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)

AMBERGER, Dolores M., 78, St. Louis, Batesville, Sept. 9. Wife of George Amberger. Mother of John Amberger. Sister of Aileen Koester. Grandmother of three.

ANDRES, Mary E., 91, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, New Albany, Sept. 7. Mother of Alice Banet and Melvin Andres. Sister of Louise Elmer. Grandmother of seven. Great-grandmother of 17.

BACON, Sarah G., 85, SS. Francis and Clare, Greenwood, Sept. 3. Mother of Ken Bacon. Grandmother of one.

BOHLAND, Thomas A., 66, St. Michael, Brookville, Aug. 26. Husband of Janet Bohland. Father of Jodi Meadows, Adrian, Bradley and Michael Bohland.

BUTLER, John W., Jr., 88, Sacred Heart of Jesus, Terre Haute, Sept. 6. Father of Veronica Gaskill, June Lawler, Joyce Prevost and Terrell Butler.

COX, Helen C., 77, St. Mary, New Albany, Aug. 13. Sister of Audrey Brackett. Aunt of several.

DORSETT, Kenneth W., 74, St. Simon the Apostle, Indianapolis, Sept. 1. Husband of Frances Dorsett. Father of Virginia Crawford, Clay, Danny and Timothy Dorsett. Brother of Betty Hoover and Phyllis Westerfield. Grandfather of five. Great-grandfather of one.

DOUGHERTY, John L., III, 71, St. Mary, New Albany, Aug. 4. Father of Allyson Hoffman and Brent Dougherty. Grandfather of four.

FIELD, Thomas Ronald, 63, St. Bernadette, Indianapolis, Aug. 27. Brother of Peggy Howard and Judith Robinson.

FOWLER, Joseph E., 58, St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower), Indianapolis, July 5. Husband of Brenda Fowler. Father of Heather Drinkwater, Amanda Haliburton, Aaron and Patrick Fowler. Son of Ellis Fowler. Brother of Ann Collins, Carol Luken, Katie Woods, Bill, Dick and John Fowler. Grandfather of 10.

FRAZEE, John Herman Jr., 80, Holy Cross, Indianapolis, Sept. 4. Husband of Lucille Frazee. Father of Angie Bischoff, Stephanie Hertenstein and David Frazee. Brother of Donald and Michael Frazee. Grandfather of seven. Great-grandfather of eight.

JAKELSKY, Judith Ann, 68, Christ the King, Indianapolis, Aug. 19. Sister of Karen Greco, Dorothy Kyle, Kathy Patterson and Christopher Jakelsky.

JONES, David, 69, Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Indianapolis, Sept. 3. Husband of Patricia Jones. Father of Jennifer Fare. Brother of Mary Drake and Philip Jones. Grandfather of one.

McHUGH, John Joseph, 80, St. Patrick, Indianapolis, Aug. 29. Husband of Dolores McHugh. Father of Twig Clemens, Barb Himes, Cathy Knapp, Susie Ray, Janie Shaw, Joe, Mark, Steve and Tom McHugh. Brother of William McHugh. Grandfather of 23. Great-grandfather of 11.

MOELLER, Martha, 85, Sacred Heart of Jesus, Terre Haute, Sept. 1. Mother of Laurel and Mary Beck, Margaret Dixon, Alisa Vangilder, Cathy, John, Michael and Patrick Moeller. Sister of Mary Garrett and John Davern. Grandmother of 16. Great-grandmother of 17.

MUCKERHEIDE, Dale E., 57, St. Mary, Greensburg, Sept. 5. Brother of Shirley Baker, David, Donald and Larry Muckerheide.

NELIS, Betty G., 77, Sacred Heart of Jesus, Indianapolis, Aug. 30. Mother of Cynthia Huff, Dorothy Vaughn, Andrew, George Jr., Mark, Matthew and Michael Nelis. Sister of Jane Klarich. Grandmother of 22. Great-grandmother of 17.

J. Patrick Rooney sponsored educational choice for students

Holy Angels parishioner J. Patrick Rooney of Indianapolis, a longtime Church benefactor, died on Sept. 15. He was 80.

The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Sept. 18 at St. Monica Church in Indianapolis. Burial was at Mount Calvary Cemetery in Vincennes, Ind.

Rooney retired in 1996 after serving as chairman and chief executive of Golden Rule Insurance Co., a family firm, for more than two decades.

A social activist who worked to end racial discrimination, Rooney believed in helping the poor to help themselves.

He sponsored private educational vouchers so low-income children could attend private and parochial schools.

In 1991, Rooney initiated a Golden Rule program called the Educational CHOICE Charitable Trust to pay half of the tuition for 500 low-income children in Indianapolis to attend private schools. Later, he expanded it to other cities.

In 1998, he created the Fairness Foundation in Indianapolis to help uninsured people pay their medical bills.

Joseph Therber, executive director of the archdiocese’s Secretariat for Stewardship and Development, remembered Rooney as “a friend, supporter, benefactor and pioneer.”

He said Rooney “had a giant heart for children, especially children living in poverty, and a very creative mind.

“He was a pioneer, not only locally but also nationally in terms of raising children’s sights for what they can accomplish and what they deserve,” Therber said. “He made a huge impact in terms of putting kids’ lives on an upward trajectory through educational choice. … He had a special heart for the mission and people of Holy Angels Parish.”

He is survived by his wife, Karen Hall; four children, Christine Merchent, Cathy, Therese and Andrew Rooney; two sisters, Mary Kathryn Kunkel and Julia Ladner; and seven grandchildren. †