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)
ADKINS, Lawrence, Sr., 70, Holy Spirit, Indianapolis, Dec. 7. Husband of Pamela (Kieffer) Adkins. Father of Janet Gaytan, Darlene Nieta, Donna Richey, Diana Walden, Lawrence Jr., Matthew and Patrick Adkins. Grandfather of 20. Great-grandfather of 21.
ANDERSON, Doris Geraldine, 86, St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower), Indianapolis, Dec. 28. Mother of Mary Ragsdale, Eileen Sexson and Kathleen West. Sister of Carl and Don Gough. Grandmother of 10. Great-grandmother of 12.
BUNNER, Patrick A., 43, St. Michael, Cannelton, Dec. 22. Husband of Tomee Sue Bunner. Brother of Arvina Bozarth, Linda Hilgenhold, Angela Howell, Judy Steiner and June Terry.
CAHILL, James E., 81, St. Ann, Indianapolis, Jan. 9. Father of Dr. Barbara Winningham, Daniel, Gary and James Cahill. Brother of Marianne Noone, Jerome and Joseph Cahill. Grandfather of nine. Great-grandfather of seven. Great-great-grandfather of one.
FREEMAN, Warren C., 88, St. Anne, New Castle, Dec. 27. Father of Leesa Barton, Cathy Meyer, Linda Monty, Erin Murray and Bruce Freeman. Brother of Virginia Murphy and William Freeman. Grandfather of 13. Great-grandfather of 15.
GLASS, Rosemary E., 92, former member of St. Jude, Indianapolis, Dec. 27. Aunt of several.
GOUGH, Ret. Col. Michael, 59, St. Gabriel, Connersville, Dec. 27. Husband of Terry (Rankin) Gough. Father of Jeromy and Riley Gough. Brother of Karen Leach, Candy Owens, Kim Wilson, Kevin, Robbie, Shane and Todd Gough.
HARDEBECK, Charles Leo, 72, St. Mary, Greensburg, Jan. 5. Father of Tammy Thomas. Brother of Donna Allen, Margaret Laudick and Phyllis Schwering. Grandfather of one.
JOHNSON, Marjorie, 100, St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower), Indianapolis, Dec. 15. Mother of Jean Devore, Judy Gapp, Sylvia Johnson, Joanne, Charles Jr., Jerry and John Johnson. Grandmother of eight. Great-grandmother of six.
LAWLOR, Richard James, 70, St. Agnes, Nashville, Dec. 30. Husband of Robyn Lawlor. Father of Dr. Ann-Marie Hyatt and Dr. John Lawlor. Stepfather of Ginny Babbitt, Bobbie Monroe and Joy Lawlor. Brother of Bernard and Francis Lawlor. Grandfather of six.
MEHLING, Beverly A., 62, St. Meinrad, St. Meinrad, Dec. 13. Wife of Stanley Mehling. Mother of Justin, Joel, Quinn, Travis and Zack Mehling. Sister of Jane Heichelbech, Cecilia Thomas, Kathy Weyer, Debra Williams, Dennis, Jeff, Jerry, Kenny, Linus Jr, Mark and Steve Lechner. Grandmother of one.
MORTON, Elizabeth (Barth), 77, St. Andrew, Richmond, Dec. 25. Mother of Cynthia McWilliams. Sister of Joan Brath, Imelda Ramsey, Bernadette and Joseph Barth. Grandmother of two. Great-grandmother of three.
OSER, Pamela L., 40, St. Meinrad, St. Meinrad, Dec. 6. Wife of Rick Oser. Mother of Robert Mattingly, Austin, Brandi, Chris and Rickie Oser. Daughter of Robert and Carolyn Jones. Sister of Chance Butts and Brian Boyer. Grandmother of one.
PETERS, Ruth Ann, 48, St. Boniface, Fulda, Jan. 1. Daughter of Anna Mae Peters. Sister of Doris Hagedorn, Eileen Lubbehusen, Donna, Erwin, Herb, John and Kevin Peters.
REUTER, Elizabeth, 92, St. Joseph, Shelbyville, Dec. 29. Mother of Dorothy Childs, Mark, Matthew, Steve and Tom Reuter. Grandmother of 18. Great-grandmother of two.
STRACK, James R., 78, St. Joseph, Indianapolis, Dec. 20. Husband of Agnes (O’Connell) Strack. Father of Monica Butler, Melinda Marlatt, Marie Smith, Mark and Michael Strack. Brother of George Strack. Grandfather of five.
STUEHRENBERG, Paul Richard, Jr., 42, St. Mary, Greensburg, Jan. 7. Husband of Lisa Stuehrenberg. Father of Eric and Paul Stuehrenberg III. Son of Paul Stuehrenberg. Brother of Jodi Koors, Dale Gramman and Paula Stuehrenberg.
TAIT, John F., 86, Our Lady of Lourdes, Indianapolis, Nov. 29. Husband of Martha Ann Tait. Father of Barbara Cataldo, Patricia Kowalski, Anne, Douglas, George, John, Michael, Robert, Steven and William Tait. Brother of Anna Tait. Grandfather of 13. Great-grandfather of four.
THIEMANN, Edward J., 85, St. Gabriel, Connersville, Dec. 24. Husband of Charlene (Geise) Thiemann. Father of Deborah Barrett and Diane Boulware. Brother of Dorothy Cook, Betty Hedding, Donald, James and William Thiemann. Grandfather of six. Great-grandfather of eight.
THOMAS, Elizabeth, 88, St. Mary, New Albany, Dec. 9. Wife of Irvin Thomas Sr. Mother of Evelyn Arnold, Patricia Byerley, Barbara Conrad, Donald, Irvin Jr., James, John and Patrick Thomas. Grandmother of 25. Great-grandmother of 30. Great-great-grandmother of nine.
THOMPSON, Jane A., 69, St. Bartholomew, Columbus, Dec. 15. Mother of Susan, Gregory and Scott Thompson. Sister of Libby Hodapp, Susan Williams, Melissa, Monica and Bart Bridwell. Grandmother of five.
TORPHY, Margaret Ann, 86, St. Vincent de Paul, Bedford, Dec. 8. Wife of James Torphy. Mother of Kathy Avant and Bill Torphy. Grandmother of six. Great-grandmother of seven.
VIOLETTE, Cecile M., 89, St. Mary-of-the-Knobs, Floyds Knobs, Dec. 24. Wife of Lionel Violette. Mother of Jean Bell, David, James and Robert Violette. Grandmother of five.
WAGNER, Mary Jane, 86, St. Louis, Batesville, Dec. 23. Mother of Alan and Tim Wagner. Grandmother of three. Great-grandmother of one.
WEFLER, Carol Ann, 68, St. Bernadette, Indianapolis, Dec. 7. Wife of Frank Wefler. Mother of Todd Pershing, Ellen and Sara Wefler. Daughter of Kenneth Robinson. Sister of Curtis Robinson. Grandmother of six.
WELTER, Lorraine, 85, St. Gabriel, Indianapolis, Jan. 6. Mother of Susan Murray and Mary Roth. Sister of Donald and Robert Tres. Grandmother of six.
WEUST, Emma C., 102, St. Patrick, Terre Haute, Dec. 12. Aunt of several.
WILDERMAN, Karen Elizabeth, 68, St. Charles Borromeo, Bloomington, Dec. 4. Sister of Melanie Isaacson and Bruce Kell.
WILSON, Hana Benes, 100, St. Charles Borromeo, Bloomington, Dec. 9. Mother of Nina Hajda and Eva Hanhardt. Stepmother of three. Grandmother of eight. Step-grandmother of five. Great-grandmother of 11. Step-great-grandmother of four.
WOODARD, Clara, 85, St. Joseph, Rockville, Dec. 21. Mother of Mary Henderson, Ann Nevins, Christopher and Max Woodard II. Sister of Julius Gevatosky. Grandmother of nine. Great-grandmother of two.
WUDARSKY, Ann, 95, St. Bartholomew, Columbus, Nov. 28.
Benedictine Father Stephen Snoich oversaw construction of guest houses at monasteries
Benedictine Father Stephen Snoich, a monk and priest of Saint Meinrad Archabbey in St. Meinrad, died on Jan. 6 in the monastery’s infirmary. He was 83.
The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Jan. 10 at the Archabbey Church of Our Lady of Einsiedeln. Burial followed at the Archabbey Cemetery.
Father Stephen was a jubilarian of profession and priesthood, having celebrated 54 years of monastic profession and 39 years of priesthood.
John Snoich was born on June 24, 1929, in Shenandoah, Pa. He attended St. Joseph College in Philadelphia for one year and worked for 10 years as a carpenter.
Father Stephen was accepted into the novitiate at Saint Meinrad in 1956 as a brother. He later oversaw the construction of the monastery’s former St. Jude Guest House and the guest house of Prince of Peace Abbey in Oceanside, Calif.
In 1970, he completed his college degree at the former Saint Meinrad College and began priestly formation. He was ordained a priest on March 12, 1972, and earned a Master of Divinity degree in 1973 at Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology.
Over the course of his priestly ministry, Father Stephen ministered at the monastery and in several parishes outside the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, and as a chaplain at Monastery Immaculate Conception in Ferdinand, Ind., in the Evansville Diocese.
Memorial gifts may be sent to Saint Meinrad Archabbey, 100 Hill Drive, St. Meinrad, IN 47577. †