April 10, 2015

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)

ABEL, Margaret Lucile, 75, Immaculate Heart of Mary, Indianapolis, Oct. 26. Mother of Dawn DeDomenico and Frederick Abel Jr. Grandmother of seven.

ARIENS, Gertrude Cecilia, 87, St. Mary, Rushville, March 19. Sister of Rita Teal, Bernard and William Beyer.

BARRETT, William, 78, St. Andrew, Richmond, March 12. Stepfather of Donna Kitchel. Step-grandfather of three. Step-great-grandfather of four.

BECKMAN, William J., Sr., 82, St. Pius X, Indianapolis, March 18. Husband of Mary Gayle Beckman. Father of Mary Smith, Joseph, Timothy and William Beckman Jr. Brother of Virginia Ulliman and John Beckman. Grandfather of two.

CUMMINS, Rocky, Sr., 58, St. Michael, Brookville, March 17. Husband of Nioka Cummins. Father of Alyssa Brown, Shannon Foster, April, Heather, Alex, Ben and Rocky Cummins Jr. Son of Imogene Cummins. Brother of Laura Westerfeld and Perry Cummins. Grandfather of 13. Great-grandfather of one.

DUDAS, Mary Kay, 72, St. Andrew, Richmond, March 20. Mother of Julie Vecera, Andy, Chris, Eric, Michael and Nick Dudas. Sister of Helen Meier, Bill, Bob, Jack, John, Ron, Sam and Tom Evans. Grandmother of 14.

ECKHART, Helen H., 91, St. Mark the Evangelist, Indianapolis, March 21. Mother of Rita Butler, Elaine Holloway, Joan Ripa, Anne Marie Saul, Jane Svarczkopf, Tim and Tom Eckhart. Sister of Judy Dezelan. Grandmother of 38. Great-grandmother of 62.

FLORA, Diane Marie, 65, Immaculate Heart of Mary, Indianapolis, Nov. 11. Wife of John Flora. Daughter of Lenora Briede. Sister of Ann Davis, Mary Klug, Bridget Momcilovich, David and Richard Briede.

GOOTEE, Norma Louise (Beplay), 79, St. Roch, Indianapolis, March 18. Mother of Theresa Stumpf, Daniel, Paul and Stephen Gootee. Sister of Gary Beplay. Grandmother of eight. Great-grandmother of eight.

GORDON, Nichole Ann, 11, Sacred Heart of Jesus, Indianapolis, March 8. Daughter of John and Amanda Gordon. Sister of Jessica, Lillian, Tierra, Johnathon and Taylor Gordon. Granddaughter of Johnnie and Susie Conlin and Gerald Gordon.

HALL, David Lee, 61, St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower), Indianapolis, March 21. Father of Kendra Chavez, Patricia Hall, Kimberly Rangel-Chavez and Nicholas Kern. Grandfather of five.

HICKEY, William Joseph, 85, Immaculate Heart of Mary, Nov. 20. Husband of Barbara (Neal) Hickey. Father of Rachael Charters, Pat Knoth, Kathy Silvey, Barbara Wiseman, Sue, Terry, Robert and William Hickey. Grandfather of several. Great-grandfather of several.

HILL, Hugh Daniel, 66 St. Michael, Brookville, March 20. Husband of Sandy Hill. Father of Ande Beasely and Dominic Hill. Brother of Jack, Jim and Paul Bischoff. Grandfather of three.

JOHNSTON, Elizabeth, 92, St. Mary, Greensburg, March 19. Mother of Carol and Ross Johnston. Aunt of several.

KORTZENDORF, Patricia J., 90, St. Jude, Indianapolis, March 17. Wife of George Kortzendorf. Mother of Donna Adrian, Mary Beaman, Judy Hammett, Carol Schenk and Thomas Kortzendorf. Sister of Dorthea Ilg and John Rucker. Grandmother of 10. Great-grandmother of 13.

KNUE, Lillian J. (Beneker), 80, St. Nicholas, Ripley County, March 20. Mother of Myra Endris, Judy Soots and Linus Knue. Sister of Francis Bischoff and Rita Stenger. Grandmother of eight. Great-grandmother of two.

NEWCOMB, Joseph Edward, 72, Immaculate Heart of Mary, Indianapolis, Dec. 6. Brother of Patricia and Thomas Newcomb.

NOONE, John Thomas, 80, Sacred Heart of Jesus, Indianapolis, March 21. Father of Kathleen Mickel, Denise Wood, Daniel, Joseph, Kevin, Paul, Timothy and Thomas Noone. Brother of JoEllen Eckstein, Betty Hoffman, Colette Philhower, Kay Woods, Francis and Stephen Noone. Grandfather of 20. Great-grandfather of one.

NOWAK, Walter, 90, Immaculate Heart of Mary, Indianapolis, Nov. 2. Husband of Lorraine (Theobald) Nowak. Father of Sara Emmick and Lisa Jerry. Grandfather of four.

SHANAHAN, Paul V., 85, Most Holy Name of Jesus, Beech Grove, March 21. Father of Sally Edington, Maureen Okerson, Terry Schonhoff, Kathy Weisenbach and John Shanahan. Grandfather of 18. Great-grandfather of eight.

SHAUGHNESSY, Janet, 81, Sacred Heart of Jesus, Indianapolis, March 18. Mother of Margaret and Mary Shaughnessy. Sister of Leslie Awbrey, Providence Sister Regina Shaughnessy, Dwight and George Cardoza.

SHEERIN, Marilyn (Bobbitt), 84, Immaculate Heart of Mary, Indianapolis, Dec. 25. Mother of Margaret Boss, Elizabeth Todd, Patricia, Jim and Joe Sheerin. Grandmother of 13.

SULLIVAN, William J., 95, Immaculate Heart of Mary, Nov. 6. Husband of Jacquie (Matney) Sullivan. Father of Catherine Dunwiddie, Mary Jo Fitzgerald, Margaret Price, Sue Ann Shepple, Mark and Stephen Sullivan. Grandfather of 23.

TEGARDEN, Scott Kenton, 64, Immaculate Heart of Mary, Indianapolis, March 18. Husband of Suzanne Tegarden. Father of Amy Harville, Sarah Stockholm, Alli and Andrew Tegarden. Grandfather of three.

VanCAMP, Joseph W., Jr., 93, St. Pius X, Indianapolis, March 18. Father of Kay Hardin, Peggy Lynn, Anne, Jack and Dr. Joe VanCamp. Grandfather of 10. Great-grandfather of four.

WAGNER, Willa Mae, 77, St. Mary, Rushville, March 19. Mother of Mary Edwards, Regina Spaeth, Lori, Christopher and Robert Wagner. Sister of Gary Nixon. Grandmother of 12. Great-grandmother of 12.

WEISBACH, John A., 99, St. Mary, Greensburg, March 21. Father of Shirley Niese. Grandfather of two. Great-grandfather of five.


Franciscan Sister Angela Benedict served in Catholic schools for more than 50 years

Franciscan Sister Angela Benedict died on March 29 at the motherhouse of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis in Oldenburg. She was 104.

The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on March 31 at the Motherhouse Chapel in Oldenburg. Burial followed at the sisters’ cemetery.

Angela Mary Benedict was born on Dec. 12, 1910, in Chicago Heights, Ill.

She entered the Sisters of St. Francis on Dec. 27, 1929, and professed final vows on July 2, 1935.

During 85 years as a Sister of St. Francis, Sister Angela ministered as an educator for more than 50 years in Catholic schools in Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. In the archdiocese, she served at St. Louis School in Batesville in 1942, and in Indianapolis at St. Lawrence School from 1951-52, the former Holy Trinity School from 1963-70, and St. Michael the Archangel School from 1970-85.

Sister Angela was also known for her musical talent, frequently playing violin solos during Masses in the parishes in which she served. She also sought to minister to the poor, sick and elderly in her ministry assignments.

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

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