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)

BENDER, Phyillis, 78, St. Meinrad, St. Meinrad, Aug. 12. Wife of John Bender. Mother of Vicki Bolin, Missy Hoffman, Sara Vaal and Drew Bender. Grandmother of eight. Great-grandmother of three.

BENNETT, Marie, 90, St. Anthony of Padua, Clarksville, Oct. 12. Mother of Jackie Flanigan and Tony Bennett. Grandmother of four. Great-grandmother of eight.

BERTKE, Linda, 61, St. Boniface, Fulda, July 28. Sister of Yvonne and Dan Bertke.

BOGENSCHUTZ, Luella, 91, Holy Spirit, Indianapolis, Sept. 16. Mother of Teresa Hall, Deb Hartman, Judy Wilson and Tom Bogenschutz. Grandmother of 12. Great-grandmother of 19.

BOWLES, Jr., George W., 62, St. John Paul II, Sellersburg, Sept. 20. Husband of Andrea Bowles. Father of Jessica Campbell, Austin, Jordan and Sam Bowles. Son of George Bowles, Sr. Brother of Kathy Edwards, Vickie Raichel and Chastity Shelton.

BROWN, Anna Marie, 90, St. Mary, Lanesville, Oct. 11. Mother of John and Paul Brown. Sister of Helen Gettelfinger, Mary Koetter, Hilda Robinson, Laverne Smith and Lawrence Loew. Grandmother of two.

CUAYA HERNANDEZ, Ivanna S., infant, Holy Spirit, Indianapolis, Sept. 24. Daughter of Ivan Cuaya Osario and Ericka Michelle Hernandez.

ELTZROTH, Diane, 81, St. Pius X, Indianapolis, Sept. 25. Mother of Katie Horton, Tracy Murphy and Derek Eltzroth. Sister of Ellen Cronin, Carol and Gary Hofmeister. Grandmother of eight.

KOONTZ, James D., 74, Prince of Peace, Madison, Oct. 6. Husband of Carolyn Koontz. Father of Linda King and Mark Koontz. Brother of Deborah Jacobson, Donna Lytle, Marta Tingle, Duane and Michael Koontz. Grandfather of four. Great-grandfather of four.

LESTER, Frances G., 84, St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower), Indianapolis, Oct. 7. Mother of Kathy and Christopher Lester. Sister of Geraldine Burgin and Kathleen Sodeman. Grandmother of five.

LLOYD. Sr., Charles R., 90, Holy Spirit, Indianapolis, Aug. 6. Father of Tammy Hargrove, Terrie Purdy, Rick, Rob, Ron and Tim Lloyd. Grandfather and great-grandfather of several.

MCKINLEY, Mary Katherine, 73, St. John Paul II, Sellersburg, Sept. 20. Mother of Melissa Callahan and Bryan McKinley. Grandmother of three.

PRATER, James, 76, Prince of Peace, Madison, Oct. 8. Husband of Tina Prater. Father of Melissa Langdon. Grandfather of four. Great-grandfather of nine.

REA, Sandra K., 58, St. Lawrence, Lawrenceburg, Oct. 7. Wife of Fred Rea. Mother of Hannah Rea.

SCHMOLL, Mary C. (Fougerousse), 88, St. Mark the Evangelist, Indianapolis, Oct. 5. Mother of Mary Cooley and Steven Schmoll. Sister of Rita Martin and Bernie Fougerousse. Grandmother of five. Great-grandmother of one.

SCHMUTTE, Stephen, 63, Christ the King, Indianapolis, Oct. 2. Father of Drew, Grant and Shane Schmutte. Brother of Gayle Leonard and Lynn Thompson. Grandfather of two.

SEDAM, Clara M., 88, St. Christopher, Indianapolis, Oct. 4. Mother of K. Lori Riley, Renita Seldowitz and Daniel Sedam. Sister of Sylvia Flores, Ramon Bagg and Jesus Perez. Grandmother of eight. Great-grandmother of six.

STEWART, Rebecca S., 75, St. Mary, Rushville, Oct. 12. Wife of James Stewart. Mother of Jamie Russell and Mike Chandler. Sister of Jeannie Hawley, Mary Hoeing, Patsy McVey, Carolyn Risk, Jerry and Lloyd Herbert. Grandmother of four. Great-grandmother of three.

SULLIVAN, Mary, 75, St. John Paul II, Sellersburg, Sept. 29. Wife of Robert Sullivan. Mother of Craig and Scott Sullivan. Sister of Bill and Bob Peters. Grandmother of two. Great-grandmother of two.

SULLIVAN, Michael B., 64, Holy Spirit, Indianapolis, Sept. 4. Brother of Maureen Murphy and Patricia Tredwell.

WISSEL, Terry D., 71, St. John the Baptist, Osgood, Sept. 28. Brother of Ted and Tim Wissel. Uncle of several.

---

Pauline Shikany, 96, mother of Father Paul Shikany, died on October 11

Pauline (Erb) Shikany, the mother of Father Paul Shikany, a retired archdiocesan priest, died on Oct. 11 at Envive Beech Grove (formerly St. Paul Hermitage). She was 96.

The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Oct. 22 at St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower) Church in Indianapolis. Burial followed at Calvary Cemetery in Indianapolis.

Shikany was born on July 11, 1929, in Indianapolis to Jacob and Ernestine (McDonald) Erb. She grew up as a member of Little Flower Parish, graduated from its grade school and was a graduate of the former St. Mary Academy and the former St. Vincent School of Nursing, both in Indianapolis.

On March 31, 1951, she married Michael Shikany at Little Flower Church. They shared 68 years of marriage before he preceded her in death in 2019.

Shikany worked for more than 40 years as a registered nurse at Community East Hospital in Indianapolis. While dedicated to her service as a nurse, she was also tireless in her commitment to her family. Her loving relationship with her husband continued after they both became residents of the former St. Paul Hermitage in Beech Grove later in life.

A lifelong member of Little Flower Parish and a frequent volunteer there earlier in her life, Shikany lived long enough to see the 100th anniversary of its founding.

She is survived by her three children: Marie, Paula and Father Paul Shikany; her sister, Martha Roesch; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Memorial gifts may be sent to St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower) Parish, 4720 E. 13th St., Indianapolis, IN 46201. †