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)

BARNHORST, Victoria, 78, All Saints Parish, Dearborn County, Feb. 24. Wife of Bob Barnhorst. Mother of Connie Edmundson, Kathy Klump and Joe Barnhorst. Grandmother of seven. Great-grandmother of eight.

BERRY, Maripat, 89, St. Pius X, Indianapolis, Feb. 16. Wife of Thomas Berry, Jr. Mother of Brigid, Michael, Patrick, Tim and Tom. Grandmother of 12.

BOOTH, Nicholas, 23, St. Ambrose, Seymour, Feb. 19. Son of Chris and Donna Booth. Stepson of Rodney Chambless. Brother of Jordan and Christopher Booth.

BROADUS, Donald E., 81, St. Mary, North Vernon, Feb. 23. Husband of Taryn Broadus. Father of Tasha Bowling, Jessica Lowman, Tonya Peacock, Tracey Pearson and Devon Broadus. Brother of Richard Broadus. Grandfather of 13. Great-grandfather of 12.

COOPER, Ronald G., 85, St. Michael, Brookville, March 1. Husband of Barbara Cooper. Father of Kathy Orschell, Heidi Reece, Phil and Scott Cooper. Brother of James Cooper. Grandfather of nine. Great-grandfather of 14.

DRYER, Michael H., 79, St. Christopher, Indianapolis, Jan. 20. Husband of Kathleen Dryer. Father of Michele Hernly, Stephanie Smith and Christina Struver. Grandfather of four.

FEENEY, Janet, 65, Good Shepherd, Indianapolis, Feb. 20. Wife of Steven Feeney. Mother of Cindy and Christopher Crabtree, Trent, Trevor and Tyler Feeney. Sister of Tina, Randol and Thomas McKinney, Jr. Grandmother of 10. Great-grandmother of five.

FON, Ron L., 91, Holy Trinity, Indianapolis, Dec. 15. Husband of Audrey Fon. Father of Alan and Brian Fon. Brother of Martha Conkle. Grandfather of one.

GRAMMAN, Melvin H., 95, St. Michael, Brookville, Feb. 13. Husband of Rita Gramman. Father of Marlene Fohl, Donna Forthofer, Karen Pflum, Melanie Roberts, Maureen Seals and Kevin Gramman. Grandfather of 13. Great-grandfather of 15. Great-great-grandfather of one.

HARPING, Melvin L., 90, St. Mary, Greensburg, Feb. 24. Husband of Roberta Harping. Father of Ann Combs, Christina and Wayne Harping. Brother of Marlene Harsin. Grandfather of three.

HEALY, Josephine (Spicuzza) Hartman, 94, St. Barnabas, Indianapolis, Feb. 26. Mother of Rosanna Frye, Katherine and Paul Hartman. Sister of Anna Marie Below and Rosemary Page. Grandmother of five. Great-grandmother of five.

HOFFMAN, Joseph, 85, St. Mary, Rushville, Feb. 16.

JACOBI, Jerry, 66, St. Michael, Bradford, Jan. 14. Father of Jasmine and Jillian Jacobi. Son of Joseph and Lillian Jacobi. Brother of Janette Fetz, Donna Miller, David, Deacon John and Tom Jacobi.

KONTOR, Jordon, 28, St. Pius X, Indianapolis, Feb. 25. Son of Jeff and Robin Kontor. Brother of Courtney Robinson and Frankie Kontor. Grandson of Frank Kontor and Judy Haney.

KRUPP, Melinda, 61, Christ the King, Indianapolis, Jan. 22. Wife of Ed Welch. Sister of Kathy Harrold, Terri Kupp and Patty Simon. Aunt of several.

LICHTENBERG, John, 80, Christ the King, Indianapolis, Feb. 21. Husband of Jo Ann Lichtenberg. Father of Jacqueline and Leo Lichtenberg. Grandfather of five.

LIVINGSTON, Barbara A., 92, St. Joseph, Shelbyville, Feb. 19. Mother of Robin and Randy Livingston. Grandmother of four. Great-grandmother of five.

MEIER, Frank A., 90, St. Michael, Brookville, Feb. 27. Father of Jane Crawford, Greg, Jim and Ron Meier. Grandfather of eight.

MELBERG, Marietta (Klueh), 89, St. Paul, Tell City, Feb. 23. Mother of Lori Dauby and Chandler Melberg. Grandmother of six. Great-grandmother of 10.

O’BRYAN, Cecelia A., 77, St. Jude, Indianapolis, Feb. 11. Aunt of one.

PHILPOT, Eugene, 79, St. Mary, Lanesville, Feb. 20. Husband of Joyce Philpot. Father of Tony Brewster, Jerry, Terry and Tony Philpot. Brother of Elaine Basham, Dorothy Ott, Susie Rhea, Carol Uesseler, Joyce and David Philpot. Grandfather of seven. Great-grandfather of nine.

PROCTOR, William D., 66, St. Michael the Archangel, Indianapolis, Feb. 18. Father of Anthony Hammer. Brother of Kathi deQuilettes, Sheri Hebden, Vicki Velez, Donna, Janet, Brian and David Proctor, Jr. Grandfather of two.

QUINN, Michael F., 77, St. Joan of Arc, Indianapolis, Feb. 24. Husband of Anne Quinn. Father of Shannon, Kevin and Rob Quinn. Brother of Libby Hahn, Katy Kelly, Lolly Quaglierello, Mary Williams, Barney, John, Pat, Terry and Tim Quinn. Grandfather of seven.

RAVER, Ronald G., 82, Holy Family, Oldenburg, Feb. 20. Husband of Sally Raver. Father of Gina Niese. Brother of Glenn and Vernon Raver. Grandfather of two.

REYNOLDS, Mary Beth, 71, St. Michael the Archangel, Indianapolis, Feb. 16. Sister of Sharon Graham, Patricia Kowich, Gregory, Matthew, Michael, Robert, Steven, Thomas and William Reynolds.

SAUERLAND, Janice L., 85, St. Michael, Brookville, Feb. 21. Mother of JoAnn Bales, Jennifer King and Jeff Sauerland. Grandmother of five.

SCHAFER, Loretta J., 88, Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Indianapolis, Feb. 12. Mother of Jean Goodwin, Ann Schubach, Joe, Paul and Tony Schafer. Sister of Barbara Carr and Julia Jones. Grandmother of 12. Great-grandmother of five.

SCHUELER, Joyce J., 87, St. Mary, Lanesville, Feb. 21. Wife of Francis Schueler. Aunt of several.

STEELE, Roberta, 78, Our Lady of the Greenwood, Greenwood, Jan. 21. Wife of Harry Steele. Mother of Susan Baker, Ginnie Hoover, Terri Runnebohm, Wesley Steele and Randi Terry. Sister of Jerry Beuoy. Grandmother of nine.

STROHMIER, Gary, 72, St. Michael, Brookville, Feb. 23. Husband of Judy Strohmier. Father of Beth Anderson, Chris and Phil Strohmier. Brother of Joyce Hokey, Karen, Brian, Daryl and Richard Strohmier. Grandfather of six.

TODD, Diana J., 70, St. Mary, Rushville, Feb. 17 Mother of Angela Jacobus and Matthew Todd. Sister of Debbie Cole, Sally Niedenthal and Mike Beard. Grandmother of eight. Great-grandmother of five.

VILLARIN, Dr. Adrian, 82, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Richmond, Feb. 19. Husband of Evelyn Villarin. Father of Heather Restificar, Tiffany and Neal Villarin. Grandfather of three.

WILSON, Jerry R., 81, St. Jude, Indianapolis, Feb. 15. Father of Elizabeth Saxon and Nicholas Wilson. Brother of Loretta Byers, Jeanette Kriech and Sondra Woodcock. Grandfather of four.

WITT, Mary Ellen, 93, Most Sorrowful Mother of God, Vevay, Feb. 19. Wife of Don Witt. Mother of Maribeth Duerstock, Kurt and Ric Witt. Grandmother of 14. Great-grandmother of 15.

Franciscan Sister Judith Werner served for 30 years in Catholic schools

Franciscan Sister Judith Werner, formerly Sister Bonaventure, died on March 5 at the motherhouse of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis in Oldenburg. She was 78.

The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on March 10 at the Motherhouse Chapel in Oldenburg. Burial followed at the sisters’ cemetery.

Sister Judith was born on July 1, 1943, in Batesville. She and her family were members of St. Louis Parish in Batesville and later at Holy Family Parish in Oldenburg.

Sister Judith entered the Sisters of St. Francis on Sept. 8, 1961, and professed final vows on Aug. 12, 1967. She earned a bachelor’s degree in education at Marian University in Indianapolis and a master’s degree in science education at Creighton University in Omaha, Neb.

During 60 years as a member of the Sisters of St. Francis, Sister Judith ministered in Catholic education for 30 years in Indiana and Ohio. In the archdiocese, she served at St. Vincent de Paul School in Bedford from 1963-64. She helped lead her community’s communications office from 1996-2002 and assisted in its development office from 2006-13. Sister Judith also served as a GED teacher in Batesville from 2013-14 and volunteered at Twice Blessed Resale Store of the Oldenburg Academy of the Immaculate Conception in Oldenburg from 2014-15 at which time she retired.

Sister Judith is survived by brothers Brian, Dale and James Werner, all of Batesville.

Memorial gifts may be sent to the Sisters of St. Francis, P.O. Box 100, Oldenburg, IN 47036-0100. †