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)
BROWN, William V., 90, Sacred Heart of Jesus, Indianapolis, July 5. Father of Pat Lomen, Margaret and William Brown. Grandfather of three. Great-grandfather of six. Great-great-grandfather of two.
CARSON, Marianne Catherine, 87, St. Simon the Apostle, Indianapolis, July 8. Mother of Anne Doughty, Mary Margaret and Thomas Carson. Sister of Carol Tucker, Norman, Richard and Robert Kuehr. Grandmother of two.
CHAPMAN, Eleanor M., 93, St. Christopher, Indianapolis, July 6. Sister of Annetta Friedman and Ruth Schneider. Grandmother of three. Great-grandmother of six. Great-great-grandmother of one.
DIAL, Sylvia (Medvesek), 83, St. Christopher, Indianapolis, May 17. Wife of Robert Dial. Mother of Diana Satkamp and Tom Dial. Sister of Raymond Medvesek. Grandmother of one.
DREWS, Shirley Dickie (Hewitt), 78, St. Michael, Greenfield, June 25. Mother of Lisa Pugh, Linda Rishel, Mark and Mike Hewitt. Grandmother of 14. Great-grandmother of 12.
HARRIS, Clara A., 74, St. Michael, Cannelton, June 26. Mother of Douglas, Jerry and Thomas Harris. Sister of Bernice Carter, Vernie Fugit, Alberta Harpe, Charles and Louie Kuntz. Grandmother of seven. Great-grandmother of two.
HEIN, Mildred, 92, St. Paul, Tell City, July 5. Mother of Betsy Farley, Mary Faulkenberg, Nancy Hughes and Chuck Hein. Sister of Kenneth, Omer and Ralph LeClere. Grandmother of eight. Great-grandmother of six.
HINES, Agatha J., 94, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, New Albany, June 30. Aunt of several.
LUDWICK, Patricia A., 66, Holy Name of Jesus, Beech Grove, June 28. Wife of Ronald Ludwick. Mother of Steven Ludwick. Sister of Lynn McPhillips, Jane Shireman and Audrey Smith. Grandmother of one.
McPHERSON, James Everett, II, 48, Our Lady of the Green-wood, Greenwood, July 10. Husband of Kathleen McPher-son. Father of Alyssa and Alex McPherson. Brother of Patricia Sabik.
MOORE, Jeannine A. (Huber), 70, St. Michael, Cannelton, June 26. Wife of Charlie Moore. Mother of Lori Kreisle, D. Todd and Greg Moore. Sister of Denny and Tom Huber. Grandmother of six. Great-grandmother of two.
NIEHAUS, Robert C., 92, Our Lady of the Greenwood, Greenwood, June 30. Husband of Anna Marie (Stahl) Niehaus. Father of Donna Rossittis and Ken Niehaus. Brother of Charlotte Baxter, Gertrude Isom and Larry Niehaus. Grandfather of three. Great-grandfather of seven.
PAULIN, Joseph N., 84, St. Michael, Cannelton, July 4. Husband of Virginia (Ramsey) Paulin. Father of Angela Gaynor, Marilyn Litherland, Denice McFarland and Suzanne Vogler. Brother of Marietta Ress, Bernard and Edward Paulin. Grandfather of seven. Great-grandfather of seven.
SEXTON, Timothy J., 66, St. Pius X, Indianapolis, July 6. Husband of Judy Sexton. Father of Mary Colleen Liphard and Kevin Sexton. Stepfather of Glenda Sattler. Brother of Dorothy Butcher, Mary Catherine Meyer and Patrice Sexton. Grandfather of four. Step-grandfather of three.
SNIDER, Carolyn Sue, 67, Our Lady of the Greenwood, Greenwood, July 8.
ST. CLAIR, Mary Ann, 95, St. Mary, New Albany, July 6. Mother of Sarah Been and James St. Clair. Grandmother of six. Great-grandmother of 17. Great-grandmother of five.
WARD, Robert, 64, Sacred Heart, Jeffersonville, July 2. Father of Kristen Millwood. Brother of John and Rick Ward.
WILSON, Michael F., 61, St. Jude, Indianapolis, July 7. Father of H. Courtney Keiner, Catherine Webber, Geoffrey and Michael Wilson. Brother of Rita Snell, Ann Marie Worley, Joe, John, Mark and Pat Wilson. Grandfather of two.
Benedictine Father Aidan Kavanagh was noted liturgist
HAMDEN, Conn. (CNS)—Benedictine Father Aidan Kavanagh, a noted liturgical theologian and monk of Saint Meinrad Archabbey, died at his home in Hamden on July 9. He was 77.
The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on July 14 at Saint Meinrad Archabbey in St. Meinrad. Burial followed at the archabbey cemetery.
Father Kavanagh was the author of several influential books, including On Liturgical Theology, in which he argued the importance of liturgy as the Church’s “primordial” theology.
His 1982 book titled Elements of Rite: A Handbook of Liturgical Style remains a study guide for Catholic priests and ministers of other faiths on how to celebrate the liturgy effectively.
His 1978 book titled The Shape of Baptism: The Rite of Christian Initiation is credited with having greatly influenced the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults movement in the United States, changing the way that converts to Catholic-ism are formed in the faith.
Born in Mexia, Texas, on April 20, 1929, to Joseph and Guarrel (Mullins) Suttle, Joseph Michael Suttle later took the surname of his foster father, Joseph Kavanaugh.
He completed his elementary and secondary education in Waco, Texas, then studied at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tenn., and at Saint Meinrad.
He entered the Benedictine order at Saint Meinrad in 1951 and took Aidan as his religious name. He took his first vows on Aug. 1, 1952, and was ordained to the priesthood on May 3, 1957.
In 1958, he earned a licentiate in sacred theology from the University of Ottawa in Canada. In 1964, he completed his doctorate summa cum laude from the theology faculty of Trier, Germany, home of the Liturgical Institute, where some of the world’s leading scholars in liturgy were trained in the years before and after the Second Vatican Council.
Father Kavanagh taught at Saint Meinrad School of Theology during the 1960s, founded the University of Notre Dame’s doctoral program in liturgical studies, and from 1974 until his retirement was a professor of liturgy at Yale University’s Divinity School.
The Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Directors honored him with its Frederick R. McManus Award, noting that he “showed us how to use liturgy’s rhythm to help us stand awestruck in the presence of God.”
The Anglican Theological Review described Father Kavanagh as “perhaps the single most significant figure in American Catholic liturgiology in the last 50 years.”
Memorial gifts may be sent to Saint Meinrad Archabbey, 100 Hill Drive, St. Meinrad, IN 47577.
Providence Sister Mary Aileen Minta
taught at Catholic schools for 52 years
This obituary includes a correction for a surviving sister of Providence Sister Mary Aileen Minta, who died on June 24 at Mother Theodore Hall at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. She was 86.
The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on June 28 at the Church of the Immaculate Conception at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. Burial followed at the sisters’ cemetery.
The former Elizabeth Jane Minta was born on Dec. 25, 1919, in Indianapolis.
She entered the congregation of the Sisters of Providence on Feb. 2, 1939, professed first vows on Aug. 15, 1941, and professed final vows on Aug. 15, 1947.
During 67 years as a Sister of Providence, she ministered as a teacher for 52 years at Catholic grade schools and high schools in Indiana, Illinois and Massa-chusetts.
Sister Mary Aileen taught at Catholic grade schools for 22 years, and taught English and Biology classes at Catholic high schools for 30 years.
In the archdiocese, Sister Mary Aileen taught at the former Holy Trinity School in New Albany from 1953-55, St. Joan of Arc School in Indianapolis from 1955-61 and Our Lady of Providence Jr./Sr. High School in Clarksville from 1968-75.
Sister Mary Aileen also taught at Roncalli High School in Indianapolis for 16 years, from 1975-78. From 1992-94, she served as librarian at Our Lady of the Greenwood School in Greenwood.
She returned to the motherhouse in 1994 and ministered at the Providence Center Gift Shop as well as in health care and residential services during her retirement years. In 2001, she began her ministry of prayer with the senior sisters.
Surviving are a sister, Charlotte Mattingly of Beech Grove, as well as many nieces and nephews. Msgr. John J. Minta, one of her brothers, died on Aug. 31, 2003.
Memorial gifts may be sent to the Sisters of Providence, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, St. Mary-of-the-Woods, IN 47876. †