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)
ARNOLD, John J., Jr., 81, St. Peter, Harrison County, Aug. 1. Father of Cynthia Donat, Stephanie Faith, Melissa Steele and Pam Wall. Brother of Evelyn Regan, Mary Stark and Gilbert Arnold. Grandfather of 13. Great-grandfather of four.
BAUMGARDNER, Katherine, 88, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, New Albany, Oct. 1. Mother of Dolores Keith, Connie McQuigg, Michael and Richard Baumgardner. Grandmother of 14. Great-grandmother of 22. Great-great-grandmother of six.
COSTELLA, Maria, 104, Sacred Heart, Clinton, Oct. 2. Mother of Delores Flint and Rosemary Price. Grandmother of one. Great-grandmother of two.
DEARING, Ada L., 78, St. Jude, Indianapolis, Oct. 4. Mother of Kathy Brunson, Jackie Crowley, Annette Gray, Mary Ringham, Ruth Whitaker and Robert Dearing. Sister of Katherine Dale, Pauline Fowler, Liz Johnson and Lola Sanford. Grandmother of 13. Great-grandmother of three.
FORTWENDEL, Mary, 55, St. Isidore, Bristow, Sept. 30. Wife of Jody Fortwendel. Mother of Sara Gehlhausen, Emily Winter and Neil Fortwendel. Daughter of Frieda Kleaving. Sister of Esther Goffinet, Glenda Gogel, Ruth Strobel and Gilbert Kleaving. Grandmother of five.
GREGG, James Bernard, 52, St. Malachy, Brownsburg, Oct. 3. Husband of Mary (Jacobs) Gregg. Father of Amber, Ashley, Jacob and Thomas Gregg. Son of Catherine (Arndt) Gregg. Brother of Debbie Pearson, Mary Wenzel, Amy and Mike Gregg.
HESS, Annette, 77, St. Mary, Lanesville, Sept. 22. Mother of Kay Richmond, Sue Suppinger, Chuck, Donn, Fred, Ken and Steve Hess. Sister of Edwin and Kenneth Pilotte. Grandmother of 13. Great-grandmother of eight.
KATTAU, Richard W., 86, Our Lady of the Greenwood, Greenwood, Oct. 6. Husband of Mary Louise Kattau. Father of Peggy Lee, Dianne Parker, Jeannie Thomas, Gary and Richard Kattau. Grandfather of 12. Great-grandfather of several.
LUX, Joseph W., 76, St. Ann, Indianapolis, Sept. 28. Cousin of Richard P. Lux.
MILLER, Alice M., 77, St. Ann, Indianapolis, Sept. 15. Mother of Vicki Pressley, Jennifer Riley, Mary Rusher, Lori and Frank Miller. Sister of Elizabeth Jones and Isaac Holland.
O’LEARY, Helen E., 75, Immaculate Heart of Mary, Indianapolis, Sept. 22. Mother of Julie Andrews, Sally Giles, Elizabeth Macy, Nina, Roberta, Brian and W. Michael O’Leary. Sister of Patricia Hickman. Grandmother of 13. Great-grandmother of 11.
PEYTON, Robert Reed, 70, St. Mary, Lanesville, Sept. 18. Husband of Patricia Peyton. Father of Cynthia Lewis, Jane Martin and Susan Peyton. Brother of Art, Jim and Richard Peyton. Grandfather of two.
PRICKEL, Thomas A., 48, St. Louis, Batesville, Oct. 1. Father of Daniel Prickel. Son of Albert and Rosemary Prickel. Brother of Pat Hill, Janet Schumacher, Ron and Terry Prickel.
SCHALK, Pauline M., 77, St. Matthew, Indianapolis, Sept. 30. Mother of Diane Humphrey, Karen Sigman, Mary Ann Simpson, Kathy Sloan, Nancy, James and John Schalk. Grandmother of 14.
SCOFIELD, David C., 85, St. Luke the Evangelist, Indianapolis, Oct. 3. Husband of Betty Jane Scofield. Father of Lana Anderson, Carol Hughes, Patricia and Paul Scofield. Brother of Janet Lee. Grandfather of five.
SKYLES, William V., 37, St. Malachy, Brownsburg, Oct. 5. Husband of Katherine Kelly. Father of William Skyles, Stepfather of Alicia, Mariah, Nicholas and Stephen Kelly. Son of Charles and Margaret Skyles. Brother of Chuck and Cory Skyles. Grandson of Mary Vander Espt.
VANCE, Mary, 91, St. Mary, North Vernon, Sept. 28. Mother of Patricia Bower. Sister of Rosetta Kane. Grandmother of five. Great-grandmother of eight.
WELSH, Lillian A. (Elixman), 99, Holy Trinity, Indianapolis, Sept. 26. Mother of Carol Jenks and Michael Welsh. Grandmother of two. Great-grandmother of two.
WOLSIFFER, William John, 99, St. Paul Hermitage, Beech Grove, Oct. 6. Father of David and Stephen Wolsiffer. Grandfather of four. Great-grandfather of five.
YOUNG, Catherine J., 75, St. Anthony, Indianapolis, Sept. 12. Mother of Lisa Knight, Roseann, Michael and Stephen Young. Grandmother of 14.
Benedictine Father Julius Armbruster was founding member of Blue Cloud Abbey in South Dakota
Benedictine Father Julius Armbruster, a native of Indianapolis and monk of Blue Cloud Abbey in Marvin, S.D., died on Oct. 2 at the Care Center in Wilmot, S.D., where he had resided for several weeks.
The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Oct. 9 at Blue Cloud Abbey. Burial followed at the monks’ cemetery there.
Father Julius was born on April 10, 1918, in Indianapolis.
He entered the novitiate at Saint Meinrad Archabbey in St. Meinrad in 1938 and professed final vows as a Benedictine monk in 1943. He was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Joseph E. Ritter in 1944 at Saint Meinrad Archabbey Church.
Father Julius was among the monks from Saint Meinrad who were assigned to found the Benedictine abbey in South Dakota.
When Blue Cloud Abbey became independent from its motherhouse in 1954, Father Julius transferred his stability to the new abbey.
Father Julius installed the plumbing during construction of Blue Cloud Abbey and took care of other maintenance work as part of his monastic duties.
He also served as the community’s procurator and brother instructor.
Father Julius ministered at all four of the Indian reservations where monks from the abbey staffed missions.
He served twice at St. Paul’s Indian Mission in Marty, S.D.; twice at Immaculate Conception Indian Mission in Stephan, S.D.; twice at St. Michael’s Indian Mission in North Dakota; and once at St. Ann’s Indian Mission in Belcourt, N.D.
In 1949, Father Julius was recalled to Indiana and served as assistant pastor at St. Benedict Parish in Evansville, Ind.
Father Julius also was pastor of Annunciation Parish in Revillo, S.D., and St. Mary Parish in Wilmot, S.D.
In his later years, Father Julius and another octogenarian, Benedictine Abbot Alan Berndt, mowed the grass at the abbey’s large yard and cemetery.
Father Julius is survived by a brother, Joseph Armbruster, and a sister, Virginia Toner, in Indianapolis.
Memorial gifts may be sent to Saint Meinrad Archabbey, 100 Hill Drive, St. Meinrad, IN 47577. †