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)

BALL, Michael L., 67, St. Jude, Indianapolis, April 13. Husband of Janet Ball. Father of Michael and Timothy Ball. Brother of William Ball. Grandfather of seven.

BECHT, Keith, 56, St. Mary‑of-the-Knobs, Floyd County, April 16. Son of Louise Becht. Brother of Barbara Allen, Sharon Harvey, Melissa Matthews, Cindy, Eric, Kevin, John and Steven Becht. Uncle and great-uncle of several.

BEYER, Donna, 71, St. Malachy, Brownsburg, March 22. Wife of Michael Beyer. Mother of Andrew, David, Robert and Thomas Beyer. Grandmother of eight.

BUSALD, Mary T., 89, St. Mary, Rushville, April 11. Mother of Marilyn Kozlowski, Esther Sibrel, Helen, Jim and Paul Busald. Sister of Hubert Schmitter. Grandmother of 17. Great-grandmother of 34. Great-great-grandmother of six.

CRALLEY, Hilda, 93, Sacred Heart of Jesus, Indianapolis, April 6. Aunt, great-aunt and great‑great-aunt of several.

CRAWFORD, Anna, 85, St. Simon the Apostle, Indianapolis, April 12. Mother of Theresa Mendez, Karen Tucker, Charlie, Dennis and Steven Crawford. Sister of Larry and Ralph Hardin. Grandmother of eight. Great‑grandmother of five.

DUNCAN, Frieda, 82, Sacred Heart of Jesus, Indianapolis, April 15. Mother of Diana Deweese, Maria Jessie, Angela McIntosh, Katrina Oprisi, Laurie Reams, Christopher, Jeffrey, Robert, Jr. and Timothy Duncan. Sister of Patty Ottinger, Fred, Jr. and Tom Jones. Grandmother, great‑grandmother and great‑great-grandmother of several.

ELSON, Linda K., 71, Christ the King, Indianapolis, April 4. Mother of Tracy Lee, Jimmy and Ricky Elson. Sister of Marianne Miller and Jay Lauck. Grandmother of six.

FRANCIS, Catherine, 95, Our Lady of Lourdes, Indianapolis, April 5. Mother of Janie Brown, Joan Flecker, Kathy Keyes, Jean Ann Meyer and Helen Wailes. Sister of Helen Kramer. Grandmother of nine. Great‑grandmother of nine.

GRAF, Lee, 65, Holy Guardian Angels, Cedar Grove, April 5. Husband of Cathy Graf. Father of Stephanie Bohman, Autumn Reinier, Ashley and Phillip Graf. Brother of Yvonne Brandes, Shelly Lunsford, Trisha Rosenberger, Rena Sacksteder, Alan and Greg Graf. Grandfather of nine.

GRAMMAN, Elizabeth, 85, St. Michael, Brookville, April 12. Mother of Jeanne Beck, Pam Brown, Judy Conwell, Patty Heckel, Nancy Meyer, Sharon Pepper, Debbie Seale, Jim, Randy, Rick and Tim Gramman. Grandmother of 26. Great‑grandmother of 27.

GRIGSBY, Keith M., 59, Holy Angels, Indianapolis, March 24. Father of Ashley Allen, Jacqueline McGee, Lakesha and Keith Grigsby, Jr.

Brother of Angela Espada, Shirley and Jason Grigsby. Grandfather of 11.

GROTHOUSE, Christine R., 95, St. Agnes, Nashville, March 21. Mother of Susan Rannochio and Sara Van Dyke. Grandmother of four.

GUNN, Carl, 90, St. Boniface, Fulda, March 1. Husband of Helen Gunn. Father of Polly Hagedorn, Mary Ellen Moore, Kris, Susan and Tom Gunn. Grandfather of three. Great‑grandfather of two.

JONES, Chris, 64, St. Vincent de Paul, Shelby County, April 7. Wife of JJ Jones. Mother of Lori Cummins, Andrew and William Jones. Sister of Michael Weintraut. Grandmother of six.

KLEIN, Leo, 83, St. Mary, New Albany, April 5. Husband of Ida Klein. Father of Pam Dauby, Jennifer Jantzen, Sharon Kern, Brenda Miller, Cyndi Morgan and Shirley Tidwell. Brother of Carolyn Blunk and Shirley Stiller. Grandfather of 12. Great‑grandfather of 18. Great-great-grandfather of two.

LAPACK, Rita, 79, Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Indianapolis, March 29. Wife of Richard LaPack. Mother of Anna Kitchens, Kevin, Lance and Mark LaPack. Sister of Tim Cravens. Grandmother of eight. Great-grandmother of eight.

PETERS, Rose A., 74, St. Boniface, Fulda, March 22. Wife of David Peters. Mother of Jane Hosking. Sister of Jenny Butler and Vera Price. Grandmother of three. Great‑grandmother of one.

PINARD, Norm, 74, Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Indianapolis, April 4. Husband of Nancy Pinard. Father of Tracey Fitzgerald and Tina Wagner. Brother of Diana Holliday, Armand, Leo and Roger Pinard. Grandfather of one.

ROELL, Jerome R., 63, St. Louis, Batesville, April 14. Husband of Jacqueline Roell. Father of Jessica and Jeremy Roell. Brother of Pat Meer, Mary, Carl, Louis and Stanley Roell. Grandfather of five.

SANTAROSSA, Elsie A., 93, St. Matthew the Apostle, Indianapolis, April 6. Mother of Teresa Piggott Kovey, Pamela Krull, Marie Walden, David, John and Rob Santarossa. Grandmother of 20. Great-grandmother of 18.

SCHOETTMER, Kathryn, 86, St. Mary, Greensburg, April 18. Wife of Robert Schoettmer. Mother of Kathy, Gary, Keith and Mark Schoettmer. Grandmother of 11. Great‑grandmother of nine.

SICHTING, Forrest D., 80, St. Martin of Tours, Martinsville, April 12. Husband of Sara Sichting. Father of Lisa Helms, Bradley and David Sichting. Brother of Marie Housand, Harold, Paul, Vic and Web Sichting. Grandfather of five. Great‑grandfather of three.

SITZMAN, Clayton, 46, St. Meinrad, St. Meinrad, March 30. Husband of Jennifer Sitzman. Father of Colt and Wyatt Sitzman. Son of Dorothy Sitzman. Brother of Cheryl Smith and Paul Hubert.

SPENCER, Robert A., 88, Holy Spirit, Indianapolis, April 9. Father of Karen LeStourgeon, Susan and Paul Spencer. Brother of Mary Ann Weltzien. Grandfather of six. Great-grandfather of one.

STEWART, Elizabeth G. (Suding), 95, Good Shepherd, Indianapolis, April 1. Mother of Geri McKay and Joe Stewart. Grandmother of seven.

Little Sister of the Poor Sister Alexis Berchmans served aged poor for 74 years

Little Sister of the Poor Sister Alexis Berchmans died on April 16 at the order’s St. Augustine Home for the Aged in Indianapolis. She was 94.

The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on April 20 at the chapel at the St. Augustine Home. Burial followed at Holy Cross Cemetery in Indianapolis.

Sister Alexis was born on July 9, 1923, in Lafayette, Ind. She entered the Little Sisters of the Poor after graduating from high school, professed first vows on Dec. 10, 1943, and final vows on Oct. 15, 1948.

After many years of ministering to the aged poor in Baltimore and Evansville, Ind., Sister Alexis came to live at the St. Augustine Home in 2014.

She is survived by a sister, Paula Alexander, of Lafayette.

Memorial gifts may be sent to the St. Augustine Home for the Aged, 2345 W. 86th St., Indianapolis, IN 46260. †