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)

BAXTER, Richard V., 92, St. Luke the Evangelist, Indianapolis, March 16. Husband of Mary Jane Baxter. Father of Peggy Baxter Cremer, James, John, Richard, Jr. and Stewart Baxter. Grandfather of 13. Great‑grandfather of two.

BIASI, Primo, 93, SS. Francis and Clare of Assisi, Greenwood, March 16. Husband of Mary Biasi. Father of Bob, Jim and Larry Biasi. Grandfather of six. Great‑grandfather of five.

CUNNINGHAM, Blanche M., 93, St. Malachy, Brownsburg, Feb. 22. Mother of Janet Rodgers and Curtis Cunningham. Grandmother of six. Great-grandmother of several.

DALLMANN, Catherine L., 97, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, New Albany, Feb. 26. Mother of Mary Pat Tully and Robert Dallmann. Grandmother of six. Great‑grandmother of 14.

DAWSON, Patrick, 45, Holy Spirit, Indianapolis, March 10. Father of Zachary Dawson. Son of Joseph and Myrna Dawson. Brother of Daniel Tippit and Paul Dawson.

DEVNEY, Alan, Jr., 52, St. Malachy, Brownsburg, March 14. Husband of Ashley Devney. Father of Kerry Bowman and Noah Devney. Brother of Ann Marciano, Kathleen Rogers and Tom Devney.

ETIENNE, Mary P., 89, St. Paul, Tell City, March 21. Mother of Mary Ann Bernard, Tracy Schroeder, John and Tom Etienne. Sister of Betty Hartz, Jane Huber, Helen Spencer and Charles Peter. Grandmother of 13. Great‑grandmother of 12.

EVAN, Linda J., 74, St. Malachy, Brownsburg, March 17. Wife of Steven Evan. Mother of Dawn, Misty and Steven. Grandmother of 15. Great-grandmother of 14.

FAULKNER, Gary E., 79, Holy Spirit, Indianapolis, Feb. 24. Husband of Judith Faulkner. Father of Keith, Kody and Kraig Faulkner. Brother of Marcia Harris and Ronnie Faulkner. Grandfather of 10. Great-grandfather of several.

HORNING, Margaret A., 106, Holy Spirit, Indianapolis, March 8. Mother of Anna Rose Dalton and James Horning. Sister of Rose Venezia. Grandmother of six. Great-grandmother of 12. Great-great-grandmother of four.

LENCESKI, Larry J., 69, St. Anne, New Castle, March 15. Husband of Cathy Lenceski. Father of Joseph, Larry and Paul Lenceski. Brother of Karen Mitchell. Grandfather of three.

MALLORY, Charles O., 85, St. Augustine, Leopold, March 24. Father of Cathy Reece and Richard Mallory. Grandfather of four. Great‑grandfather of seven.

MCGILL, Timothy M., 63, St. Vincent de Paul, Bedford, March 22. Uncle of several.

RAMSEY, Rosemary, 84, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Cambridge City, Feb. 7. Wife of Dudley Ramsey. Mother of Diane Williams, David and Robert Ramsey. Sister of Charles and John Smith. Grandmother of three.

ROSZCZYNSKI, Wanda (Adamczyk), 87, Prince of Peace, Madison, March 19. Mother of Aline Cambron and Edward Roszczynski. Sister of Irene Mroz. Grandmother of three. Great-grandmother of five.

SANGL, Terry R., 60, St. Malachy, Brownsburg, March 14. Husband of Nancy Sangl. Father of Megan Harris, Amy Hollmaier, Sheila Woodside and Adam Sangl. Son of Virginia Sangl. Brother of Patsy Gebhart, Randy and Rob Sangl. Grandfather of nine.

SEALS, Dorothy K., 74, St. Mary, Greensburg, March 16. Wife of Jerry Seals. Mother of Jason Seals. Sister of Mary Trabel, David, Joseph, Ken, Stanley and Steve Lieland.

SOMMER, Danny J., 64, St. Mark, Perry County, March 22. Husband of Alice Sommer. Father of Kelly Cash and Andy Sommer. Half-brother of Carl Krieg. Grandfather of five.

SPICUZZA, Larry, 97, Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary, Indianapolis, March 22. Brother of Anna Marie Below, Josephine Healy and Rosemary Page. Uncle and great-uncle of several.

UNDERWOOD, Mary J. (Riedman), 91, St. Gabriel, Connersville, March 13. Mother of Beth Blessing, Lynne Eckerle, Jayane Skaff, Jim, John, Mark and Tom Underwood. Sister of James and Msgr. Joseph Riedman. Grandmother of 16. Great‑grandmother of six.

WAIZ, William, Sr., 93, St. John Paul II, Sellersburg, March 14. Father of Donna Smith, Lynn Underwood, Janice Wilson, Carolyn, Alan and Billy Waiz. Grandfather of 16. Great‑grandfather of 24.

Providence Sister John Mary Rifner served in Catholic schools for 30 years

Providence Sister John Mary Rifner died on March 21 at Mother Theodore Hall at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. She was 89.

The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on March 28 at the Church of the Immaculate Conception at the motherhouse in St. Mary-of-the-Woods. Burial followed at the sisters’ cemetery.

Cecilia Ann Rifner was born on April 1, 1929, in New Castle and grew up as a member of St. Anne Parish. She entered the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods on Feb. 2, 1953, and professed final vows on Aug. 15, 1960.

Sister John Mary earned a bachelor’s degree at Saint Mary‑of-the-Woods College, and a master’s degree at Indiana State University in Terre Haute.

During her 66 years as a member of the Sisters of Providence, Sister John Mary ministered in education for 30 years in schools in Illinois, Indiana, Maryland and Massachusetts. In the archdiocese, she served at St. Susanna School in Plainfield from 1969-81, St. Simon the Apostle School in Indianapolis from 1981-85, and at the former St. Anne School in New Castle from 1966-69. After retiring from education, Sister John Mary returned to the motherhouse where she served as a driver and in many other ways for 26 years. She dedicated herself entirely to prayer beginning in 2017.

Sister Mary John is survived by a sister, Providence Sister Martha Ann Rifner.

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. †