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)

BARRETT, Marilyn, 84, St. Mary, Lanesville, Oct. 2. Mother of Angela Frohlich and Rusty Barrett. Grandmother of six. Great-grandmother of five.

CAITO, Kathleen J. (Kelly), 75, St. Simon the Apostle, Indianapolis, Sept. 30. Wife of Joseph Caito. Mother of Laura Caito, Emily Caito-Yeadon, Carrie Frizzell and Kelly Kirch. Sister of Janet DuBois, Mary Francis Kelly-Miller, Patricia Murray, Irene, Michael and Timothy Kelly. Grandmother of 12.

CARSON, Dorothy, 88, St. Christopher, Indianapolis, Sept. 17. Mother of Ann Hartman, Patti Lamb, Jeannie Legge, Ceil Roebuck, Mary Shaughnessy, Katie, Ed, Phil and Tom Carson. Grandmother of 25. Great-grandmother of 24.

CLARK, John, 92, St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower), Indianapolis, Oct. 4. Father of Andrea Arvin, Brian, Chuck and Duane Clark. Grandfather of eight. Great-grandfather of 12.

CUNNINGHAM, Sr., Michael E., 81, Christ the King, Indianapolis, Oct. 1. Husband of Bernadette Cunningham. Father of Mary Kay Hudson, Karen Cunningham Smith and Michael Cunningham, Jr. Brother of Patty Parker. Grandfather of two.

DAVIS, Victoria (Rathz), 73, St. Jude, Indianapolis, Sept. 22. Wife of Steven Whitesell. Mother of Annetta Beauregard, Laura Irmer, Rose Maloney and Andrew Davis. Sister of Thomas Rathz. Grandmother of eight.

EMLET, Karen A., 70, St. Jude, Indianapolis, Oct. 1. Mother of Melissa Smith. Sister of Barbara Griffin and Nancy Young. Grandmother of two.

HESS, Frances, 96, St. Mary, Lanesville, Oct. 9. Mother of Ronald Hess. Sister of Roberta Garrett, John and Jude Walter. Grandmother of three. Great-grandmother of two.

HUBERT, Jr., Cletus, 59, St. Augustine, Leopold, Sept. 29. Brother of Mary Tanner, John and Paul Hubert. Uncle of several.

MONROE, Elma Mae, 92, Prince of Peace, Madison, July 14. Sister of Robert Ake. Aunt, great-aunt and great-great-aunt of several.

NIEHAUS, Joe, 81, Prince of Peace, Madison¸ Oct. 6. Husband of Rhea Niehaus. Father of Michelle, Mindy, Missy and Jeff. Brother of Nancy Manetavat. Grandfather of four. Great-grandfather of three.

PAGE, Marcia J. (Jahnke), 90, Our Lady of the Greenwood, Greenwood, Oct. 10. Mother of Deborah Rademacher, Brian, Jeffrey, Michael and Scott Page. Grandmother of 13. Great-grandmother of 19.

PFAFF, James R., 70, SS. Francis and Clare of Assisi, Greenwood, Sept. 27. Brother of Mary Jane Strange, Marilyn Wright, Jerald, Joseph and Thomas Pfaff. Uncle of several.

PURICHIA, Sr., Michael A., 90, St. Michael the Archangel, Indianapolis, Oct. 1. Husband of Doris Purichia. Father of Rebecca Gilbert, Nula Kelly, Michael, Jr., and Vincent Purichia. Brother of Carol and Steve Purichia. Grandfather of 22. Great-grandfather of 24.

RAMP, Jerremy M., 81, St. Pius X, Indianapolis, Oct. 4. Husband of Diane Ramp. Father of Stefanie Wael and Jerremy Ramp. Brother of Fredrick Ramp. Grandfather of three.

ROBERTS, James E., 97, St. Roch, Indianapolis, Oct. 9. Father of Becky Adolay, Joni Carroll, Rosemarie Stahley, Nancy Storey and Mark Roberts. Grandfather of 17. Great-grandfather of 55.

SCHMIDT, Anna, 95, Holy Family, New Albany, Oct. 4. Mother of Susie, Daniel and Greg Schmidt. Sister of Bob Sturgeon. Grandmother of three.

SCHNEIDER-FECHER, Alberta F., 92, St. Anthony of Padua, Morris, Sept. 19. Mother of Karen Knueven, Tammy Mullalley, James and John Fecher, Daniel, Michael and Peter Schneider. Sister of Wilma Ripperger and Kenneth Flaspohler. Grandmother, great-grandmother and great-great-grandmother of several.

SGROI, Ruth C., 98, St. Simon the Apostle, Indianapolis, Sept. 22. Wife of Salvatore Sgroi. Mother of Julie Christiansen, Mary Kay Morgan, Frances Sebring, Carol and Bill Allen. Grandmother of seven. Great-grandmother of 16.

SIMON, Eric, 43, Most Sorrowful Mother of God, Vevay, Oct. 7. Son of Dale Simon. Step-son of Bonnie Simon. Brother of Elizabeth Newman and Gina Orlando. Step-brother of Angie Haskell. Uncle of several.

Benedictine Sister Alice Marie Gronotte served as a missionary, in schools and parishes

Benedictine Sister Alice Marie Gronotte, a founding member of Our Lady of Grace Monastery in Beech Grove, died on Sept. 25 at the St. Paul Hermitage in Beech Grove. She was 84.

The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Oct. 3 at the Monastery Chapel at Our Lady of Grace. Burial followed at the sisters’ cemetery.

Sister Alice Marie was born on June 29, 1938, in Evansville, Ind. She entered Monastery Immaculate Conception in Ferdinand, Ind., in 1956 and professed first vows on June 13, 1958, while still a member of Monastery Immaculate Conception. She professed perpetual vows on July 24, 1983, as a member of Our Lady of Grace Monastery.

Sister Alice Marie earned a bachelor’s degree in education at the former St. Benedict College in Ferdinand, and a master’s degree in education at Indiana University Southeast in New Albany and Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis.

During her 64 years of vowed religious life, Sister Alice Marie ministered in Catholic education for 11 years. In the archdiocese, she served at the former St. Paul School in Tell City from 1960-65 and 1972-73, at the former

St. Michael School in Bradford from 1965-68 and at St. Anthony of Padua School in Clarksville in 1971.

From 1968-70, 1973-86 and 1987-90, Sister Alice Marie served as a missionary in parishes in Colombia.

In 1990, she returned to the U.S. and served Hispanic migrant workers for a year at St. John the Baptist Parish in Starlight. From 1991-2013, Sister Alice Marie ministered as a pastoral associate at Prince of Peace Parish in Madison before retiring from ministry and residing at the monastery.

She is survived by a sister, Benedictine Sister Phyllis Gronotte, a member of Our Lady of Grace Monastery.

Memorial gifts may be sent to the Retired Sisters’ Fund, in care of Our Lady of Grace Monastery, 1402 Southern Ave., Beech Grove, IN 46107 or online at www.benedictine.com. †