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)

ALIG, Harold, 89, St. Peter, Franklin County, Oct. 13. Husband of Rita Alig. Father of Connie Andres, Penny Long, Nancy Monday, Kenny and Garry Alig. Grandfather of nine. Great-grandfather of 12.

BRACKMAN, Martin H., 65, Holy Family, Oldenburg, Oct. 22. Son of Mildred Brackman. Brother of Helen Gillman, Edna Thompson and Urban Brackman.

CHRISTENSEN, Florence M., 96, St. Luke the Evangelist, Indianapolis, Oct. 10. Mother of Mary, Charles Jr. and Timothy Christensen. Sister of Irene Gauthier. Grandmother of three.

CROY, John V., 90, St. Mary, Greensburg, Oct. 24. Husband of Suzanne Croy. Father of Christopher, Gregory and Paul Croy. Brother of Robert Croy. Grandfather of eight. Great-grandfather of two.

DAPRILE, Gus P., 83, St. Jude, Indianapolis, Oct. 13. Husband of Shirley Daprile. Father of Mike Carlson, Karen Dewitt, Tina Yarbrough, Cathy, Bill and Phil Daprile. Brother of Anthony Daprile. Grandfather of 15. Great-grandfather of two.

DEUBELBEISS, Pius, 76, Most Holy Name of Jesus, Beech Grove, Oct. 13. Husband of Huguette Deubelbeiss. Father of Rita Kircher, Ruth, Carl and Pierre Deubelbeiss. Brother of Thekla Ritter. Grandfather of five. Great-grandfather of nine.

ELSON, Richard J., Sr., 65, Christ the King, Indianapolis, Oct. 15. Husband of Linda Elson. Father of Tracy Lee, Jimmy and Ricky Elson. Brother of Peggy Clerget, Cindy Elson-Knobbe, Janie Elson-Usab, Bobby, Kevin, Michael and Tim Elson. Grandfather of four.

ENLOW, Walter Warner, 71, St. Lawrence, Indianapolis, Oct. 19. Husband of Vicky Enlow. Father of Shelly McCall, Vicky and Michael Enlow. Brother of Patricia Howard, Anita Jacobs, Glenn and Ron Enlow. Grandfather of three.

FETTER, Delbert, 68, St. Meinrad, St. Meinrad, Oct. 14. Husband of Carol Fetter. Father of Debbie Buechler, Lisa Dale, Brenda Messmer, Denise Palmer, Mark and Tim Fetter. Brother of Eileen Artmeier and Ida Gehlhausen. Grandfather of 16.

GILFOY, Jane L., 78, Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Jeffersonville, Oct. 14. Wife of James Gilfoy Sr. Mother of Nancy Mass. Sister of James Lynch. Grandmother of one. Great-grandmother of two.

HURRLE, Robert John, 81, St. Barnabas, Indianapolis, Oct. 22. Husband of Marilyn (Arbuckle) Hurrle. Father of Terri Adams, Cathy Bray, Lynn Cox, Karen Barthelmes, Jenni Peterman, Chris and Jim Hurrle. Brother of Rosemary Wilder. Grandfather of 16. Great-grandfather of 11.

KEMMERER, Beverly Jean, 82, St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower), Indianapolis, Oct. 8. Mother of Deborah Havens. Stepsister of Linda George.

KISTNER, Frank J., Jr., 84, St. Jude, Indianapolis, Oct. 20. Husband of Virginia Kistner. Father of Kathy Dorsey, Bill, Frank III and Tom Kistner. Grandfather of six. Great-grandfather of three.

KUKOLLA, Evelyn, 83, St. Lawrence, Indianapolis, Oct. 10. Wife of Joseph Kukolla. Mother of Jim, Joe and Steve Kukolla. Sister of Alta and Jean. Grandmother of two.

LAUCK, Joseph A., 88, Sacred Heart of Jesus, Indianapolis, Oct. 9. Brother of Eleanor Christman and Mary Grace Lawler.

MEYER, Alvina C., 85, St. Michael, Brookville, Oct. 18. Mother of Jeff and Robert Meyer. Sister of Rita Gesell and Alma Hoffman. Grandmother of six. Great-grandmother of five.

NELSON, Arnold R., 85, Holy Spirit, Indianapolis, Sept. 25. Husband of Ruth Nelson.

OSER, Walter, 75, St. Meinrad, St. Meinrad, Oct. 8. Husband of Carol Oser. Father of Susan Burch, Denise Patton, Bonnie, Kurt and Rick Oser. Brother of Henrietta Bartell, Rita Buechlein, Rosemary Downing, Virginia Hubers, Edward and George Oser. Grandfather of 20. Great-grandfather of seven.

PAPPAS, Thomas Elmer, Sr., 81, Holy Spirit, Indianapolis, Sept. 26. Husband of Helen Pappas. Father of Tom Jr. and Tony Pappas. Grandfather of four. Great-grandfather of two.

PELSOR, Helen M., 93, St. Michael, Brookville, Oct. 21. Mother of Nancy Klein, Marjorie Otto, August and Bayard Pelsor. Grandmother of eight. Great-grandmother of four.

RAMSEY, Martha, 69, St. Jude, Indianapolis, Oct. 6. Wife of Bill Ramsey. Mother of Kelly Hohler, Brian, Mike and Rob Ramsey. Grandmother of eight.

SCHERZER, Paul, 79, St. Meinrad, St. Meinrad, Sept. 30. Husband of Delores Scherzer. Father of Gary, Gene, Randy, Ronnie and Terry Scherzer. Brother of Mary Louise Gogel and Robert Scherzer. Grandfather of 11. Great-grandfather of seven.

SQUIRES, Jacquelin, 42, St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower), Indianapolis, Sept. 28. Wife of Jerry Van Schaik. Mother of Margaret Van Squires, Francis, Jack and William Van Schaik. Daughter of John and Mary Kay Squires. Sister of Elizabeth Bormann, Emily, Grace and Katherine Squires.

WADE, Justin Wallace, 37, St. Barnabas, Indianapolis, Oct. 21. Husband of Sally (Emery) Wade. Father of Alice and Johnathan Wade. Son of Gary and Darita (Jackson) Wade. Brother of Jennifer Pierce and Jason Wade. Grandson of Anita Wade.

WEATHERL, Josephine C., 94, St. Mary, Greensburg, Oct. 17. Sister of Franciscan Sister Ruth Greiwe.

WEISS, Albert, 82, St. Malachy, Brownsburg, Oct. 16. Father of Patricia Schenkel, Catherine and William Weiss. Brother of Anna Deubelbeiss. Grandfather of seven.

WITKEMPER, Dorothy F., 94, Immaculate Conception, Millhousen, Oct. 16. Mother of Doris Johnson, Mary Smith, James and John Witkemper. Sister of Rosemary Schroeder, Rita Mae Waechter and James Blankman. Grandmother of 13. Great-grandmother of 22.

Providence Sister Eileen Ann Kelley was a teacher, principal and congregation officer

Franciscan Sister Julitta Steckler died on Sept. 21 at St. Clare Hall, the health care facility for the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis, in Oldenburg. She was 97.

The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Sept. 24 at the motherhouse chapel in Oldenburg. Burial followed at the sisters’ cemetery.

Elvira Rose Steckler was born on July 28, 1915, in Haubstadt, Ind., in the Diocese of Evansville.

She entered the Oldenburg Franciscan community on June 15, 1933, and professed her final vows on Jan. 6, 1941.

Sister Julitta was a teacher or principal for 50 years from 1933 until 1983 at Catholic schools in Indiana, Ohio, Illinois and Missouri.

From 1984 to 1996, she served at parishes, nursing homes and the Ozanam Shelter for homeless families in Evansville, Ind.

In 1990, Sister Julitta retired to St. Clare Hall at the motherhouse.

Surviving are a sister, Franciscan Sister Dorothy Steckler of Oldenburg, and many nieces and nephews.

Memorial gifts may be sent to the Sisters of St. Francis, P.O. Box 100, Oldenburg, IN 47036. †