseanne, 62, St. Jude, Indianapolis, July 24. Mother of Anthony and Austin Eagan. Sister of Kathleen Evans and Denise Gates. Grandmother of three.

WESTON, Cynthia K., 72, SS. Francis and Clare of Assisi, Greenwood, June 30. Mother of Mary Baumeister. Sister of Debbie Felix. Grandmother of two.

WREGE, Carol E., 76, Christ the King, Indianapolis, July 9. Wife of Doug Wrege. Mother of Courtney Spall and Ryan Wrege. Sister of Cheryl Whitwam and Jeff Stevens. Grandmother of five.

Benedictine Sister Norma Gettelfinger served in Catholic schools for 41 years

Benedictine Sister Norma Gettelfinger (previously Sister Mary Gregory), a member of Our Lady of Grace Monastery in Beech Grove, died on Aug. 8 at the monastery. She was 88.

The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Aug. 17 at in monastery chapel. Burial followed at the sisters’ cemetery.

Sister Norma was born on Sept. 4, 1937, in Palmyra in southern Indiana and grew up as a member of St. Michael Parish in Bradford. She entered the Benedictine Monastery Immaculate Conception in Ferdinand, Ind., in 1953, professed first vows on June 13, 1955, and perpetual vows on Aug. 10, 1959.

When Monastery Immaculate Conception founded Our Lady of Grace Monastery in 1956, Sister Mary was sent as one of its founding members.

Sister Norma earned a bachelor’s degree in education after studies at the former St. Benedict College in Ferdinand, the former Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis and Spalding University in Louisville, Ky., and a master’s degree in education at Indiana University in Bloomington.

During her 71 years as a Benedictine, Sister Norma ministered in Catholic schools for 41 years. She also served at the former St. Paul Hermitage and the former Benedict Inn Retreat & Conference, both in Beech Grove.

In the archdiocese, Sister Norma served in Indianapolis at the former Assumption School in 1956, at Christ the King School from 1959-63, at St. Barnabas School in 1967, at St. Pius X School in 1968, at All Saints (now St. Anthony School) from 1976-77 and at Our Lady of Lourdes School from 1994-99, at All Saints School in Columbus (now St. Bartholomew School) from 1984-86, at St. Bartholomew School in Columbus from 1957-58 and 1970-75, at St. Ambrose School in Seymour from 1964-65, at St. Anthony of Padua School in Clarksville in 1969, at Holy Name of Jesus School in Beech Grove from 1978-83, 1987-88 and in 1993.

Sister Norma is a first cousin of Bishop Gerald A. Gettelfinger, a former archdiocesan priest and the retired bishop of the Diocese of Evansville, Ind.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Retired Sister’s Fund, c/o Sisters of St. Benedict, 1402 Southern Ave., Beech Grove, Indiana 46107 or online at benedictine.com.

Benedictine Sister Mary Seghers served in several Catholic schools and the St. Paul Hermitage

Benedictine Sister Mary Seghers (previously Sister Mary Fortunata), a member of Our Lady of Grace Monastery in Beech Grove, died on June 12 at the monastery. She was 94.

The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on June 20 at in monastery chapel. Burial followed at the sisters’ cemetery.

Sister Mary was born on Oct. 16, 1931, in Cincinnati. She entered the Benedictine Monastery Immaculate Conception in Ferdinand, Ind., in 1949, professed first vows on Aug. 10, 1951, and perpetual vows on Aug. 10, 1954. At the time of her death, she was about a month away from celebrating the 75th anniversary of her profession of vows as a Benedictine sister.

When Monastery Immaculate Conception founded Our Lady of Grace Monastery in 1956, Sister Mary was sent as one of its founding members.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education at the former St. Benedict College in Ferdinand and a master’s degree in elementary education at the University of Notre Dame in northern Indiana.

During her 74 years as a Benedictine, Sister Mary ministered in Catholic schools for 29 years. Later, she served at the archdiocesan Office of Catholic Education (now the Office of Catholic Schools), at the former Benedict Inn and Conference Center in Beech Grove and in the monastery.

In the archdiocese, Sister Mary served in Indianapolis at the former Assumption School from 1960-61 and at Christ the King School from 1963-65, at St. Anthony of Padua School in Clarksville from 1959-60 at St. Bartholomew School in Columbus from 1961-63, at the former St. Paul School in Tell City from 1965-67, 1970-72 and 1978-81, at St. Joseph School in Corydon from 1967-70 and at the former St. John the Baptist School in Starlight from 1976-78.

She ministered on a part-time basis at the archdiocesan Office of Catholic Education from 1981-86, as activity director at the former St. Paul Hermitage in Beech Grove (now Envive of Beech Grove) from 1986-2000 and as the monastery’s archivist and as a part-time receptionist at the Benedict Inn from 2001 until she retired from ministry in 2015.

Sister Mary is survived by a sister, Charlotte Molitor of Cincinnati.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Retired Sister’s Fund, c/o Sisters of St. Benedict, 1402 Southern Ave., Beech Grove, Indiana 46107 or online at benedictine.com. †