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)

ALEXANDER, Marsha M., 59, St. Mary, Rushville, March 26. Wife of Gary Alexander. Mother of Carrie and Rachel Alexander. Daughter of Anthony and Joan Meo. Sister of Stacie Kirkham, Diana Tobin, Angie Workman, Sonya Zoller, Roxie, Guy, Joe, Mike and Vincent Meo. Grandmother of one.

ANSPACH, Joan M., 94, Holy Spirit, Indianapolis, March 15. Mother of Lori Schroeder and Kenneth Anspach. Grandmother of five. Great-grandmother of seven.

BANE, Fabiola, 81, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Richmond, Feb. 9. Mother of Sandy Bane-Hawley, Kimm Huntington, Debbie, Lori and Tony Bane. Sister of Hope Baca, Toni Chavez, Teresa Gomez, Virginia Lucero, Danny and Eddy Armijo. Grandmother of 12. Great-grandmother of 26.

BESSO, Eileen C., 100, St. Malachy, Brownsburg, March 23. Mother of Elana, Ernette, David, Donald and Duane. Sister of Annetta Logston and Ray Meunier. Grandmother of 11. Great-grandmother of 13. Great-great-grandmother of two.

BLANFORD, Jeanine R., 77, St. Joseph, Shelbyville, March 17. Wife of James Blanford. Mother of Theresa Hill, Maureen Paul, Donna Widmer, Paul and Patrick Blanford. Sister of Mary Ann Haacker, Patricia Locchetta, Glenda Moore, Kevin and Mike Stone. Grandmother of 14.

BOND, Damon T., 75, Holy Spirit, Indianapolis, March 16. Husband of Earla Bond. Father of Joseph Bond. Grandfather of three.

DICKMAN, Eileen, 86, Holy Family, Oldenburg, March 25. Mother of Linda Case, Mary Jo Hassett, Bruce, Jr., Jerry, Joe and Kurt Dickman. Sister of Pat Haessig, Rose Kinker, Ruth and Henry Youngman. Grandmother of 15. Great-grandmother of 30.

DIRR, Jeffrey, 57, St. Lawrence, Lawrenceburg, March 13. Husband of Molly Dirr. Father of Ashley and Morgan Dirr. Brother of Dennis, Gary and Wayne Dirr.

ECKERT, Mary Frances, 78, St. John Paul II, Sellersburg, March 23. Wife of John Eckert. Mother of Albert, Michael, Paul and Phillip Eckert. Sister of Ann Bennett, Martha Lone, Estelle Mitchell, Charlie, Joe, John and Steve McIntyre. Grandmother of 10. Great-grandmother of two.

HALLY, Elizabeth, 90, St. Mary, Greensburg, March 21. Mother of Pamela Jackson, Samuel and Timothy Hally. Grandmother of six. Great-grandmother of eight.

HANNEMAN, Carolyn A., 86, St. Joseph, Shelbyville, March 22. Wife of William Hanneman. Mother of Michael and Randal Hanneman. Sister of Carol and Richard Baxter. Grandmother of six. Great-grandmother of one.

MAPPES, Carol M., 83, St. Jude, Indianapolis, March 26. Mother of David, Eric, John and Scott Mappes. Grandmother of seven. Great-grandmother of one.

MCDANIEL, Jennifer M., 63, Sacred Heart of Jesus, Indianapolis, Feb. 15. Mother of Shannon Copper, Melissa, James, Jeremy and Steve McDaniel. Sister of Mary Ann Harding, Debbie Spears, Bill and Steve Morgan. Grandmother of seven. Great-grandmother of one.

O’CONNOR, Joan M., 62, St. Malachy, Brownsburg, March 3. Sister of James, John and William O’Connor. Aunt of several.

O’NEILL, Michael D., 63, St. Jude, Indianapolis, Feb. 11. Brother of Kim Roberts, Mark and Randy O’Neill.

SCHINDLER, Carl A., 80, Holy Family, New Albany, March 24. Husband of Goldie Lou Schindler. Father of Tori Shumate. Brother of Alberta Peay, Joyce, Bobby, Donnie, Kenny, Joe and Mike Schindler. Grandfather of two.

SMITH, Daniel W., 83, St. Bernard, Frenchtown, March 25. Father of Melissa Hall, Lela Monroe, Madonna Taylor, Danielle and Shane Smith. Brother of Martha Smith. Grandfather of nine. Great-grandfather of five.

SMITH, James A., 73, SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral, Indianapolis, March 23. Father of Nicole Smith. Brother of Nanette Anderson and René Torrence. Grandfather of two. Great-grandfather of four.

TROSSMAN, Lucille A., 94, All Saints, Dearborn County, March 24. Sister of JoAnn Buschur, Rita Duggins, Rose Martini, Violet and Floyd Trossman. Aunt of several.

VELIKAN, Frank, 84, St. Malachy, Brownsburg, March 17. Father of Diane, Paula, Sarah, Victoria, Chris, Frank, Greg, Jeff and Phil. Brother of Jim Velikan. Grandfather of 16.

WEISENBACH, Andrew V., 85, St. Anthony of Padua, Morris, March 26. Husband of Eleen Weisenbach. Father of Vickie Heil, Neetz Lach, Cindy Meyer, Dan and Jason Weisenbach. Brother of Ruth Billman, Edwina Ertel and Ray Weisenbach. Grandfather of 10. Great-grandfather of five.

YOST, Alfred, 91, St. John Paul II, Sellersburg, March 21. Father of David, Kevin, Paul, Stephen and Thomas Yost. Grandfather of seven. Great-grandfather of five. †

Franciscan Sister Marta Aiken served in education and as a hospital chaplain

Franciscan Sister Marta Aiken died on March 29 at the motherhouse of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis in Oldenburg. She was 95.

The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on April 6 at the Motherhouse Chapel in Oldenburg. Burial followed at the sisters’ cemetery.

Sister Marta was born on May 6, 1925, in Cincinnati. She and her family later moved to Richmond where they were members of the former St. Andrew Parish. During World War II, she studied at Marian University in Indianapolis, earning a bachelor’s degree in history. She also worked during that time in retail stores and in a munitions factory.

Sister Marta joined the Sisters of St. Francis on Sept. 7, 1947, and professed final vows on Aug. 12, 1953. She earned a master’s degree in education with a concentration in Spanish at Xavier University in Cincinnati. She completed further studies at the University of Madrid in Spain, Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vt., and at St. Louis University in St. Louis.

During 73 years as a member of the Sisters of St. Francis, Sister Marta ministered in Catholic education for 31 years, as a hospital chaplain for 14 years and as a health care chaplain at the motherhouse for 20 years. She served in Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Missouri and Ohio.

In the archdiocese, Sister Marta ministered in Indianapolis at the former St. Mary Academy from 1963-67 and at Marian University from 1967-79.

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