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)

BAUGH, Theresa M., 56, St. Bartholomew, Columbus, April 1. Wife of Paul Baugh. Mother of Brittany, Derrick, Logan and Travis Thrash. Stepmother of Shelby and Paul Baugh. Sister of Dot Canoles, Debbie Ernest, Pat Keppley, Mary Muir and Kathleen Phillips. Grandmother of one. Step-grandmother of five.

BEACH, William, 83, Holy Family, New Albany, April 2. Husband of Juanita Beach. Father of Vickie Batliner, Cheryl Korb and Kathleen Kruer. Grandfather of four. Great-grandfather of eight.

BRYANT, Sarah A., 75, St. Vincent de Paul, Bedford, March 3. Mother of Aaron Bryant. Sister of Louise Morgan and James Zuttarelli. Grandmother of five. Great-grandmother of five.

DIRBIN, Tonya, 27, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Cambridge City, March 25. Daughter of Joseph Durbin and Teresa Jo Riall. Sister of Emily Jo Durbin. Granddaughter of Marilyn Riall.

GILL, Scott, 60, All Saints Parish, Dearborn County, April 1. Husband of Sandy Gill. Father of Brooklynn, Courtney, Serena and Tyler. Brother of Joyce Hillard and Michael Gill.

HADLEY, Irma, 96, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Richmond, April 1. Mother of Donna DeCamp, Mary Gadd, Julie Taborn and David Hadley. Grandmother of six. Great-grandmother of five.

HARRISON, Marion E., 93, St. Bartholomew, Columbus, March 31. Mother of Merri Jo Sims. Sister of James Preuss. Grandmother of five. Great-grandmother of four.

KARNATZ, Marilyn F., 75, Christ the King, Indianapolis, March 29.

KRAUS, Joyce M., 67, St. Anthony of Padua, Morris, April 6. Wife of Albert Kraus. Mother of Krystle Follick, Carrie Gerth, Lea Henson and Keith Kraus. Sister of Dorita Hodges, Betty Hoff, Jim, Joe, Leroy and Paul Hountz. Grandmother of 11.

LEE, John J., 90, St. Pius X, Indianapolis, March 26. Husband of Martha Lee. Father of David, James, Kenneth and Steve Lee. Brother of Marianne Kirkhoff, Patricia Mattick, Bob, Gary, Richard and Tom Lee. Grandfather of five. Step-grandfather of four. Great-grandfather of two. Step-great-grandfather of two.

MCDONALD, Nancy, 79, Prince of Peace, Madison, March 30. Wife of Aaron McDonald. Mother of Victoria Cottle. Grandmother of one. Great-grandmother of two.

NAVARRA, Jr., Michael A., 59, Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary, Indianapolis, March 24. Father of Gina Green, Angela and Laura Navarra. Son of Frances Navarra. Brother of Theresa Halvorson, Francie O’Mahony, Michele Roth, Mary Ann Swiss, Anthony, Charles and Gus Navarra. Grandfather of two.

PATTERSON, Lois A., 87, St. Bartholomew, Columbus, March 27. Mother of Alan Patterson.

RECEVEUR, Cletus A., 78, St. Mary-of-the-Knobs, Floyd County, March 30. Husband of Rose Receveur. Father of Mindy Brockwell, Melanie Roberts and Adam Receveur. Brother of Evelyn Graf and Doris Klein. Grandfather of four.

RIHA, Edward C., 83, St. Pius X, Indianapolis, March 21. Father of Barbara Bohling, Christine Kassebnia, Patricia Yeager, Edward, Michael, Steven and Thomas Riha. Grandfather of 14. Great-grandfather of nine.

SCHEBLER, Edgar W., 80, St. Louis, Batesville, April 3. Husband of Joyce Schebler. Father of Marty Owens and Rob Schebler. Brother of Carolyn Heppner, Alvin, Kevin, Randy and Wilber Schebler. Grandfather of four.

SHEEHY, Kathleen, 83, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Richmond, April 5. Wife of Ron Sheehy. Mother of Barb Clayton, Julie Hann, Chris Price and Jeff Fox. Grandmother of 12. Great-grandmother of four.

SOUTHERN, James, 53, St. Vincent de Paul, Bedford, March 19. Father of Josie Southern Sanders. Brother of Linda Flanders, Susan Rinne, Thomas and Tony Southern.

SPELLACY, Patricia, 86, St. Michael the Archangel, Indianapolis, April 2. Mother of Kerry Bender, Colleen Cline, Meghan MacKelly, Kathleen Scaletty, Mary Clare, Daniel, Kevin, Patrick and Shawn Spellacy. Grandmother of 16. Great-grandmother of one.

THOMAS, James D., 71, Christ the King, Indianapolis, March 25. Husband of Linda Thomas. Father of Sarah Lashley and Amy Thomas. Brother of John and Morris Thomas.

VERRY, John D., 95, Holy Spirit, Indianapolis, March 23. Husband of Rose Verry. Father of Carol Ann Lovelace and Mark Verry. Grandfather of four. Great-grandfather of four.

WEAFER, Jr., Richard E., 57, St. Bartholomew, Columbus, April 1. Husband of Dorothy Weafer. Father of Misty McQueary, Amanda Trevey and Richard Weafer, III. Son of Lillian Gentry. Stepson of Norman Gentry. Brother of Janice Baker, Barbara Cecil, Reenee Fogle, Lucy Goetz, Denis, Jimi, Mike and Steve Weafer. Grandfather of five.

WILSON, Donald R., 91, St. Pius X, Indianapolis, March 22. Father of Cynthia Mattingly, Charles and Matthew Wilson. Grandfather of five. Great-grandfather of six.

ZINKAN, Sharon, 86, St. Anne, New Castle, April 1. Mother of Pamela Ottinger, Katherine Paul, Diane Personett and Lisa Zinkan. Grandmother of six. Great-grandmother of six.

Providence Sister Florence Norton served in education, as a missionary in Peru

Providence Sister Florence Norton, a member of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods in St. Mary-of-the-Woods, died on April 2 at Mother Theodore Hall on the campus of her religious community’s motherhouse. She was 94.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, a virtual funeral service was held on April 8. Burial followed at the sisters’ cemetery.

Sister Florence was born on July 16, 1926, in Chicago. She entered the Sisters of Providence on Jan. 10, 1944, and professed final vows on Aug. 15, 1951.

Sister Florence earned a bachelor’s degree at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College and a master’s degree at St. Louis University in St. Louis.

During her 77 years as a member of the Sisters of Providence, Sister Florence ministered as an educator for 24 years in schools in Illinois, Indiana and Missouri. In 1968, she began seven years of service as a missionary with other members of her community at the Colegio San Jose in Arequipa, Peru.

Upon returning to the U.S., Sister Florence served in schools and parishes with a growing Hispanic population in Chicago. She returned to the motherhouse in 2010 and volunteered in many ministries. In 2019, Sister Florence dedicated herself entirely to prayer.

In the archdiocese, Sister Florence served in Indianapolis at St. Thomas Aquinas School from 1946-50 and at the former St. Catherine of Siena School from 1950-52.

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. †