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)
ADKINS, James V., 90, St. Bartholomew, Columbus, Oct. 24. Father of Beverly Pardieck, James, Gregory and Mark Adkins. Grandfather of eight. Great-grandfather of six.
BECHT, Jo Ann (Beam), 67, Sacred Heart of Jesus, Jeffersonville, Oct. 6. Mother of Laura Wimp, Jay and Thomas Becht. Sister of Kay Orem, Mary Poynter, James and Robert Beam. Grandmother of six.
BLACKWELL, Kevin H., 48, St. Pius X, Indianapolis, Oct. 18. Husband of Amy (Polsinelli) Blackwell. Father of Carly and Kevin Blackwell. Son of Howard and Frances Blackwell. Brother of Kristy Behymer, Kathy Beyer and Kraig Blackwell.
BYRNE, Frances E., 88, St. Joseph, Indianapolis, Oct. 23. Mother of Brenda Abbott and Belinda Charbonneau. Sister of Marilyn Maher. Grandmother of five. Great-grandmother of four.
CARIE, Dexter, 77, St. Bartholomew, Columbus, Oct. 19. Husband of Barbara Carie. Father of Pam Collyer, Kim Mohler, Catherine, Helen, Michelle and Matt Carie. Brother of Emma Cox and Janet Schulz. Grandfather of six. Great-grandfather of three.
CHARLEBOIS, William A., 82, St. Barnabas, Indianapolis, Oct. 29. Husband of Ann (Ryan) Charlebois. Father of Eileen Underwood, Ellen, Linda, Patrice, Robert and Thomas Charlebois. Brother of Jeanne Marie Rodriguez, Noreen, Msgr. John, Msgr. Robert and Thomas Charlebois. Grandfather of five.
DOOGS, Lois (Eger), 72, St. Paul, Tell City, Oct. 24. Wife of Merle Doogs. Mother of Lezley, Bryan and Rodney Doogs. Sister of Charlene Brumfield, Lorna Garrett and Earl Eger. Grandmother of five.
EVANS, Michael Lee, 64, Holy Name of Jesus, Beech Grove, Oct. 22. Son of Rosemary Evans. Brother of Roseann Hamel, Frank, John and Leo Evans. Uncle of several.
FACKER, Robert E., 89, Holy Name of Jesus, Beech Grove, Oct. 19. Father of Andrea Cline, Allan, Garth and Jon Facker. Grandfather of five. Great-grandfather of two.
GENGELBACK, Victor L., 83, St. Paul, Tell City, Oct. 25. Husband of Rosanna Gengelback. Father of Joe and Lee Gengelback. Brother of Evelyn Gengelback. Grandfather of four. Great-grandfather of five.
GROHOVSKY, Joseph J., 85, St. Patrick, Terre Haute, Sept. 30. Father of John, Mike and Steve Grohovsky. Grandfather of seven.
HAWKINS, Barbara (Magerkurth), 60, Holy Name of Jesus, Beech Grove, Oct. 10. Mother of Gary Arnold. Sister of George and John Adams. Grandmother of two.
HAWKINS, Nancy A., 61, Sacred Heart of Jesus, Terre Haute, Oct. 16. Sister of Garry Hawkins.
HOLMAN, Mildred, 71, St. Paul, Tell City, Oct. 23. Mother of Debra, Anthony, Michael, Stephen and Timothy Holman. Sister of Mary Lautner and Robert Lanman. Grandmother of 10. Great-grandmother of one.
KOEBEL, Helen D., 85,
St. Pius X, Indianapolis, Oct. 27. Mother of Margaret Green, Nina Meyer, Terry Parrilli and Karen Schneider. Grandmother of nine.
LOUDEN, Richard R., 86, St. Mary, Greensburg, Oct. 28. Father of Peggy Speer and Rick Louden. Grandfather of five. Great-grandfather of eight.
McDERMOTT, Jean H., 73, St. Luke the Evangelist, Indianapolis, Oct. 22. Wife of Martin McDermott. Mother of Vivian Getz, Cathy McClure, Suzanne Sherman, Bill, John, Martin and Russell McDermott. Grandmother of 17. Great-grandmother of one.
MOORE, Loretta C., 81, St. Mary, Greensburg, Oct. 29. Sister of Rosemary Roberts and John Pickett.
PETER, Allen, 65, St. Mark, Perry County, Oct. 16. Husband of Linda Peter. Father of Lisa Gordon. Brother of Elaine Reisz and Larry Peter. Grandfather of three.
QUINLAN, Helen C., 87, St. Luke the Evangelist, Indianapolis, Oct. 19. Wife of William Quinlan. Mother of Ann Elliott, Patrick and Philip Cashen. Sister of Elletta Lacy and Rachael Scheurman. Grandmother of six. Step-grandmother of six. Great-grandmother of eight.
QUINLIN, Mary L. (Ernst), 75, St. Jude, Indianapolis, Oct. 27. Mother of Sandra Bustle, Daniel and James Quinlin. Sister of Rita Goebel, Lucille Hendricks, Perline Schaeffer and Richard Ernst. Grandmother of six. Great-grandmother of three.
SHINNEMAN, Merlin D., 84, St. Barnabas, Indianapolis, Oct. 17. Father of Bonnie Fischer, Sharon Shinneman-Gleave, L.K., Merlin and Terrence Shinneman. Brother of Doris Pepin and Barbara Pike.
SPINKS, Margaret Mary, 87, St. Joseph, Indianapolis, Oct. 18. Mother of Charles Spinks.
Valerie Dillon founded archdiocesan Family Life Office
Valerie R. (Vance) Dillon, founding director of the archdiocesan Office of Family Life from
1982-91 and acting editor of The Criterion in 1981, died on Nov. 6 in Indianapolis. She was 77.
Dillon was nationally known for her family life, pro-life and Catholic Conference ministries. In 1974, she was an incorporator of the National Committee for a Human Life Amendment.
The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Nov. 9 at St. Luke the Evangelist Church in Indianapolis. Burial followed at Our Lady of Peace Cemetery in Indianapolis.
She was born on Oct. 19, 1930, in Chicago. She earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism at the University of Illinois in 1952 then worked for United Press International in Chicago.
She married Raydon T. Dillon on Sept. 26, 1953, in Chicago, where their four daughters were born.
For 10 years, the Dillons were active in the CANA Conference family ministry office in the Archdiocese of Chicago.
In 1965, they moved to New Jersey, where she served as assistant director of the Family Life Bureau in the Diocese of Trenton from 1968-72. She served as a legislative consultant for the New Jersey Catholic Conference from 1970-72, and was a founding member of the New Jersey Right to Life Committee.
They moved to Indianapolis in 1971. She worked for the Indiana Catholic Conference as director of research and communication from 1973-80 then was news editor of The Criterion from 1980-82.
Dillon was a monthly columnist for Columbia magazine, and an active national and local speaker on family and pro-life issues. She was the author of several books.
Dillon earned a master’s degree in Personality Theory and Religion at Butler University and the Christian Theological Seminary in 1979, and a master’s degree in Adult Christian Community Development at Regis College in 1990.
She served on the U.S. Catholic Conference Committee on Education, the boards of Catholic Charities and Catholic Social Services, and The Criterion editorial committee.
Dillon was the first woman and lay president of the National Association of Catholic Family Life Ministers (NACFLM).
She also served on the board of overseers for Saint Meinrad Seminary, St. Vincent Hospital’s Infant Care Review Committee and Pike Township Educational Foundation. She was elected to the Pike Township School Board and served as board president in 2001-02.
Dillon was a member of the Ladies of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre and St. Luke Parish.
She earned the 1983 Charles E. Stimming Sr. Pro-Life Award from Right to Life of Indianapolis, the 1991 NACFLM Award for Leadership in Family Ministry and the 1991 Respect Life Award from the archdiocese.
She is survived by her husband, Ray Dillon; four daughters, Karen Roth, Patricia Knoff, Valerie M. Dillon and Donna Bennett; nine grandchildren; and three step-grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to Saint Meinrad Seminary, 200 Hill Drive, St. Meinrad, IN 47577 or to St. Vincent Hospice, 8450 Payne Road, Indianapolis, IN 46268. †