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)

BERGER, Luca J., 13, SS. Francis and Clare of Assisi, Greenwood, Aug. 15. Son of Michael and Michelle Berger. Brother of Aris, Brandon, Elijah and Mikey Berger. Grandson of Mike and JoEllen Berger, JoAnn Dawson, Joe and Susie Dawson, and Debbie Ray.

BOSTIC, Lester, 84, St. Mary, Greensburg, Aug. 17. Husband of Mary (Korman) Bostic. Father of Gayle McIntyre. Brother of Bob and Tom Bostic. Grandfather of three. Great-grandfather of two.

BRIZENDINE, Alma Jean, 90, St. Mark the Evangelist, Indianapolis, Aug. 15. Mother of Lydia Jurgen, Paula Lawhorn, Bibiana Phillips, Brian, Daniel, Peter and Vincent Brizendine. Grandmother of 15. Great-grandmother of 13.

BROOKS, Karen Jo, 68, St. Luke the Evangelist, Indianapolis, Aug. 2.

CARPENTER, Joan M. (Bohall), 60, St. Ambrose, Seymour, Aug. 11. Wife of John Carpenter. Mother of Jessica Payne and Jennifer Urbanski. Grandmother of three.

DOUGHERTY, Larry L., 69, St. Barnabas, Indianapolis, Aug. 15. Husband of Susan (Utterback) Dougherty. Father of Jeffrey, Nicholas and Thomas Dougherty. Brother of Jeannette Hoff, Sharon Jefry, Meghan Utterback, Dennis and Douglas Dougherty.

DREYER, Shirley L., 87, St. Jude, Indianapolis, Aug. 14. Mother of Donna Ahlbrand, Darlene Carrao, Diana Dugger, Denise Mullins, Daniel and Dennis Dreyer. Grandmother of 24. Great-grandmother of 41.

DWENGER, Ralph R., 88, St. Bartholomew, Columbus, Aug. 9. Husband of Mary Lou Dwenger. Father of Wendy Baldwin, Pamela, Dr. Randall, Rick and Ronald Dwenger. Brother of Russell Dwenger. Grandfather of 12. Great-grandfather of eight.

EHRHARDT, Phillip, 86, St. Malachy, Brownsburg, Aug. 3. Husband of Barbara Ehrhardt. Father of Karen Starkey, Kurt and Philip Ehrhardt. Grandfather of six. Great-grandfather of one.

ELLIOTT, Anne Elizabeth, 89, St. Luke the Evangelist, Indianapolis, Aug. 12. Mother of Ellen McCallum, Eileen Vacheresse, Elizabeth, Benjamin, Edward, Layton and Thomas Elliott. Grandmother of 23. Great-grandmother of 10.

ENDRIS, Mark K., 60, St. Vincent de Paul, Bedford, Aug. 5. Brother of Jackie Robbins.

GAVAGHAN, James M., 65, St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower), Aug. 1. Husband of D.Dee Gavaghan. Father of Katie Masilonis and Ryan Gavaghan. Brother of Pattiann Johnson, Bob and Dennis Gavaghan. Grandfather of three.

HUTCHENS, Elwood E., 97, Holy Family, New Albany, Aug. 10. Husband of Mary (Yochem) Hutchens. Father of Alice Crady, Phyllis Kaiser, Beth Ann Luckett, Laura Schnell, Judith Schroeder, Dr. Mary Smith, Elwood, Mark, Richard, Robert and Tom Hutchens. Grandfather of 34. Great-grandfather of 68. Great-great-grandfather of five.

LANSING, Mary, 86, St. Lawrence, Lawrenceburg, Aug. 15. Mother of Beth, Bill, Danny, Mike, Tim, Tom and Tony Lansing. Grandmother of 12. Great-grandmother of eight.

LEAHY, Lillian A., 93, St. Vincent de Paul, Bedford, July 24. Mother of Paula Leahy Harris and John Leahy. Grandmother of seven. Great-grandmother of five.

LEWIS, Phyllis, 64, Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Jeffersonville, July 28. Mother Jeanna McDermott. Sister of Mary Exton, Larry and Michael Martin. Grandmother of two.

MARTIN, Raymond J., 82, St. Anthony of Padua, Clarksville, Aug. 4. Husband of Patricia Martin. Father of Kathryn Shouse, Mary Pat Taylor and Gregory Martin. Brother of Elizabeth Edwards, Vera Feldkamp, Lois Miller and William Martin. Grandfather of five. Great-grandfather of two.

NILES, Mildred, 103, St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Bright, July 25. Mother of Carol McMahon and James Niles. Grandmother of eight. Great-grandmother of 14.

OBERHAUSEN, Mark A., 73, St. Paul, Tell City, Aug. 14. Husband of Meredith (Becker) Oberhausen. Father of Christie Ensor and Kim Garrett. Brother of Ann Manley and John Oberhausen. Grandfather of six.

ORTH, Donald, 88, St. Joan of Arc, Indianapolis, Aug. 1. Husband of Janet Orth. Father of Carol Kozak, Julie Price, Mary Strohm, David and Paul Orth. Brother of Mary Ann Gates and Bob and Jim Orth. Grandfather of eight.

SPRAGUE, Doris M., 87, St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Bright, July 15. Mother of Joyce Grandstaff, Robert and Scott Sprague. Sister of Loraine Loth. Grandmother of 11. Great-grandmother of 14.

TOVSON, Cecilia, 91, St. Matthew the Apostle, Indianapolis, Aug. 14. Mother of Joanne Drew, Jeanette Schriner, David and Richard Tovson. Grandmother of 10. Great-grandmother of three.

VEERKAMP, Mildred M., 90, SS. Francis and Clare of Assisi, Greenwood, Aug. 12. Mother of Sharon Howat, Kathy Sexton, Barb Smith, Bob and Ron Veerkamp. Sister of Shirley Hill. Grandmother of 11. Great-grandmother of 13.

WALDRON, James, 74, St. Joan of Arc, Indianapolis, July 31. Husband of Mary Ann Waldron. Father of Abigail Flavin and Emily Waldron. Brother of Donna O’Donnell and Kathy Turpin. Grandfather of four.

WILLIAMS, Rosie Marie, 75, St. Bartholomew, Columbus, Aug. 7. Mother of Missy Hall, Annie Lickliter, Mandy and Troy Williams. Sister of Judy Carmer, Rita Dell and Davey Pelley. Grandmother of five.

Providence Sister Margaret Kern taught, provided financial and spiritual leadership

Providence Sister Margaret Kern died on Aug. 3 in Mother Theodore Hall at St. Mary-of-the-Woods. She was 89.

The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Aug. 7 at the Church of the Immaculate Conception at the motherhouse. Burial followed at the sisters’ cemetery.

Margaret Mary Kern was born on March 28, 1926, in Bloomington.

She was a member of St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Bedford when she entered the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods on July 22, 1951. She professed final vows on Jan. 23, 1959.

Sister Margaret earned a bachelor’s degree from Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College in St. Mary-of-the-Woods, and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Notre Dame in northern Indiana.

During her 64 years as a member of the Sisters of Providence, Sister Margaret ministered for 17 years in high schools in Illinois, Indiana and Oklahoma and taught at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College for five years.

She served as general treasurer of her order from 1966-81, and later ministered as the director of finances for the Diocese of Covington, Ky. In 1993, she entered into training for spiritual direction and served as a spiritual director for many people around the motherhouse. Sister Margaret also helped lead the Providence Spirituality and Conference Center and served as the director of the Our Lady of Providence Shrine from 1994-99.

In addition to the various ministries she carried out at the motherhouse, Sister Margaret also ministered in the archdiocese at Our Lady of Providence Jr./Sr. High School in Clarksville from 1963-66.

She retired from ministry in 2011 and dedicated herself at that time to prayer.

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. †