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)
BARRETT, Vonna F., 78, Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Indianapolis, Aug. 22. Mother of Roberta Clark. Sister of Mary Agresta and Robert Dortch Sr. Grandmother of two. Great-grandmother of one.
EVANS, Adrienne A., 76, SS. Francis and Clare of Assisi, Greenwood, Aug. 3. Wife of Milton Evans. Mother of Janet Eyring, Cindy Letterle and Steve Evans. Sister of Ron Jackson. Grandmother of five. Great-grandmother of one.
GAUDIN, Mary A. (Bumen), 90, Most Sorrowful Mother of God, Vevay,
Aug. 27. Mother of Bernie, Jim, Joe, Jr. and Rick Gaudin. Grandmother of nine. Great-grandmother of four. Great-great-grandmother of one.
ISOM, Kirk A., 53,
SS. Francis and Clare of Assisi, Greenwood, Aug. 22. Father of Faith Isom. Son of Jean Isom. Grandfather of three.
KORKHOUSE, Kyle D., 37, St. Pius X, Indianapolis,
Aug. 21. Husband of Robyn Korkhouse. Father of Kyra Korkhouse. Son of David Korkhouse. Brother of Keri Korkhouse.
MCGARRY, Joan (Everly), 91, St. Charles Borromeo, Bloomington, Aug. 24. Mother of Susan Risk, Carol, Phillip and William McGarry. Grandmother of seven. Great-grandmother of 12. Great-great-grandmother of one.
MOSTER, Rosemary, 84, St. Michael, Brookville,
Aug. 22. Wife of Louis Moster. Mother of Jeff Moster. Sister of Katie Back, Delores Bosse, Eunice Miller, Bill Jr. and Tom Metz. Grandmother of three.
NIELSEN, Jr., James C., 60, St. Roch, Indianapolis, Aug. 19. Father of James Nielsen III. Brother of Carl and Chris Nielsen.
NOCKS, Gerald E., 69,
All Saints, Dearborn County, Aug. 20. Husband of Kay Nocks. Father of Lisa, Tim and Tom Nocks. Brother of Dick Nocks. Grandfather of three.
PULSIFER, Mary T., 95,
St. Mark the Evangelist, Indianapolis, Aug. 23. Mother of Joseph and Richard Pulsifer. Grandmother of one.
SCHERSCHEL, Carol L., 71, St. Vincent de Paul, Bedford, Aug. 19. Mother of Michele Cox, Jackie Mowry and Kristie Scherschel. Grandmother of seven. Great-grandmother of one.
SMITH, Kenneth C., 78,
St. Pius X, Indianapolis,
Aug. 24. Husband of Beth Smith. Father of Amy, Benjamin and Dallas Boschen, Elizabeth Kavanagh and Andrew Smith. Grandfather of nine.
WILKINS, Jerry, 78,
St. Simon the Apostle, Indianapolis, Aug. 26. Husband of Mary Wilkins. Father of Mark and Michael Wilkins. Grandfather of six.
WILLIAMS, Gene E., 86, St. Lawrence, Lawrenceburg, Aug. 25. Husband of Mary Williams. Father of Pamela Allen, Karen Hackman, Linda Johnson, Nancy Kendall, Mary Ann Renschler and David Williams. Grandfather of 18. Great-grandfather of 10.
ZIEGLER, Gary, 69,
St. Agnes, Nashville,
Aug. 19. Husband of Caryl Ziegler. Father of Beth Mohr and Chris Ziegler. Brother of JoAnn Nix, Joyce Parkison and Lamar Ziegler. Grandfather of two.
Benedictine Sister Carlita Koch served as prioress, teacher, pastoral associate
Benedictine Sister Carlita Koch, a member of Monastery Immaculate Conception in Ferdinand, Ind., in the Evansville, Ind., Diocese, died on Aug. 13 at the monastery’s Hildegard Health Center. She was 80.
The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Aug. 17 at the monastery church. Burial followed at the monastery cemetery.
Sister Carlita was born on July 1, 1936, in Evansville. She entered Monastery Immaculate Conception on Sept. 7, 1953, and professed vows on June 13, 1955. She celebrated the 60th anniversary of her profession of vows in 2015.
During her 61 years as a member of Monastery Immaculate Conception, Sister Carlita ministered in education for 34 years in schools in the Evansville Diocese and in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.
In the early 1970s, she began serving in different leadership positions in the monastery. The monastic community then elected Sister Carlita as prioress in 1973, a position she held for eight years. She later ministered as an administrative assistant and chaplain in hospitals in the Evansville and Fort Wayne-South Bend dioceses.
In the archdiocese, Sister Carlita served at Christ the King School in Indianapolis from 1955-58, at St. Paul Hermitage in Beech Grove from 1960-61 and as a pastoral associate at St. Mary Parish in Mitchell from 1996-2003.
She is survived by three sisters: Benedictine Sister Rosa Lee Koch, a member of Monastery Immaculate Conception; Martha Render of Greenwood; and Karen Waller of Evansville.
Memorial gifts may be sent to the Sisters of St. Benedict, 802 E. Tenth St., Ferdinand, IN, 47532.
Benedictine Father Cletus Miller was a missionary in South Dakota, Guatemala
Benedictine Father Cletus Miller, a monk of Saint Meinrad Archabbey in St. Meinrad, died on Aug. 25 in the monastery infirmary. He was 98.
The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Aug. 29 in the Archabbey Church of Our Lady of Einsiedeln in St. Meinrad. Burial followed at the Archabbey Cemetery.
Father Cletus was a jubilarian of monastic profession, having celebrated 77 years of monastic profession. He was also a jubilarian of ordination, having celebrated 72 years of life and ministry as a priest.
Elmer Matthew Miller was born on Aug., 17 1918, in Evansville, Ind. He entered Saint Meinrad’s former Minor Seminary in 1933, and was invested as a novice at Saint Meinrad Archabbey in 1938.
He professed temporary vows on Aug. 7, 1939, at which time he received his religious name Cletus. He professed solemn vows on Feb. 4, 1943, and was ordained a priest on May 30, 1944.
In February 1945, Father Cletus began service in mission work among Native Americans, first at the Immaculate Conception Mission in Stephan, S.D., then at St. Michael Mission in
St. Michael, S.D.
In 1950, he became a founding member of the former Blue Cloud Abbey in Marvin, S.D., which was established by Saint Meinrad Archabbey. From 1953-63, he served at St. Paul Mission in Marty, S.D., before returning to Blue Cloud Abbey to minister in various leadership positions there. In the 1960s and 1970s, Father Cletus continued to serve in missions among the Native Americans.
In 1981, he began a 28-year span of ministry at Resurrection Priory in Guatemala, which was founded by Blue Cloud Abbey. In Guatemala, Father Cletus served as a chaplain for Carmelite nuns, ministered in parishes, served as a confessor for local clergy and assisted in the monastic community.
Father Cletus returned to Saint Meinrad in 2012 when Blue Cloud Abbey closed.
Memorial gifts may be sent to Saint Meinrad Archabbey, 200 Hill Drive, St. Meinrad, IN 47577. †