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)
ALVIS, Jane, 74, Christ the King, Indianapolis, April 25. Wife of Joe Alvis. Mother of Amy Davis, Alison Giblin and Jennifer Wynn. Sister of Sarah O’Leary, Dr. James and Peter Manning.
BEESON, Rosemary (Warth), 89, St. Mary, New Albany, May 5. Mother of Vicki, David and Jim Beeson. Grandmother of four. Great-grandmother of one.
BROUILLARD, Raymond Robert, 70, Mary, Queen of Peace, Danville, May 4. Husband of Anne Brouillard. Father of Giselle, Mark and Thomas Brouillard. Brother of Loraine Butler, Therese Vaillancourt, Aurise, S.R. Giselle, Gerald, Guy, John and Marcel Brouillard. Grandfather of two.
BURTON, Catherine S., 44, St. Jude, Indianapolis, May 5. Wife of Mark Burton. Daughter of Suesta Wiksten. Sister of Lenny Wiksten.
FARRAR, Rosemary A., 84, St. Malachy, Brownsburg, May 5. Mother of Patricia Courtney, Dennis, Jim and Tim Farrar. Grandmother of 10. Great-grandmother of eight.
GARVEY, Michael R., 55, St. Joan of Arc, Indianapolis, April 26. Husband of Sharon Garvey. Father of Roseanne Abacherli, Sabrina Rashidfarokhy, Bruce Henderson, Daniel Wilson, Sean and Stefan Waiss. Brother of Margaret Bennett, Gustina Currie, Patience Danz, Landry Foley, Kate McKnight, Kristin Michel, Rachel Morris, Mary and Neil Garvey.
HARVELL, Alfreda M., 85, Holy Angels, Indianapolis, Feb. 8. Mother of Valjin Harvell. Grandmother of four. Great-grandmother of eight.
MENONNA, John Frank, 79, Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Indianapolis, May 9. Husband of Mary Catherine Menonna. Stepfather of Mary Jo Catt, Cathy Schmidt, Dan, Joe and John Lawson. Brother of Rosina Schuler. Step-grandfather of five.
MERTZ, Richard D., 77, St. Peter, Harrison County, April 17. Husband of Cleo (Lucas) Mertz. Father of Nina Atherton, Toni Greanias, Paul, Richard and Tod Mertz. Brother of Karen Byland, Pat Dilley, Barbara Edinger, Sandy McCammack and Sharon Robertson. Grandfather of nine. Great-grandfather of four.
PARAS, J. Lingkod, 87, St. Louis, Batesville, May 8. Father of Maria Corazon-Paras, Felecia Krakowka and Teresita Romweber. Grandfather of three.
PHILLIPS, James A., 77, St. Paul, New Alsace, May 11. Husband of Darlene Phillips. Father of Judy Anderson, Karen Apsley, Sandy Gill, Lisa Harrington and Jayne Stiffler. Brother of Kathy, Larry and Toby Phillips. Grandfather of 20.
SCHOEFF, Dale, 92, St. Lawrence, Lawrenceburg, May 11. Husband of Martha Schoeff. Father of Linda Lepore, Sue Ellen, Andy, David, Donald, Gary, Richard, Rob and Tim Schoeff. Grandfather of 17. Great-grandfather of two.
SUHRE, Edgar D., 89, Holy Family, Oldenburg, May 7. Husband of Mary Jane Suhre. Father of David and Roger Suhre. Grandfather of seven. Great-grandfather of seven.
TIBBETTS, Clarence, Sr., 92, St. Lawrence, Lawrenceburg, May 7. Father of Diana Hayes and Clarence Tibbetts. Brother of Gene Tibbetts. Grandfather of five. Great-grandfather of 11. Great-great-grandfather of one.
WRIGHT, Ruth E., 81, St. Mary, New Albany, May 6. Mother of Pamela Fowler, Linda Groonek and Teresa Wright. Sister of Paul Christian.
Precious Blood Father Cornelius Fenton was Beech Grove native
Precious Blood Father Cornelius Fenton died on May 8 at St. Charles Center in Carthagena, Ohio. He was 89.
The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on May 12 at the St. Charles Center Chapel in Carthagena. Burial followed at the order’s cemetery
Father Cornelius was born on Feb. 16, 1922, in Beech Grove.
He entered the Missionaries of the Precious Blood in 1936, and was ordained to the priesthood on March 25, 1949.
Father Cornelius ministered for 62 years at parishes in Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Virginia.
Memorial gifts may be sent to the Society of the Precious Blood, St. Charles Center, 2860 U.S. Highway 127, Celina, OH 45822.
Marie Day was the mother of Father Wilfred ‘Sonny’ Day
Marie M. Day, the mother of Father Wilfred “Sonny” Day and the oldest member of St. Mary Parish in Lanesville, died on May 7 at her residence following a brief illness. She was 98.
The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on May 11 at St. Mary Church in Lanesville. Burial followed at the parish cemetery.
Surviving are one daughter, Carol Ullrich; three sons, Don, Jerry and Father Wilfred “Sonny” Day; six grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.
Memorial gifts may be sent to Our Lady of Providence Jr./Sr. High School, 707 Providence Way, Clarksville, IN 47129 or St. Mary Parish, 2500 St. Mary’s Drive, Lanesville, IN 47136.
Providence Sister Mary Stella Morrissey was a teacher and nurse
Providence Sister Mary Stella Morrissey died on May 12 at Mother Theodore Hall at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. She was 80.
The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on May 18 at the Church of the Immaculate Conception at the motherhouse. Burial followed at the sisters’ cemetery.
Mary Frances Morrissey was born on May 11, 1931, in Newton, Iowa.
She entered the congregation of the Sisters of Providence on July 22, 1949, and professed her first vows on Jan. 23, 1952, and her final vows on Jan. 23, 1957.
Sister Mary Stella attended St. Agnes Academy in Indianapolis then earned a bachelor’s degree in education at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College. She also earned a licensed practical nursing degree at Indiana Vocational Technical College in Terre Haute.
During 61 years as a Sister of Providence, she ministered for 19 years as a teacher at Catholic schools in Indiana, Illinois and California.
In the archdiocese, Sister Mary Stella taught at St. Thomas Aquinas School in Indianapolis from 1961-62.
Sister Mary Stella left teaching for the ministry of nursing.
After becoming an LPN in 1976, she ministered in health service at Providence Health Care at the motherhouse from
1971-77, 1988-89 and 1991 to 2005 as well as at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College.
She retired from active ministry in 2005, and continued to serve as a companion to other sisters during their visits to doctors.
In 2006, Sister Mary Stella began her prayer ministry
full-time with the senior sisters.
Surviving are a brother, Jerry Morrissey of Hollywood, Calif.; and three sisters, Veronica Amaral of LaCrescenta, Calif.; Pat Kvidera of Traeer, Iowa; and Barbara Lieb of Dixon, Calif.
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. †