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)
AHLERS, Robert D., Sr., 81, Christ the King, Indianapolis, Feb. 28. Husband of Dorothea (Schwert) Ahlers. Father of Andrew, Christopher, John, Matthew and Robert Ahlers Jr. Grandfather of 10.
BUSH, Ruth Ann, 66, Holy Family, New Albany, March 1. Mother of Teresa Roberson, Michael, Nicholas and Thomas Bush. Sister of Douglas and J.L. Quebbeman. Grandmother of four.
CLARK, Rhonda Lee, 51, St. Mary-of-the-Knobs, Floyds Knobs, March 5. Wife of Tim Clark. Mother of Shawn Clark. Daughter of William Cox. Grandmother of one.
CURTIS, Alec Dolan, 18, St. Roch, Indianapolis, Feb. 23. Son of Jeffrey Curtis and Eileen Weber. Brother of Andrew, Bryan and Kiel Curtis. Stepbrother of Charlie Pino. Grandson of Joseph and Mary Weber.
FLEITZ, Charles, 91, Our Lady of Lourdes, Indianapolis, March 8.
HARVEY, Alice A., 90, Mary, Queen of Peace, Danville, Feb. 24. Wife of George Harvey. Mother of Jean Curtis, Ann Geissler, Amy Jo Martin, Sarah, Frederick, Michael and Richard Harvey.
IRELAN, Judith (Aldrich), 70, St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower), Indianapolis, Feb. 11. Mother of Gary Henson, Jeff, Jim and John Mason. Sister of Jody Dean, Mike and Richard Aldrich. Grandmother of 11.
JONES, Bernice R., 98, St. Anthony of Padua, Clarksville, Feb. 25. Mother of Daniel and David Jones. Grandmother of three. Great-grandmother of five.
KENNEDY, John D., 83, St. Lawrence, Lawrenceburg, Feb. 21. Husband of Patricia Kennedy. Father of Susan Block, Jackie Gibson and Debbie Kennedy. Grandfather of four.
KENNEDY, Robert J., 88, St. Lawrence, Lawrenceburg, Feb. 20. Uncle of several.
KIN, Stephen R., 100, St. Joan of Arc, Indianapolis, Feb. 11. Father of Barbara Pinney, Edward, Henry, John and Michael Kin. Grandfather of 13. Great-grandfather of 21. Great-great-grandfather of three.
KOSEGI, John L., 91, St. Bernadette, Indianapolis, March 1. Husband of Sue Kosegi. Father of Ann Cameron, Jim, Joe and John Kosegi. Brother of Betty DiEugenio and Rose Pissanelli. Grandfather of 10. Great-grandfather of nine.
LEPPER, Kevin, 44, St. Roch, Indianapolis, Feb. 9. Son of Doris Lepper. Brother of Kathy and Chris Lepper.
McCORMICK, Sara J. (McDowell), 86, Our Lady of Lourdes, Indianapolis, March 6.
MERKEL, Clara L., 85, St. Anthony of Padua, Morris, March 2. Mother of Angela Deutsch, Doris Harmeyer, Pauline Kuntz and Andrew Merkel.
METZ, John F., 88, St. Mary, Greensburg, March 9. Husband of Evelyn Metz. Father of Cheryl, Darrell and Gary Metz. Grandfather of five.
MORRIS, Mary Elizabeth (Clift), 90, St. Anne, New Castle, March 7. Mother of Mary Arthur, David, James and William Morris. Grandmother of seven. Great-grandmother of five.
NIEHAUS, Donald, 67, St. Roch, Indianapolis, Feb. 18. Brother of Martha Fleetwood, Nancy Hurley and Linda May.
O’CONNOR, Roseanna, 75, Christ the King, Indianapolis, March 2. Mother of Colleen Crandell, Karen, Marilyn, Kevin, Patrick and Timothy O’Connor. Sister of Sharon Hansman and Maxine Schuller. Grandmother of 10. Great-grandmother of three.
PAPALIA, Joseph, 72, Holy Spirit, Indianapolis, March 3. Husband of Vincenza Papalia. Father of Lisa Brown, Antonio, Dominic, Enzo and Joseph Papalia. Grandfather of eight.
RICHARDSON, Robert F., 80, Sacred Heart of Jesus, Indianapolis, Feb. 21. Father of Judy Drummond, Joyce Dunn and Michael Richardson. Brother of Eleanor Reimer. Grandfather of two.
SEAL, Betty, 85, St. Roch, Indianapolis, Feb. 22.
SIPPEL, George Robert, 84, St. Luke the Evangelist, Indianapolis, Feb. 22. Husband of Pat Sipple. Father of Kristine Stelzner. Grandfather of one.
SOLBRIB, Estel, 91, St. Augustine, Leopold, Feb. 23. Father of Carolyn Poehlein and Wonda Wittmer. Brother of Goldie Luecke and Lester Solbrig. Grandfather of three. Great-grandfather of four.
THOMPSON, Roger, 88, Holy Family, Richmond, Feb. 23. Father of Robert and Roger Thompson. Brother of Byron Thompson. Grandfather of seven. Great-grandfather of 11.
VELIKAN, Judith, 64, Holy Trinity, Indianapolis, Jan. 10. Wife of Jim Velikan. Mother of Jennifer Velikan. Sister of Mary Crum and Jim Leffler.
Benedictine Sister Jennifer Dippel ministered at St. Paul Hermitage as rehabilitation director
Benedictine Sister Jennifer Dippel, a member of the Monastery Immaculate Conception in Ferdinand, Ind., and the rehabilitation director at St. Paul Hermitage in Beech Grove, died on March 9 at the monastery. She was 63.
The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on March 12 at the monastery church in Ferdinand. Burial followed at the sisters’ cemetery.
She was born on Oct. 26, 1946, in Evansville, Ind.
She entered the Sisters of St. Benedict of Ferdinand in 1964, and made her first profession of vows in 1966 and her final profession in 1971.
Beginning in 1967, Sister Jennifer taught at two Catholic grade schools in the Evansville Diocese.
In 1975, she began a new ministry as a physical therapist at two hospitals in the Evansville Diocese.
In 2003, Sister Jennifer began her last ministry assignment as the director of rehabilitation services and the safety officer at St. Paul Hermitage, a ministry of the Sisters of St. Benedict of Our Lady of Grace Monastery in Beech Grove.
Surviving are her mother, Gertrude (Foster) Dippel of Evansville; two brothers, Dr. Jim Dippel and Joseph Dippel, both of Evansville; five sisters, Janice Verplank of Indianapolis, Jackie Richards and Jennifer Knaebel of Mount Vernon, and Joan McCord and Jean Baker of Evansville; and several nieces and nephews.
Memorial gifts may be sent to the Sisters of St. Benedict, Monastery Immaculate Conception, 802 E. 10th St., Ferdinand, IN 47532.
Providence Sister Mary Jane Newman served as a teacher for 51 years, volunteered in Terre Haute
Providence Sister Mary Jane Newman, the former Sister Patrick Ann, died on Feb. 13 at Union Hospital in Terre Haute. She was 80.
The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Feb. 18 at the Church of the Immaculate Conception at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. Burial followed at the sisters’ cemetery at the motherhouse.
Mary Jane Newman was born on Feb. 10, 1930, in Fort Wayne, Ind.
She entered the congregation of the Sisters of Providence on July 21, 1948, and professed her final vows on Jan. 23, 1956.
Sister Mary Jane earned a bachelor’s degree in education at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College and a master’s degree in education at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind.
During 61 years as a Sister of Providence, she ministered in education for 51 years at Catholic schools in Indiana, Illinois and California.
In the archdiocese, Sister Mary Jane taught at St. Michael School in Greenfield from 1956-58, Holy Spirit School in Indianapolis from 1962-66 and St. Joan of Arc School in Indianapolis from 1972-76.
After she retired from teaching, she returned to the motherhouse, where she volunteered at the Providence Food Pantry and Woods Day Care/Pre-School.
In 2009, Sister Mary Jane began her full-time ministry of prayer with the senior sisters.
Surviving are three brothers, John Newman of Scottsdale, Ariz.; Richard Newman of Miamisburg, Ohio; and Samuel Newman of Fort Wayne.
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. †