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)
ALLEN, Elizabeth C. (Wedding), 94, St. Gabriel, Connersville, Feb. 3. Mother of John and Robert. Step‑mother of Claudia and George, Jr. Grandmother of nine. Great‑grandmother of nine. Great-great-grandmother of three.
BAKER, Thomas D., 70, Prince of Peace, Madison, Feb. 2. Husband of Jawiga Baker. Father of Christina Lesh, John and Thomas Baker. Brother of Pauline Horton, Lida Webster, Charles, Luther and Roland Baker. Grandfather of five.
BROWN, Angela M. (Peterson), 94, St. Mary, Navilleton, Feb. 5. Mother of Patricia Griffin Noble, Shirley Gordon and Stanley Brown, Jr. Grandmother of eight. Great‑grandmother of eight. Great-great-grandmother of two.
BUENING, Wilma I., 78, St. Mary, Greensburg, Feb. 7. Mother of Katrina Applegate, Theresa Caffee, Janet Henry, Kenny and Michael Buening. Sister of Dorothy and Norma Schreiner. Grandmother of 18. Great-grandmother of 21.
BURKETT, Karen K. (Strough), 65, St. Lawrence, Indianapolis, Feb. 2. Wife of Joseph Burkett. Mother of Lynn Mistler. Sister of Linda Brown, Lisa Louciel, Jay and Rex Strough. Grandmother of four.
ENDERLE, Melvin, 90, St. Michael, Brookville, Feb. 3. Father of Beverly Cox, Geraldine Walters, John Dittly, James and Robert Rudisell. Brother of Carol Barnhorst, Lillian Halker, Elvera Vogel, Earl and Edwin Enderle. Grandfather of 14.
ENSOR, Veronica L., 60, St. Michael, Brookville, Jan. 9. Mother of Jeremy and Michael Ensor. Daughter of Leo Kolb. Sister of Brenda Cheeseman, Kimberly Sizemore, Beverly, Elmer and James Kolb. Grandmother of two.
GRAF, Donald, 62, St. Michael, Brookville, Jan. 27. Husband of Pamela Graf. Father of Jennifer Schwegman, Casey and Travis Graf. Brother of Yvonne Brandes, Shelly Lunsford, Trisha Rosenberger, Rena Sacksteder, Alan, Greg and Lee Graf. Grandfather of six.
HERBERT, JoAnn, 71, St. Mary, Rushville, Feb. 7. Wife of Jerry Herbert. Mother of Kelley Carter, Christina Davenport, Sara Vincent and JD Herbert. Sister of Charles Merrell. Grandmother of nine. Great-grandmother of two.
HESSION, Betty L., 92, St. Malachy, Brownsburg, Jan. 30. Mother of Maria Houston, Kathleen Tearman, James and Martin Hession. Grandmother of 10. Great‑grandmother of 16.
JECHURA, Carl M., 76, St. Christopher, Indianapolis, Jan. 25. Husband of Kathy Jechura. Father of Matthew and Michael Jechura.
JONES, Dorothy E., 89, Holy Rosary, Seelyville, Jan. 24. Mother of Barbara, Bob and Jim Jones. Sister of Helen Meunier. Grandmother of five. Great‑grandmother of two.
JURIC, Kristi L. (Hougland), 32, St. Mary, Navilleton, Feb. 6. Daughter of Mark and Carol Hougland. Sister of Kori Hollis, Karli and Tyler Hougland. Granddaughter of Herman and Marcella Naville. Aunt of several.
KING, Ivanell, 81, St. Malachy, Brownsburg, Jan. 17. Wife of James King. Mother of Kari Kobayashi, Kim Sweeney, Kristie and Timothy King. Sister of Patricia Meyer and Edward Johnson. Grandmother of five. Great-grandmother of three.
KNOEBEL, Miriam E., 95, St. Joseph, Shelbyville, Feb. 5. Mother of Cindy Butzin and Cheryl Nolley. Grandmother of three. Great-grandmother of four.
KOWINSKI, Michael W., 74, St. Luke the Evangelist, Indianapolis, Feb. 6. Brother of David Kowinski. Uncle of several.
LETTELLEIR, Joye E., 91, St. Joseph, Shelbyville, Jan. 31. Wife of Theodore Lettelleir. Mother of Elizabeth Erath and John Lettelleir. Grandmother of six.
MILLER, W. Thomas, 90, St. Mark the Evangelist, Indianapolis, Feb. 5. Husband of Florence Miller. Father of Katherine McNeely, Rosemary Piotrowski, Alice, Patrick, Robert, Thomas and William Miller. Brother of David and James Miller. Grandfather of 15. Great-grandfather of three.
MINNITI, Marianna, 52, St. Michael, Brookville, Jan. 13. Mother of Mary Evers, Sarah Rowlett and Joseph Minniti. Sister of Rosa and Vince Minniti. Grandmother of five.
MOSTER, Henry J., 91, St. Gabriel, Connersville, Jan. 31. Uncle of several.
PFEIFFER, Paul J., 94, St. Michael, Cannelton, Feb. 2. Father of Charlene Mayfield, Mary Jo Schellenberg, Dennis and Larry Pfeiffer. Grandfather of six. Great-grandfather of eight. Great-great-grandfather of one.
PUMPHREY, William Sr., 86, St. Bartholomew, Columbus, Feb. 4. Husband of Julia Pumphrey. Father of Pamela Cook, Steve and William Pumphrey, Jr. Brother of Nancy Malan and Larry Pumphrey. Grandfather of 10. Great‑grandfather of nine.
RAFFERTY, Janice, 72, St. John the Apostle, Bloomington, Jan. 29. Sister of Georgia Tucker and David Rafferty. Aunt of several.
REASONER, Connie, 95, St. Anne, New Castle, Feb. 3. Mother of Terri Cox. Sister of Nancy Deutsch. Grandmother of five. Great-grandmother of six. Great-great-grandmother of one.
RUBUSH, Lucille R., 79, St. Michael, Brookville, Jan. 13. Mother of Kim Roemer, Bruce, Carl and Donald Rubush. Sister of Doris and Phyllis Bischoff, Shirley Lynch and Richard Geiling. Grandmother of five. Great-grandmother of three.
RUNYON, Dolores M. (Lambert), 81, St. Christopher, Indianapolis, Jan. 25. Mother of John, Michael and Ronald Runyon. Grandmother of three. Great-grandmother of two.
SACKSTEDER, Donald E., 76, St. Michael, Brookville, Jan. 31. Husband of Joyce Sacksteder. Father of Lynn Dirkhising, Brent and Todd Sacksteder. Brother of Jim and Mike Sacksteder. Grandfather of nine. Great-grandfather of one.
SANFORD, Barbara J., 82, St. John the Baptist, Osgood, Jan. 5. Sister of Shirley Buck, Carroll Reid and Billy Sanford. Aunt of several.
SCHAEFER, Stephen J., 75, St. Roch, Indianapolis, Feb. 5. Husband of Mary Anne Schaefer. Father of Terese Blackmon, Dorothy Carothers, Santina Page and Joseph Schaefer. Brother of Christine Rebic, Barbara Thomas and Gregory Schaefer. Grandfather of 18. Great-grandfather of two.
SCHANTZ, Walter R., 93, St. Peter, Franklin County, Jan. 24. Father of Linda Gutzwiller, David and James Schantz. Brother of Edith Fledderman, Ruth Haring, Julie Vonderheide and Francis Werner. Grandfather of seven. Great-grandfather of five.
SCHRAGE, James T., 88, St. Luke the Evangelist, Indianapolis, Jan. 30. Father of Jean Kingen, Jane Selsemeyer, Ann, Bill, Joe and J.T. Schrage. Brother of Virginia Cleary. Grandfather of 16. Great‑grandfather of 11.
SCHUBACH, Patricia A., 83, St. Jude, Indianapolis, 83, Feb. 5. Wife of William Schubach. Mother of Kristina Kirschner, Mary Johnson, Anne Wurtz, Michael, Patrick, Timothy and William Schubach. Grandmother of 17. Great‑grandmother of six.
SCOGGAN, Josephine, 57, St. Bartholomew, Columbus, Feb. 2. Wife of Harold Scoggan. Sister of Betty Proffitt, Ellen Stout, Wendy Wright, Chuck and Don Buckles. Aunt of several.
STREEVAL, Richard J., 54, St. Malachy, Brownsburg, Jan. 17. Father of Carl and Thomas Streeval. Brother of Carla, Cathy and Bill Streeval. Grandfather of one.
TURNER, Edward J., 87, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Richmond, Jan. 31. Husband of Rose Turner. Father of Sharon Schultz, Daniel and David Turner. Brother of Jane Johnson, Evelyn Williams, Elmer, Fred and Howard Turner. Grandfather of seven.
VANKIRK, Raymond C., 84, St. Anthony of Padua, Morris, Feb. 2. Father of Rose Spaeth and Jim Vankirk. Grandfather of two.
Benedictine Father Gavin Barnes taught, directed dramas with students for decades
Benedictine Father Gavin Barnes, a monk of Saint Meinrad Archabbey in St. Meinrad, died on Feb. 6 at the monastery. He was 89.
The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Feb. 11. Burial followed at the Archabbey Cemetery.
Father Gavin was a jubilarian of monastic profession, having celebrated 69 years of monastic profession. He was also a jubilarian of ordination, having celebrated 64 years of life and ministry as a priest.
John Dewey Barnes, Jr. was born on Nov. 15, 1927, in Bedford.
Father Gavin entered Saint Meinrad’s former Minor Seminary in 1941, and was invested as a novice at Saint Meinrad Archabbey in 1946.
He professed temporary vows on Aug. 1, 1947, being given the religious name Gavin at the time, and solemn vows on Sept. 8, 1950. He was ordained a priest on May 3, 1952.
Father Gavin earned a licentiate in sacred theology in 1954 at Collegio Sant’ Anselmo in Rome. He later earned a master’s degree in speech, specializing in oral interpretation, public address and speech correction in 1960 from Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. Father Gavin also studied at The Catholic University of America and the University of Iowa.
He served in the monastery for four years as assistant novice and junior master, and 42 years in Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology and the former Saint Meinrad College.
In addition to teaching, Father Gavin also served for 38 years as director of drama in the college, usually directing two productions each academic year.
In 2007, he received the Spencer County Arts Award for his decades of work as drama director, his work as a playwright and in supporting the creation of the Lincoln State Park Amphitheatre in Lincoln City, Ind.
The last play he wrote and directed, Between Friends: Fateful Conversations of the Civil War, dealt with President Abraham Lincoln’s relationship with Union generals. It was produced at the amphitheatre in 2012.
Memorial gifts may be sent to Saint Meinrad Archabbey, 200 Hill Drive, St. Meinrad, IN 47577. †