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)

BARTON, Jr., John F., 72, St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower), Indianapolis, Oct. 24. Husband of Vanessa Meadows. Father of Heather Warnecke, Emily, Michael and Patrick Barton. Stepfather of Delaney, Logan, Ryan, Spencer and Wesley Moss. Grandfather of six.

BLADES, Mark H., 82, All Saints, Dearborn County, Oct. 15. Father of Krista Flaugh, Nikki, Brad, Kevin and Mark Blades. Brother of Jerry Blades. Grandfather of eight.

BOCKHOLD, Tim, 54, St. Augustine, Leopold, Oct. 11. Husband of Tina Bockhold. Father of Jacqueline Trowbridge and Zayne Bockhold. Brother of Michele Peter, Kim Steen, Tonya Stillwell and Kevin Bockhold.

BRADLEY, Mary Kathryn, 80, St. Lawrence, Lawrenceburg, Oct. 28. Wife of Bob Bradley. Mother of Stephen and Warren Bradley. Grandmother of three.

CLEARY, Joann, 83, St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Bright, Oct. 19. Wife of James Cleary. Mother of Sharon Cleary-Fanning, Angie Hansel, Pam Karsteter and Patricia Werner. Grandmother of 10.

CONROY, Gerald L., 78, St. John Paul II, Sellersburg, Sept. 26. Father of Anthony Conroy. Brother of Mary Margaret Anderson, Eileen Carlow, Sue Howard, Katie and Francis Conroy. Grandfather of one.

DEAK, Judith A., 84, St. Mark the Evangelist, Indianapolis, Oct. 18. Mother of Jane Jennings, Laurie, Dan, Michael and Paul Deak. Sister of Rosie Padgett and Basil Pflumm. Grandmother of 17. Great-grandmother of six.

EVANS, Leo T., 79, St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower), Indianapolis, Aug. 11. Father of Patty Jo, Mark and Michael Evans. Brother of James and John Evans. Grandfather of six. Great-grandfather of one.

FAHEY, Dennis, 67, St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower), Indianapolis, Sept. 29. Brother of Kathleen Fahey and Eileen McFadden. Uncle of several.

FORTWENDEL, Hazel, 93, St. Pius V, Troy, Oct. 27. Mother of Martha Cutrell, Annette Doherty, Cletus, Jr., Jerry, Tim and Tony Fortwendel. Grandmother of eight. Great-grandmother of seven.

GROSSMAN, Raymond F., 84, Holy Family, Oldenburg, Oct. 25. Husband of Paula Grossman. Father of Sharon Klepper, E. David, Richard and Robert Freese and Douglas Grossman. Brother of Marian Beetz, Bert and George Grossman. Grandfather of eight. Great-grandfather of seven.

HAY, Paul, 78, St. Michael, Cannelton, Oct. 9. Brother of Judy Herzog and Jim Hay.

KRUER, Ralph, 78, Holy Family, New Albany, Oct. 20. Husband of Diana Kruer. Father of Greta Barker, Karen Bell, Carmen and Erik Kruer. Grandfather of seven. Great-grandfather of one.

LORD, Heather H., 87, St. Luke the Evangelist, Indianapolis, Oct. 26. Wife of Dr. Thomas Lord. Mother of Holyn Koch, Courtney Schwab, Geoffrey and Gregory Lord. Sister of Scott McGill. Grandmother of 17. Great-grandmother of two.

MCDONOUGH, Frank F., 72, St. Louis, Batesville, Oct. 26. Husband of Louise McDonough. Father of Melissa Buettner, Karen, Marcus, Matthew and Steven McDonough. Brother of Gary, Louis and Ray McDonough. Grandfather of six.

MEUNIER, Mary R. (Harpenau), 83, St. John Paul II, Sellersburg, Oct. 26. Mother of Karen Keinsley, Linda Van Hook and Kenneth Meunier. Sister of Anthony Harpenau. Grandmother of eight. Great-grandmother of 10.

MILLER, Dorothy J., 93, St. Malachy, Brownsburg, Oct. 19. Mother of Pam Haines, Deb Robertson and Mike Miller. Grandmother of five. Great-grandmother of seven.

NETT, James, 77, St. Vincent de Paul, Bedford, Oct. 14. Husband of Mary Beth Nett. Father of Maggie Albright, Jon and Robert Nett. Brother of Mary Bloemer, Carl, Danny, David and Michael Nett. Grandfather of nine.

RALSTON, Emily S., 34, St. Louis, Batesville, Oct. 16. Daughter of Keith and Lisa Ralston. Sister of David Ralston.

REICHERT, E. Louis (Miller), 87, St. Mary, North Vernon, Oct. 27. Mother of Debbie Kubik, Cindy Taskey, Tina Walker, Susan, Rick and Shawn Miller. Grandmother of eight. Great-grandmother of four.

SCHLOEGL, Sr., Michael J., 82, St. Roch, Indianapolis, Oct. 14. Husband of Diane Schloegl. Father of Michelle Etter, Valerie Fleming, Reka Wrynn, Joe, Martin and Michael Schloegl, Jr. Brother of Donna Geraughty and Marion Schloegl. Grandfather of 17. Great-grandfather of nine.

SMITH, Marilyn, 94, St. Luke the Evangelist, Indianapolis, Oct. 7. Mother of Carolyn Keller and Janice Ollis. Sister of Rachel Doyle, Eloise McCarty and Jerome Walker. Grandmother of six. Great-grandmother of six.

THOMAS, Lowell, 79, St. Anthony of Padua, Clarksville, Oct. 25. Husband of Marabeth Thomas. Father of Angela and Chris Thomas. Brother of Charles Thomas. Grandfather of five.

TUOHY, John J., 97, St. Luke the Evangelist, Indianapolis, Oct. 15. Father of Mimi O’Leary and Phil Tuohy. Brother of Bernadette Cunningham. Grandfather of five. Great-grandfather of one.

VESSELS, Jr., William G., 90, St. Mary, New Albany, Oct. 3. Father of six. Grandfather of 15. Great-grandfather of six.

VOGES, Sr., Ronald J., 88, St. Paul, Tell City, Oct. 25. Husband of Carol Jo Schaefer. Father of Mindy Meijer, Terry Scott and Ronnie Voges, Jr. Grandfather of six. Great-grandfather of seven.

WILLS II, Larry L., 66, St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower), Indianapolis, Oct. 19. Brother of Karen Kinder, Mary Shaler and Patty Wills.

WINKEL, Dorothea J., 89, Prince of Peace, Madison, Oct. 17. Sister of Carolyn Smith, Dolores Spoonmore and Joseph Winkel. Aunt, great-aunt and great-great-aunt of several.

WITT, Sr., Thomas D., 84, St. Mary, Lanesville, Oct. 19. Husband of Kathleen Witt. Father of Kelly, Shannon, Shawn and Thomas Witt, Jr. Grandfather of six. Great-grandfather of one.

Franciscan Father Justin Belitz served for nearly four decades in retreat ministry

Franciscan Father Justin Belitz, who served for decades in teaching, spirituality and retreat ministry in Indianapolis, died on Oct. 13 at Community North Hospital in Indianapolis. He was 88.

Father Justin was born on April 3, 1935, in Omaha, Neb. He was received into the former St. Louis-based Franciscan Sacred Heart Province on July 4, 1956. That province was recently merged with other Franciscan provinces in the U.S. into the newly-formed Our Lady of Guadalupe Province based in Atlanta.

Father Justin received priestly formation at Quincy College in Quincy, Ill., and the Pontifical University Antonianum in Rome. He was ordained a priest on June 3, 1961. He later earned a master’s degree in music education at Case-Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.

In the archdiocese, Father Justin served for nearly four decades in teaching, spirituality and retreat ministry in Indianapolis.

A memorial service for Father Justin was held on Oct. 28 at Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Indianapolis.

As he donated his remains for medical education, his cremated remains will be given to his Franciscan community at a later date for interment. †