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)
ANTICO, Theresa A., 60, St. Gabriel, Connersville, March 2. Daughter of John and Bertha Antico. Sister of Dan, Jim and Steve Antico. Aunt of several.
ATKINS, Annette, 82, St. Malachy, Brownsburg, Feb. 23. Mother of Lola Niblack, David, John, Mark and William Atkins. Sister of Mary Gillum and Sarah Palmer. Grandmother of 19. Great-grandmother of 37. Great-great-grandmother of two.
BERLIER, Rose E., 95, Christ the King, Indianapolis, Feb. 22. Mother of Bob, Jack and Jim Berlier. Grandmother of seven. Great-grandmother of 14.
BLANK, Robert P., 94, St. Louis, Batesville, March 1. Husband of Helen Blank. Father of Bill Blank. Brother of Jane Lowe. Grandfather of two.
DONAHUE, Dion Allan, 44, St. Anne, New Castle, Feb. 23. Son of Norma Donahue. Brother of Karen Moses, Frank and Sean Donahue.
ELLIS, Aaron, 39, St. Bartholomew, Columbus, Feb. 5. Son of Arthur and Cecelia Ellis. Brother of Heather Dirrim and Adrian Ellis. Grandson of Viva Ellis.
GREENE, Bernard Joseph, 91, Sacred Heart of Jesus, Indianapolis, Feb. 26. Father of Antoinette Wade, Franciscan Sister Mary Alacoque Greene, Bernard and Richard Greene. Grandfather of eight. Great-grandfather of 22. Great-great-grandfather of three.
GRIST, Helen, 77, St. Jude, Indianapolis, Feb. 23. Mother of Barbara Grist. Sister of Anna Adams. Grandmother of one.
HAHN, Marjorie A., 80, St. Mary, Greensburg, Feb. 27. Wife of Norbert Hahn. Mother of Nicki Wuestefeld, Andy, Dan, Gordon, Mark, Pat and Ted Hahn. Sister of Phyllis Layman and Harold Stier. Grandmother of 22. Great-grandmother of four.
ISOM, Joseph Henry, 81, SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral, Indianapolis, Feb. 25. Husband of Nancy Isom. Father of Stephanie and Mike Isom. Brother of Ben and George Isom.
LaHAYNE, Kathleen R., 88, St. Gabriel, Connersville, Feb. 26. Aunt of several.
LEACH, Nora Jean, 88, St. Mary, North Vernon, Feb. 21. Mother of Mary Barlow, Lisa Butler, David, Jim and Mark Leach. Sister of Mary Morgan and Mabel Tatlock. Grandmother of 15. Great-grandmother of eight.
LEIST, Rosemary, 82, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, New Albany, Feb. 23. Mother of Betty Freeman, Debra Mann, David, Louis and Stephen Leist. Sister of Nancy Jenkins. Grandmother of 13. Great-grandmother of 12.
MILLER, Ophelia L., 91, St. Thomas Aquinas, Indianapolis, Feb. 26. Mother of Terry Mumford, Lester and Mark Miller Jr. Grandmother of seven.
MONTAG, Ann E., 59, St. Peter, Franklin County, Feb. 27. Wife of Joseph Montag. Mother of Jo Ann and Joseph Montag. Sister of Viola Billman, Lucille Honnert, Patricia Schrank, Clifford, Dale, James and Virgil Niese.
MURPHY, Charles John, 71, St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower), Indianapolis, Jan. 21. Husband of Carol (Tepe) Murphy. Father of Joe Hall, Patty Oskey, Jackie, Danny, James and Kevin Murphy. Grandfather of six.
POWERS, Rose C., 82, St. Mary, Greensburg, March 1. Mother of Mary Brogan, Angela Miller, Dot Perkins, Rita Sallee, Andy, Art, Donald, Harold, Jacob and Ray Powers. Sister of Ruth Hamilton, Anna McCullough and Edward Dwenger. Grandmother of 36. Great-grandmother of 62. Great-great-grandmother of two.
RINGER, Claudia Marie, 59, Christ the King, Indianapolis, Feb. 24. Daughter of Geraldine Lyday. Sister of Terri Lewis, Jackie Matern, Christine Swartz, Mark and Peter Lyday.
ROBERTS, Rita D., 79, Christ the King, Indianapolis, Feb. 24. Wife of Edward Roberts. Mother of Dr. Gavin and Matthew Roberts. Grandmother of four.
SCHNELLE, Judith Ann, 69, St. Gabriel the Archangel, Indianapolis, Feb. 20. Mother of Brenda Merrill, Steve Burcham and Jeff Smith. Sister of Mary Schnelle. Grandmother of eight. Great-grandmother of six.
TODD, Wanda L., 73, St. Mary, Greensburg, March 2. Mother of Lisa Stuehrenberg and Michael Todd. Grandmother of four.
YAKIMCHICK, Michael Edward, 64, St. Ann, Indianapolis, March 1. Husband of Suzanne Yakimchick. Father of Terry Yakimchick. Son of Catherine Yakimchick. Brother of Carolyn Doekel, Barbara Zimnock and Phil Yakimchick. Grandfather of two.
Providence Sister Mary Rosita Thewes cooked for archbishops
Providence Sister Mary Rosita Thewes, who formerly served as a cook at the archbishop’s residence, died on Feb. 25 at Mother Theodore Hall at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. She was 86.
The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Feb. 28 at the Church of the Immaculate Conception at the motherhouse. Burial followed at the sisters’ cemetery.
The former Marie Anna Thewes was born on May 5, 1922, in Celestine, Ind.
She entered the congregation of the Sisters of Providence on Feb. 2, 1943, professed first vows on Aug. 15, 1945, and professed final vows on Aug. 15, 1950.
During 66 years as a Sister of Providence, she ministered in food service for 47 years at Church residences in Indiana, Illinois and California as well as at the motherhouse.
For the last 24 of those years, Sister Mary Rosita managed the food service for the residence of the archbishop of Indianapolis.
She retired in 1995 then remained in Indianapolis for five years to minister in a variety of ways before returning to the motherhouse.
At Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Sister Mary Rosita worked in a used clothing store on the campus.
In 2000, she began her prayer ministry full-time with the senior sisters.
Surviving are a brother, Alois Thewes of Celestine, Ind., and a sister, Frances Jochum of Jasper, Ind.
Memorial gifts may be sent to the Sisters of Providence, 1 Sisters of Providence, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, St. Mary-of-the-Woods, IN 47876.
Dorothy Magiera was mother of
Father Michael Magiera, F.S.S.P.
Dorothy M. (Stutz) Magiera of Doylestown, Pa., the mother of Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter Father Michael Magiera, died on March 3 in Doylestown. She was 84.
The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on March 9 at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Doylestown. Interment followed at Whitemarsh Memorial Park Cemetery.
She was the widow of Ludwig F. Magiera and was a longtime resident of Warminster, Pa.
Surviving are a son, Father Michael Magiera, and a daughter, Diane Wolfe, as well as two grandchildren.
Memorial gifts may be sent to a charity of the donor’s choice. †