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)

BARNES, Patricia Ann, 73, St. Joseph, Indianapolis, Sept. 23. Mother of Richard, Stephen and William Barnes. Grandmother of 10. Great-grandmother of four.

BRAKORA, Mary Ann (Jaracz), 82, St. Paul, Tell City, Oct. 17. Mother of Kara Braunecker, Betsy Griffith, Andrew, Mathew, Peter and Philip Brakora. Grandmother of 18. Great-grandmother of three.

BRITTENHAM, Paul, 94, St. Mary, Richmond, Oct. 5. Father of Beth Foster, Sally Miller and Sue Vaziri. Grandfather of eight. Great-grandfather of 14.

BROWN, John Lee, 63, St. Vincent de Paul, Bedford, Oct. 12. Father of Justin Brown. Son of Rev. Carl and Thelma Brown. Brother of Sharon Bowden, Daniel, Denzil, Larry and Mike Brown.

DILLARD, Sharon Ann, 64, Holy Angels, Indianapolis, Oct. 13. Mother of John Patton. Daughter of Dorothy Pipes. Sister of Lisa York, Daniel and Gerald Anderson, Lee and Maurice Pipes II, Addison and George Simpson, and Rodgerick Walker. Grandmother of four. Great-grandmother of one.

DUNLOP, Willis, 78, St. Barnabas, Indianapolis, Oct. 20. Husband of Mary Lou (Teipen) Dunlop. Father of Diane Gibson, Deborah and Gregory Dunlop. Grandfather of four.

ELDER, Carl, 73, St. Paul, Tell City, Oct. 18. Husband of Mary Kay (Spath) Elder. Father of Carla Moman and Brian Elder. Brother of Bob Elder. Grandfather of three.

ELMORE, Juanita (Baker), 84, St. Mary-of-the-Knobs, Floyds Knobs, Oct. 10. Mother of Bridget Fischer and Denise Smallwood. Grandmother of five. Great-grandmother of five.

GIVAN, Barbara Marie, 81, St. John the Baptist, Osgood, Sept. 12. Mother of Melanie Bentley, Dr. Deborah Given, Theresa Parker and Janice Wilson. Sister of Ruth Fenker and Mary Turner. Grandmother of eight. Great-grandmother of two.

HARDEBECK, Jack W., 65, St. Joseph, Shelbyville, Oct. 16. Father of Debora Guffy, Tamara and Jeffrey Hardebeck. Brother of Nancy Schalagen and James Hardebeck. Grandfather of six. Great-grandfather of three.

HEUSER, Charles Y., 91, St. Augustine, Jeffersonville, Oct. 6. Father of Nancy Kahl, Mary Ann Tucker, Carolyn, James and John Heuser. Brother of Betty Curtsinger. Grandfather of four. Great-grandfather of four.

HIEGER, James, 74, Holy Family, Richmond, Oct. 10. Husband of Barbara Hieger. Father of Pam Haager, Kim Renver, Linda Vogelgesang and Duane Hieger. Brother of Dick Hieger. Grandfather of five.

HOLZER, Norbert J., 79, St. Barnabas, Indianapolis, Oct. 9. Husband of Lois (McIntire) Holzer. Father of Julie Daeger, Kara and Lori Miller and Greg Holzer. Brother of Betty McElroy and Carl Holzer. Grandfather of 12.

HOLZER, Rosella, 91, St. John the Baptist, Osgood, Jan. 10. Mother of Patricia Durlacher, Aletha Heaton, R. Joan Sarringhaus, Marie Strobel, J. Cletus, John and Mark Holzer. Sister of Betty Rouse and Paul Meister. Grandmother of 27. Great-grandmother of 60.

LUBER, Lena D., 85, St. Mary, Greensburg, Oct. 23. Mother of Mary Green, Linda, David and Robert Luber. Sister of Nettie Walls, Louetta Willard, Benjamin and Curtis Roberts. Grandmother of 10. Great-grandmother of 26.

McKENZIE, Leon R., 79, SS. Francis and Clare, Greenwood, Sept. 9. Husband of Mary Ann (Lacy) McKenzie.

McLEOD, James, Jr., 84, St. Pius X, Indianapolis, Oct. 15. Husband of Regina McLeod. Father of Karen Ellis and Lisa Martin. Grandfather of three.

MILLER, Jonah Edmund, infant, Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Indianapolis, Oct. 19. Son of Justin and Ashley (Hood) Miller. Brother of Lila, Melody and Isaac Miller. Grandson of Mary Ann Miller, Michael and Janice Hood.

OELKER, Maurice Elmer, Sr., 79, St. Lawrence, Lawrenceburg, Oct. 18. Husband of Elizabeth Oelker. Father of Lisette Garrett, Linn, Maurice Jr. and Vincent Oelker. Brother of Johanna Jarvis. Grandfather of 11.

PENCE, Geraldine C., 91, St. Michael, Brookville, Oct. 17. Mother of Richard and Rodney Pence. Sister of Paul Gardner. Grandmother of four. Great-grandmother of 10.

PHILLIPE, Eleanor (Boyd), 87, St. Charles Borromeo, Bloomington, Oct. 22. Mother of Patricia Champion, Barbara Voget and Mark Phillipe. Sister of Barbara Maves. Grandmother of several. Great-grandmother of several.

PRUITT, Mary Jo, 63, St. Paul, Tell City, Oct. 11. Mother of Tammy Presley and Chad Pruitt. Sister of Roberta Williams and Gary James. Grandmother of four.

RACE, Agnes, 94, St. Michael, Brookville, Oct. 6. Mother of Vicki Lee, Patty Lucas, Judy McMahan, Darlene Newkirk, Sherri Wolff, Jerry, Richard and Tim Race. Sister of Georgia Cobb, Viola Stenger, Marilyn Ziegler, Charles, Herbert and Paul Kunkel. Grandmother of 21. Great-grandmother of 17. Step-great-grandmother of three. Great-great-grandmother of one.

SCHARF, Adolph F., Jr., 86, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, New Albany, Oct. 23. Husband of Norma (Kapps) Scharf. Father of Nancy, David and Michael Scharf. Brother of Edward Scharf. Grandfather of six.

WEADICK, Mildred, 100, St. Mary, Richmond, Oct. 1. Mother of Mark and Mike Weadick. Sister of Ruthmary Wright. Grandmother of four. Great-grandmother of 11.

WOOD, Christine, 100, St. Augustine, Jeffersonville, Sept. 25. Sister of Nell Conklin-Reese.

St. Joseph Sister Mary Julia Wagner ministered in education, social work and evangelization

St. Joseph Sister Mary Julia Wagner died on Oct. 24 at Tipton Hospital in Tipton. She was 91.

The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Oct. 29 at the St. Joseph Center Chapel in Tipton. Burial followed at the sisters’ cemetery.

The former Mary Elizabeth Wagner was born on May 15, 1920, in Kokomo, Ind.

She entered the Sisters of St. Joseph of Tipton on Dec. 28, 1935, and professed her final vows on July 2, 1941.

In 2010, Sister Julia celebrated the 75th anniversary of her entrance into the religious community.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in education at St. Joseph College in Renssalaer, Ind., in 1964, and master’s degree in Latin and English at Indiana State University in Terre Haute in 1967.

In 1940, she began her ministry as a teacher in the Lafayette Diocese.

Sister Julia changed her ministry to social work in 1970.

In 1981, Sister Julia began a new ministry in the Office of Evangelization for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.

A resident of St. Joseph Center since 2004, Sister Julia had been in poor health for some time.

Surviving are many nieces and nephews.

Memorial gifts may be sent to the Sisters of St. Joseph, St. Joseph Center, 1440 W. Division Road, Tipton IN 46072. †