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)

ANDERSON, Leonora Ida Mae, 98, St. Rita, Indianapolis, Aug. 27. Mother of Anthony Anderson. Grandmother of two.

BAST, Mary Rose, 85, St. Anthony of Padua, Clarksville, Aug. 27. Mother of Sherry Hall, Donald and Shane Marsh. Sister of Bobbie Dale, Redemptha, Frank, James and John Dearing. Grandmother of several. Great-grandmother of several.

BATTA, Ruth Ann, 57, All Saints, Dearborn County, Aug. 27. Wife of Paul Batta. Daughter of Doris Spencer. Sister of Vicki Beatty, David and Steve Spencer.

FARGO, Elizabeth, 88, St. Matthew the Apostle, Indianapolis, Aug. 22. Mother of Benjamin Fargo.

FESSEL, Charlene J., 72, Holy Family, New Albany, Aug. 25. Mother of Lea Ann Burns. Sister of Mona Grimes, Martha Minton and Homer Feeler. Grandmother of three. Great-grandmother of one.

GATSOS, Julia Lucille (Nord), 68, Holy Family, New Albany, Aug. 25. Wife of Gregory Gatsos. Mother of Crecentia Curran, Jennifer Walter and Stephen Gatsos. Sister of Sylvia Davis, Carolyn Kaiser, Beth Kirsch, Gloria Rexing, Regina Tone, Marilyn Wilson, Albert, George, Joseph, Thomas and Timothy Nord. Grandmother of five.

HUTCHENS, Elwood E., Sr., 97, Holy Family, New Albany, Aug. 10. Husband of Mary (Yochem) Hutchens. Father of Alice Crady, Phyllis Kaiser, Beth Ann Luckett, Laura Schnell, Judith Schroeder, Mary Denise “M.D.” Smith, Elwood Jr., Mark, Richard, Robert and Tom Hutchens. Grandfather of 34. Great-grandfather of 68. Great-great-grandfather of five. (correction)

KOSMERL, Frank Henry, 86, St. Christopher, Indianapolis, May 27. Brother of Josephine Masterson and Alice Stephens. Uncle of several.

LANGER, Lillian L., 88, Sacred Heart of Jesus, Indianapolis, Sept. 1. Sister of Anna Cross. Aunt of several.

LIDDY, Robert J., 91, St. Jude, Indianapolis, Aug. 27. Husband of Lois Liddy. Father of Kelly Liddy-Alderson, Jerry Friend, Judy, Lynn and David Liddy. Grandfather of 15. Great-grandfather of 17. Great-great-grandfather of four.

MAZZA, Albina Rose, 99, Holy Spirit, Indianapolis, Aug. 27. Mother of Mary Rose Miller, Debra Wallsmith, John Jr., Mario, Mark and Steven Mazza. Grandmother of 10. Great-grandmother of four.

McMULLEN, Martina P., 74, St. Luke the Evangelist, Indianapolis, Sept. 2. Wife of George McMullen. Mother of Laura Weiger, Joni, Andrew, Jeffrey and Paul Kirch and Christopher McMullen. Grandmother of nine.

MEYER, Judith A., 75, St. Mary, Rushville, Sept. 1. Mother of Mary Beth Barnes, Barbara Lower and David Meyer. Sister of Kathy Rader, Jeff and Jim Johnston. Grandmother of several. Step-grandmother of several. Step-great-grandmother of several.

MOCK, Juanita (O’Mara), 95, St. Mary, North Vernon, Aug. 27. Mother of Rosemary Shaw, Doug Mock, David and Jerry O’Mara. Grandmother of 12. Great-grandmother of 28. Great-great-grandmother of 13.

O’KEEFE, Donald, 87, St. Matthew the Apostle, Indianapolis, Aug. 25. Father of Patricia Carey, Kate Fotsch, Donna Tucholski and Kevin O’Keefe. Grandfather of 14.

SHIEL, Katherine (King), 85, St. Pius X, Indianapolis, Sept. 4. Mother of Mary Claire Chapman, Karen Glanders, Gail Mahoney, Nancy Sullivan and Beth Timberlake. Grandmother of 14. Great-grandmother of two.

STAMM, Janet Lou, 78, St. Gabriel, Connersville, Aug. 29. Wife of Robert Stamm. Mother of Christopher, Matthew, Michael and Timothy Stamm. Grandmother of eight.

WADE, James D., Jr., 83, St. Pius X, Indianapolis, Sept. 4. Brother of Providence Sister Rita Ann and Joseph Wade.

WITTKAMP, Carol Anne, 35, St. Lawrence, Lawrenceburg, Sept. 4. Daughter of Thomas and Carol Wittkamp. Sister of Chris Condit, Cindy Hamad and Cheryl Schrand. Aunt of several.

Providence Sister Joan Frame ministered in Catholic schools, pastoral care in the archdiocese

Providence Sister Joan Frame, formerly known as Sister Ann Pierre Frame, died on Aug. 25 in Mother Theodore Hall at St. Mary-of-the-Woods. She was 86.

The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Sept. 1 at the Church of the Immaculate Conception at the motherhouse. Burial followed at the sisters’ cemetery.

June Joan Frame was born on June 1, 1929, in Richmond, where she grew up as a member of St. Mary Parish.

She entered the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods on Jan. 8, 1947, and professed final vows on Aug. 15, 1954.

Sister Joan earned a bachelor’s degree in education from Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College in St. Mary-of-the-Woods, and a master’s degree in education from Ball State University in Muncie, Ind.

During her 68 years as a member of the Sisters of Providence, Sister Joan ministered in education for 38 years in schools in Illinois, Indiana and Maryland.

In the archdiocese, Sister Joan served in Indianapolis at the former St. Andrew the Apostle School from 1954-57, Holy Spirit School from 1968-75 and the former All Saints School from 1975-87. She also ministered as an educator at the former Holy Trinity School in New Albany from 1949-50, the former Annunciation School in Brazil from 1953-54 and the former St. Anne School in New Castle from 1961-67.

Sister Joan later served in Indianapolis as a pastoral associate at St. Simon the Apostle Parish from 1987-89, as a pastoral minister at SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral Parish from 1989-98 and at the Hispanic Education Center from 1999-2002. She subsequently volunteered at the cathedral and St. Anthony Parish from 2002-06, at the former Providence Pantry in West Terre Haute from 2006-09, and visited inmates at the federal prison in Terre Haute. It was only in the past year that Sister Joan dedicated herself entirely to prayer.

She is survived by a sister, Barbara Allen of Conroe, Texas.

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. †