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)
BEDEL, Emma G., 72, St. Ambrose, Seymour, Nov. 5. Mother of Michael Jaeger. Sister of Edith Beckman, Anne Gay and Doris Bedel.
BENSON, Mary H., 70, Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Indianapolis, Oct. 29. Mother of Jonathan and Stephen Benson. Sister of William Rubeck. Grandmother of four. Great-grandmother of one.
BERLIER, Henrietta, 97, Holy Spirit, Indianapolis, Oct. 22. Mother of Marjorie Lindeman, Mary White and Michael Berlier. Grandmother of nine. Great-grandmother of 14.
CAITO, Betty, 81, St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower), Indianapolis, Oct. 28.
CONEN, Robert J., 90, St. Paul, Tell City, Oct. 29. Husband of Etta Jean Conen. Father of Cathy Franey and Bruce Conen. Grandfather of four. Great-grandfather of one.
DAVIS, Alice A., 86, Our Lady of Lourdes, Indianapolis, Oct. 21. Wife of John Davis. Mother of Kathleen Miller, Michael and Thomas Davis. Sister of Robert Field. Grandmother of nine. Great-grandmother of six.
ECKRICH, Mary T., 68, St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower), Indianapolis, Oct. 23. Daughter of Mary Helen Eckrich. Sister of Betsy Glowinski, Christina Tebbe, Cathy Walter, Kevin Klaiber, Mark, Matthew III and Thomas Eckrich. Aunt of several.
ERICKSON, Carla S., 50, St. Jude, Indianapolis, Nov. 1. Wife of Jay Erickson. Mother of Jack, Lucas and Samuel Erickson. Daughter of Santino and Joyce Catalino. Sister of Dawn Tobey, Marie McQuade, John and Steve Catalino.
GAVIN, Delores, 82, St. Augustine, Jeffersonville, Oct. 7. Mother of Laura Pfund, Deborah West, Robert and Thomas Gavin. Grandmother of 10. Great-grandmother of 13.
HEMKE, Raymond G., 95, All Saints, Dearborn County, Nov. 5. Brother of Mary Ann Disch. Uncle of several.
HENSON, Herbert, 59, Our Lady of Lourdes, Indianapolis, Oct. 23. Husband of Darla Henson. Father of Ryan and Scott Henson. Brother of Sue Carter, Teresa Chestnut, Lisa Spearman, Darrell Delph and Michael Jackson. Grandfather of nine.
HOFFMAN, Donald C., 97, St. Luke the Evangelist, Indianapolis, Oct. 31. Husband of Elizabeth Hoffman. Brother of Barbara Dodd. Uncle of several.
JONES, Richard R., Sr., 77, St. Mary, New Albany, Oct. 27. Husband of Marilyn Jones. Father of Ginny Dean, Beth Ott, Kevin and Rick Jones. Brother of Keith Jones. Grandfather of nine. Great-grandfather of 15.
KEENAN, Timothy R., 69, St. Ambrose, Seymour, Oct. 30. Husband of Patricia Keenan. Father of Amy and Patrick Keenan. Brother of Barbara Bridgeman and Michael Keenan. Grandfather of one.
LEGGINS, Rita S., 84, St. Roch, Indianapolis, Oct. 26. Mother of Sherri Altman, Suzey Hovenstine, Ann Knight, Jennifer White, Patrick Raftery, Brian, Joe and Wayne Leggins. Sister of Nancy Sutton and James Sheets. Grandmother of 18. Great-grandmother of 22.
LYNCH, Marian S., 88, Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Jeffersonville, Sept. 28. Wife of James Lynch. Mother of J. Tim and Kevin Lynch.
MARSHALL, Teresa M., 58, St. Joseph, Shelbyville, Oct. 28. Daughter of Virgina Marshall. Sister of Glenda Munger, Sharon Orem, Bruce and John Marshall. Aunt of several.
MATHIAS, Isabella W., 93, St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower), Indianapolis, Oct. 31. Mother of Janet Chadwick, Sandra Greenwell, Lisa Sokolowski, Linda Stephens, Mark and Wayne Mathias. Sister of Thelma Bruce, Marcella and Ruth Heldman and Ann Mudd. Grandmother of 12. Great-grandmother of 17.
MILLER, Mary B., 73, St. Jude, Indianapolis, Nov. 3. Sister of Margaret Lindop, Nancy Miller Morse, Jeannie Miller Wilson, Franciscan Sister Eileen, Suzan, Bill and Robert Miller. Aunt of several.
MILLER, Margaret E., 91, Our Lady of Lourdes, Indianapolis, Oct. 27. Mother of Denise Miller Byers, Mark, Michael and Paul Miller. Grandmother of 10. Great-grandmother of 16.
RILEY, Evelyn R., 87, St. Lawrence, Indianapolis, Oct. 21. Mother of Mary Switalski, Kathleen, James and Kevin Riley. Grandmother of 11. Great-grandmother of nine.
SIENER, Rita M., 87, St. John Paul II, Sellersburg, Nov. 2. Mother of Christine Mikel, Kathleen Nolan, Jeanette Sharp, Sue and Mark Siener. Grandmother of 11. Great-grandmother of 17. Great-great-grandmother of one.
TWEEDY, Jack F., 87, St. Anne, New Castle, Oct. 22. Husband of Bernice Tweedy. Father of Kyle Elizabeth Davis, Kimberlee Young, Jay and Gray Tweedy. Grandfather of six. Great-grandfather of four.
Conventual Franciscan Father Kenneth Gering served as a hospital chaplain
Conventual Franciscan Father Kenneth Gering died on Nov. 1 in New Albany. He was 89.
The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Nov. 10 at the chapel of the Conventual Franciscans at Mount St. Francis. Burial followed in the friars’ cemetery.
Kenneth Louis Gering was born on Nov. 16, 1927, in Louisville, Ky. He graduated from St. Xavier High School in 1945, and then served for four years in the U.S. Navy.
Father Kenneth entered the Conventual Franciscans’ Our Lady of Consolation Province, based at Mount St. Francis, in 1951, professed simple vows on July 9, 1952, and solemn vows on July 11 1955. He was ordained a priest on Feb. 23, 1958.
After serving for two years in parish ministry in Louisville, Father Kenneth served for 13 years as dean and science teacher in the former minor seminary at Mount St. Francis.
Beginning in 1973, Father Kenneth began ministry as a hospital chaplain, serving in a hospital in Chicago. He would remain in this ministry for the rest of his life except for two brief periods of parish ministry.
In addition to serving at his community’s minor seminary, Father Kenneth also ministered in the archdiocese as a chaplain from 1988-94 at Terre Haute Regional Hospital and Union Hospital, both in Terre Haute. He served as administrator of Most Precious Blood Parish in New Middleton, St. Joseph Parish in Corydon and St. Peter Parish in Harrison County from 1994-95. From 1996 until his death, Father Kenneth served as chaplain at Providence Retirement Home in New Albany.
Father Kenneth also ministered as the chaplain for the Knights of Columbus in Lanesville and New Albany and a chapter of the Legion of Mary in New Albany.
He is survived by his sisters Mary Rose Gaus Brown of The Villages, Fla., JoAnn Miller of Louisville Ky., and his brother Robert Gering of Mount Joy, Pa.
Memorial gifts may be sent to the Conventual Franciscan Friars at The Province of Our Lady of Consolation, Development Office, 103 St. Anthony Drive, Mount St. Francis, IN 47146. †