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)
BANAYOTE, Jr., Benny G., 89, Our Lady of Lourdes, Indianapolis, March 3. Father of Joe and Rob Banayote. Grandfather of five. Great-grandfather of six.
BLEDSOE, Karen S., 77, Holy Name of Jesus, Beech Grove, March 17. Mother of Jackie Woo, Gregory and Michael Mertz. Sister of Julie Miller, James Bledsoe and Gary Sater, Jr. Grandmother of eight.
BOSTIC, David H., 86, Holy Name of Jesus, Beech Grove, March 18. Husband of Delores Bostic. Father of Elaine Bostic, Karen Royalty and Gwen Russell. Grandfather of 10. Great-grandfather of 13.
DUFOUR, Daniel J., 88, Our Lady of Lourdes, Indianapolis, Feb. 15. Brother of Donna Culotta, Victoria Jenkins, Bernadette Lathrop, Dianne Metzler, Sussane Sullivan, Maria, Christopher and Richard Dufour. Uncle, great-uncle and great-great-uncle of several.
EAGAN, Rose, 99, Holy Name of Jesus, Beech Grove, Feb. 14. Mother of Cathy Kremer and Michael Eagan. Sister of Joseph Minatel. Grandmother of four. Great-grandmother of two.
ERNST, Kathleen, 82, St. Mary, New Albany, Feb. 26.
Sister of Father William Ernst.
HELD, Mary Rosalie, 87, Christ the King, Indianapolis, March 10. Mother of Kimberlie Ebey. Sister of Mary Christine Schrader and Mark Schmidt.
HIRSCH, Henry M., 80, St. Luke the Evangelist, Indianapolis, March 13. Husband of Kathryn Hirsch. Father of Megan Duncan and Clay Hirsch. Brother of Patricia Hirsch. Grandfather of six.
KEMERLY, Karen, 65, St. Thomas the Apostle, Fortville, Nov. 5, 2025. Sister of Sharon and Robert Kemerly.
KIEFFER, Esther E., 98, St. John the Baptist, Osgood, Feb. 27. Mother of Carol Byard, Joan Carter and Kathy Kieffer. Grandmother of three. Great-grandmother of five.
LOWDEN, Joyce W., 79, SS. Francis and Clare of Assisi, Greenwood, Feb. 25. Wife of John Lowden. Mother of Elizabeth Auffrey, Andrew and Robert Lowden. Sister of Peggy Gunter. Grandmother of nine. Great-grandmother of three.
MORGAN, Carolyn S., 93, St. Mary, New Albany, March 9. Mother of Beverly Anderson. Sister of Providence Sister Joanne Cullins. Grandmother of two.
OGDEN, Eileen M., 90, St. John the Baptist, Osgood, Jan. 4. Mother of Cindy Bryan and Greg Ogden. Sister of Rick and Sonny Jenks. Grandmother of four. Great-grandmother of several.
OGLE, Anne, 68, St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower), Indianapolis, March 10. Wife of Kevin Ogle. Mother of Jeremy and Jonathan Ogle. Sister of Lynn James, Carol Potter and John Seyfried. Grandmother of three.
SIMON, Dale C., 77, Most Sorrowful Mother of God, Vevay, Jan. 10. Father of Elizabeth Newman and Gina Orlando. Stepfather of Angie Haskell. Brother of Rita Bedel and Linda Wissel. Grandfather of five.
WENKER, Nancy E., 86, St. John the Baptist, Osgood, Feb. 12. Mother of Chris and Gregory Wenker. Sister of Audrey Mason, Phyllis Smith and Gary Bowen. Grandmother of six.
WESBECKER, Carl, 89, St. John Paul II, Sellersburg, March 16. Father of Dale and Dean Wesbecker. Brother of Paulette Miles and Carolyn Stewart.
WESTERKAMP, Robert, 90, Prince of Peace, Madison, March 22. Husband of Marlene Westerkamp. Father of Linda Freese, Susan Locaputo, Christine May, Greg, Jim, John, Steve and Tom Westercamp. Brother of Mary McGoron and Bill Westerkamp. Grandfather of 30. Great-grandfather of 18.
WILSON, Elaine A., 84, Good Shepherd, Indianapolis, March 21. Mother of Carol, Christopher, James and Mark Wilson. Sister of Robert Sprankle. Grandmother of five. Great-grandmother of one.
WILSON, Joann (Faenzi), 91, Holy Name of Jesus, Beech Grove, March 21. Mother of Anthony, Daniel, Ronald and Scott Wilson. Grandmother of six. Great-grandmother of 10.
WITHEM, Loretta, 94, Holy Name of Jesus, Beech Grove, March 21. Mother of Janet Learner, Diane Roe and Stephen Withem. Sister of John Walker. Grandmother of two.
ZIGAN, Steve J., 88, St. John the Baptist, Osgood, Jan. 31. Husband of Ani Zigan. Father of Dave, Jim and Mike Zigan. Grandfather of 15.
Providence Sister Marikay Duffy was a missionary in Peru, served in Hispanic ministry
Providence Sister Mary Catherine Duffy, a member of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods in St. Mary-of-the-Woods, died on
March 20 at Lourdes Hall on the campus of her religious community’s motherhouse. She was 90. Her initial religious name was Sister Marie Michele. She was commonly known for a long time as Sister Marikay.
The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on March 27 at the Church of the Immaculate Conception at the motherhouse in St. Mary-of-the-Woods. Burial followed at the sisters’ cemetery.
Sister Marikay, was born on May 11, 1935, in Indianapolis where she grew up as a member of St. Philip Neri Parish.
She entered the Sisters of Providence on Jan. 6, 1953, and professed final vows on Aug. 15, 1960.
Sister Marikay earned a bachelor’s degree in education at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College and a master’s degree in special education at Indiana State University in Terre Haute. She was later awarded an honorary doctorate of humanities at the University of Indianapolis in Indianapolis.
During her 73 years as a member of the Sisters of Providence, Sister Marikay ministered as an educator in Catholic schools for nine years in California, Illinois and Indiana. She then served as a missionary educator in Peru from 1964-75.
Upon her return, Sister Marikay ministered as a religion teacher at St. Matthew the Apostle School in Indianapolis from 1986-87. She also served in Hispanic ministry in the archdiocese and in 1987 helped to found the former Hispanic Education Center, a part of the former Marian Center on the campus of St. Mary Parish in Indianapolis, serving there until 2004. She also provided immigration assistance first, at the Marian Center and later in the archdiocesan Office of Refugee and Immigrant Services, before retiring to the motherhouse in 2024.
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. †