September 16, 2022

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)

ATKINS, Loretta T., 93, St. Mary-of-the-Knobs, Floyd County, Aug. 28. Mother of Brenda Jones and Allan Atkins. Sister of Venita Lynch, David, Edmund and Franklin Banet. Grandmother of eight. Great-grandmother of 19.

BAHENA DE AYALA, Antonia, 74, St. Lawrence, Indianapolis, July 11. Mother of Estela, Mary, Antonio, Miguel and Ruben Ayala, and Candido Bahena and Tomas Hurtado. Grandmother of one.

BAIN, Frances C. (Miskowiec), 96, St. Anthony, Indianapolis, July 22. Sister of Mary Ann Miller. Aunt of several.

BARY, Leon, 84, St. Bernard, Frenchtown, Aug. 14. Husband of Norma Bary. Father of Teri Striegel, Ricky and Ronald Bary. Grandfather of four. Great-grandfather of seven.

BOAZ, Terry D., 86, St. Mary, Navilleton, Aug. 22.

Husband of Linda Boaz. Father of Delora Boaz, Melinda Koopoman and Danelle Staser. Grandfather of eight. Great-grandfather of 11.

BROOKS, Kendra, 65, St. Bridget of Ireland, Liberty, June 30. Mother of Joshua Brooks. Sister of Karen Faverty, Karla Kaufman and Kathy Ramey. Grandmother of one.

CISCO, Thomas J., 89, St. Barnabas, Indianapolis, May 8. Husband of Linda Cisco. Father of Maria, Bradley and Martin Cisco. Grandfather of five. Great-grandfather of three. (correction)

DRURY, Lois A. (Stiner), 82, St. Mary, Navilleton, Aug. 26. Mother of Paula Moore, Mary and Missy Drury. Grandmother of three. Great-grandmother of four.

EDDY, Bret, 61, St. Gabriel, Connersville, June 14. Son of Betty Eddy. Brother of Niah Hicks, Monica Ross, Anthony, George III and Mark Eddy. Uncle of several.

FAITH, Billie, 90, St. Mary, New Albany, Aug. 22. Father of Susan Jenkins, Greg, Tim and Tony Faith. Brother of Mary Lee Timberlake, Marilyn Troutman and Roger Faith. Grandfather of seven. Great-grandfather of seven.

FLANNAGAN, Janice K., 72, St. Meinrad, St. Meinrad, Aug. 26. Wife of Dr. Michael Flannagan. Mother of Dr. Leslie Kizior, Dr. Kelly Young, Drs. Ross and Ryan Flannagan. Sister of Brenda Arnold, Linda Braun, Laura Janay, Gail Kippenbrock, Lula Michel, Connie Schmitt, Rita Voges, Ruthie Winchell, Donnie, Paul and Ralph Hagedorn. Grandmother of 14.

GODAR, Angela, 92, St. Mary, Rushville, Aug. 17. Mother of Rita Adams, Mary Ball, Debbie Carsey, Elizabeth Chapman, Julia Hodge, Cindy Lunsford, Cathy McDivitt, Linda Meyer, Susie Owen, Bob, Daniel, David, James, Mark, Mike, Richard and Tom Godar. Sister of Jeannie Hawley, Louise Hayes, Mary Hoeing, Patsy McVey, Carolyn Risk, Becky Stewart, Jerry, Lloyd and Virgil Herbert. Grandmother of 41. Great-grandmother of 58. Great-great-grandmother of one.

GOEBEL, Sandi, 81, Annunciation, Brazil, Aug. 16. Mother of Theresa Keller, Diane Moss, Rita Totske, Walter Goebel, Barbara, Nancy, Greg and Michael Short. Grandmother of 16. Great-grandmother of four.

HARRELL, George, 97, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Richmond, Aug. 26. Father of Kevin, Mark and Tim Harrell. Brother of Ruby Wood. Grandfather of seven. Great-grandfather of 14.

HUGUENARD, Virginia, 86, St. Lawrence, Indianapolis, July 21. Mother of Jane Morrison, Andrew and John Huguenard. Sister of Janice Butts and Annette Jennings. Grandmother of eight. Great-grandmother of four.

JAGGERS, Lawrence E., 74, St. Lawrence, Indianapolis, Aug. 3. Husband of Patricia Jaggers. Father of Amanda Dixon and Nicholas Jaggers. Brother of Daniel Jaggers. Grandfather of two.

JAHN, Freda M. (Lori), 96, Holy Family, New Albany. Aug. 23. Mother of Mary Kessans, Jean Miller, Joan Rose and Jerry Jahn. Grandmother of four. Great-grandmother of six.

JAMNICZKY, Joan M., 83, St. Meinrad, St. Meinrad, Aug. 26. Mother of Tammy Heckel and Gloria Stanger. Grandmother of seven. Great-grandmother of eight.

KEACH, Richard, 82, St. Mary, New Albany, Aug. 18. Husband of Madelyn Keach. Father of Karen Aemmer and Rick Keach. Brother of Phyllis Foster. Grandfather of five.

KEAL, Janet, 65, St. Gabriel, Connersville, Aug. 12. Wife of Rodger Keal. Mother of Andy and Justin Keal. Sister of Judy Selke. Grandmother of five.

KEANE, Robert, 96, St. Pius X, Indianapolis, Aug. 6. Husband of Rose Keane. Father of Joan Fraser, Rosemary and Kevin Keane. Grandfather of three.

KENNEDY, Bruce B., 85, St. Barnabas, Indianapolis, Aug. 20. Husband of Judy Kennedy. Father of Kathleen and Kelly Kennedy. Grandfather of one.

KUEHN, Jean E., 96, St. Michael, Brookville, Aug. 21. Mother of Ann Ball and Debora Webber. Grandmother of three. Great-grandmother of four.

LINTON, Ruth, 96, St. Bernard, Frenchtown, Aug. 14. Aunt of several.

MCCOY, Raymond, 81, Annunciation, Brazil, Aug. 20. Husband of Carrie McCoy. Father of Vicki Cooprider, Marsha Duregger, Cathy Smoot, Sheila Thompson, Chris, Greg and Jeff McCoy. Grandfather of 42. Great-grandfather of 41.

MILLER, Clem, 87, St. Gabriel, Connersville, Aug. 14. Husband of Mary Ann Miller. Father of Jeannine Dabertin, Jo Ann Limpus, Jill and Eric Miller. Brother of Ivan, Jerry and Marshall Miller. Grandfather of eight.

PAVY, Roberta F., 95, St. Lawrence, Indianapolis, Aug. 13. Mother of Diane Caudill, Ann Craven, Bessie Henson, Donna Wehmeyer and Jim Robinson. Sister of Jean Morton, Vera Wolf and Earl Furnish. Grandmother of 11. Great-grandmother of 17.

PEREZ, Julie M., 37, St. Bartholomew, Columbus, Aug. 15. Mother of Mia Grider, Cayden Grider and Hunter Perez-Goodpaster. Daughter of Thomas Perez and Brenda Combest Perez. Sister of Melissa Coy and Tom Perez, Jr. Granddaughter of Mary Combest.

RYAN, Mary Ann, 87, St. Lawrence, Lawrenceburg, Aug. 16. Sister of Michael Ryan. Aunt and great-aunt of several.

SOMMA, Mary Elizabeth, 95, St. John the Apostle, Bloomington, Aug. 12. Mother of Debbie Craig, Donna Digiuseppe, Denise Mondelli and Doreen Salyers. Grandmother of nine. Great-grandmother of 15.

SPONSEL, David E., 84, St. Jude, Indianapolis, Aug. 13. Father of Sharon Edmonson, Andrew, Robert III, Stephen and Timothy Sponsel. Grandfather of 11. Great-grandfather of six.

STRUVER, Christina K., 54, St. Christopher, Indianapolis, July 29. Daughter of Kathleen Dryer. Sister of Michele Hernly and Stephanie Smith. Aunt of several.

VAZQUEZ-CERVANTES, Joellen, 39, St. Lawrence, Indianapolis, Aug. 8. Wife of Yoselin Vazquez. Mother of Aliana, Serenity, Cielo and Jairo Vazquez. Daughter of James Wooten and Jessica Lee Dewitt.

WATHEN, Michelle C. (Hufnagel), 64, St. Pius X, Indianapolis, Aug. 18. Mother of Katrina Wathen. Sister of Mary Anne Davenport and John Hufnagel.

WERLE, Audrey C., 95, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Richmond, Aug. 24. Wife of William Werle. Mother of Mary Norman, John and Joseph Werle. Grandmother of 11. Great-grandmother of 22.


Benedictine Raban Bivins was the first brother to serve as subprior of Saint Meinrad

Benedictine Brother Raban Bivins, a monk of Saint Meinrad Archabbey in St. Meinrad, died on Sept. 6, at the monastery. He was 81.

The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Sept. 10. Burial followed at the Archabbey Cemetery.

Brother Raban was a jubilarian of monastic profession, having celebrated 62 years of monastic profession.

Brother Raban was born on Dec. 11, 1940, in Owensboro, Ky., and given the name William Joseph at his baptism.

After attending a Catholic grade school and, for three years, a Catholic high school in Owensboro, Brother Raban enrolled at Saint Meinrad’s St. Placid Hall to complete his high school education. St. Placid Hall was a school for men discerning a vocation as a brother in the monastery.

Brother Raban was invested as a novice on April 9, 1959, professed simple vows on May 7, 1960, and perpetual vows on June 19, 1963.

His first assignments in the monastery included working in its shoe shop and in the physical facilities department as assistant house prefect. In 1965, Brother Raban volunteered for an assignment to Saint Meinrad’s mission priory in Peru. For the next 14 years, he ministered there as a procurator, superintendent of employees and in general maintenance.

Returning to Saint Meinrad in 1979, Brother Raban began 11 years of service on the St. Meinrad volunteer fire department, including working as an emergency medical technician. He also worked as a locksmith.

From 1996-2007, Brother Raban served as the monastery’s subprior, after being appointed to that position by then-Archabbot Lambert Reilly. He was the first brother in Saint Meinrad’s history to serve in this leadership position. During that time, he also assisted in the monastery’s infirmary and health services.

In 2007, Brother Raban was appointed the monastery’s almoner and director of community outreach, positions he held until failing health earlier this year necessitated his move into the infirmary.

Brother Raban is survived by a sister, Jane Payne of Cincinnati, and a brother, Bob Bivins of Owensboro.

Memorial gifts may be sent to Saint Meinrad Archabbey, 200 Hill Drive, St. Meinrad, IN 47577. †

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