Sister June Engelbrecht, OP
Funeral Mass for Sister June Engelbrecht, OP, 85, who died Saturday, Jan. 25 at the Mohun Health Care Center in Columbus, was celebrated Tuesday, Feb. 4 at the Motherhouse of the Dominican Sisters of Peace. Burial will take place later at Rosaryville Cemetery in New Orleans.
She was born on June 22, 1940 in New Orleans to Herbert and Alma (Patterson) Engelbrecht.
She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biology and secondary education from St. Mary’s Dominican College in New Orleans, a Master of Arts degree in religious studies from Providence (Rhode Island) College, and a Master of Divinity degree from Immaculate Conception Seminary in Mahwah, New Jersey. She also completed a clinical pastoral education program from St. Raphael Hospital in New Haven, Connecticut.
She entered the congregation of the St. Mary New Orleans Dominican Sisters (now the Dominican Sisters of Peace) in 1959 and pronounced her vows on June, 12, 1961, taking the name Sister Mary Thomasine.
She served in Louisiana as an elementary and high school teacher, a pastoral minister, a staff member at the Rosaryville Spirit Life Center and a hospice chaplain and bereavement coordinator. She had been a resident of the Mohun center since 2021.
She was preceded in death by her parents and a brother, Father Henry Engelbrecht.
Erin L. Cordle
Funeral Mass for Erin L. Cordle, 75, who died Sunday, Jan. 26, will be celebrated Thursday, Feb. 13 at 10 a.m. at Columbus St. Elizabeth Church of St. Josephine Bakhita Parish. Internment will be later at Eastview Cemetery in Centerburg.
She was born on July 6, 1949 to the late Harold and Jacqueline Cordle.
She was a 1967 graduate of Centerburg High School and received a Bachelor of Science degree in education from Ashland College (now University) and a Master of Science degree in religious education from Loyola University in New Orleans. She was a parishioner of the Columbus St. Thomas More Newman Center and a member of the Paulist Associates.
She had been employed by the Diocese of Columbus since 1998, where she was serving as associate director in the Office for Social Concerns and Catholic Campaign for Human Development and Catholic Relief Services director.
She also administered the diocesan family violence prevention program, was a facilitator for the Protecting God’s Children program and was involved at various times with the Centerburg food pantry and diocesan RCIA programs, parish schools, youth ministry groups, parish women’s clubs, family violence prevention advocacy groups, labor unions, interfaith groups focusing on peace and justice, Latino and Somali community organizations, service providers, disaster readiness and response, the Franklin County Citizens’ Corps and state and national fair trade advocacy groups.
Her professional affiliations included the Catholic Conference of Ohio, the Latino Empowerment and Outreach Network, the Greater Columbus Workers’ Rights Board, the Central Ohio Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice, the Ohio Council of Churches, the Ohio Volunteer Organizations Active in a Disaster faith network, 1st Love USA, Faith Communities Uniting for Peace and the Share the Vision sight loss support network.
She received a Living Faith award from the Columbus Metropolitan Area Church Council in 2002.
She is survived by a brother, Christopher (Susan); a sister, Jacqueline; and nieces and nephews.
Dr. Darlene E. Erickson
Funeral Mass for Dr. Darlene E. Erickson, 83, who died Wednesday, Jan. 15, was celebrated at Granville St. Edward the Confessor Church. Inurnment will be later in Old Calvary Cemetery, Midland, Michigan.
She was born in Bay City, Michigan to the late Durward and Laura Mae (Monaghan) Williams.
She was a graduate of Bay City St. Joseph High School and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Michigan; a Master of Arts degree from Western Michigan University and her doctorate from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.
She was a longtime English teacher and department chair at Ohio Dominican University, where she also was chair of the Freshman Year Experience and chair of the faculty development committee and won the university’s Conley Award for distinguished teaching in 1991. She was chosen as its master teacher in the Humanities for 2002–2003 and was honored with the title professor emerita.
She also held professorships at Ohio State University-Newark, Ashland and Otterbein universities, taught English at Newark High School and was coordinator of the Gifted Programs in Central Ohio. While at Miami, she taught freshman composition and literature and was a fellow with The Ohio Writing Project.
She was considered a leading scholar in the works of the poet Marianne Moore, was a founding member of the technology planning task force of the Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges and was a member of the International Society for Contemporary Literature and Theater.
Survivors include her husband, Lawrence; son, Lawrence III; daughter, Mary (Mitya) Pavlovcic; brother, Richard (Ruth); sister, Suzanne (David) Engemann; two grandsons and two granddaughters.
Lucille Leach
Funeral Mass for Lucille Leach, 85, who died Saturday, Jan. 18, was celebrated Saturday, Jan. 25 at Columbus Our Lady of Victory Church. Burial was at Violet Cemetery, Pickerington.
She was born on July 28, 1939, in Natrona Heights, Pennsylvania to Herman and Pearl Schwietering.
She received a Bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania in 1961 and a Master’s degree in education from Mount St. Joseph College in Cincinnati.
She was an eighth-grade English teacher for more than 20 years, spending most of her career in the Pickerington schools and also at Reynoldsburg St. Pius X School and in North Bedford, Ohio.
She was preceded in death by her parents and her husband, John “Terry.” Survivors include sons Greg (Ronda), Scott (Emily) and Michael (Michele); daughter Kathleen (Bradley) Evans; 12 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
LBARRICIN, Teresita A. “Terri,” 86, Jan. 29
St. Brigid of Kildare Church, Dublin
BAME, Kathryn F. (DeBruhl), 82, Jan. 12
Church of the Resurrection, New Albany
BARREN, Catherine M. (McCarthy), 91, Jan. 15
St. Peter Church, Columbus
BOWSHER, Marsha K., 78, Dec. 9
Basilica of St. Mary of the Assumption, Lancaster
CANTU, Mary Ella, 96, Jan. 7
St. Brigid of Kildare Church, Dublin
CONGOS, Debbie (Waldren), 68, Jan. 22
St. Elizabeth Church of St. Josephine Bakhita Parish, Columbus
DePERRO, Donald, 66, Jan. 11
St. Brigid of Kildare Church, Dublin
DONAHUE, Anita Adella, 95, Jan. 23
St. Paul the Apostle Church, Westerville
GATIEN, Charlotte, Jan. 27
Our Lady, The Immaculate Conception Parish, Ada/Kenton
GREENWALD, Carol A., 80, Jan. 16
St. Joan of Arc Church, Powell
HOLONICH, Elizabeth A. “Betty” (Lindberg), 89, Jan. 24
St. Andrew Church, Columbus
KERLIN, Timothy, 77, Jan. 12
Immaculate Conception Church, Dennison
KISTLER, Roselyn Ann, 82, Jan. 17
St. Joan of Arc Church, Powell
LESKOVYANSKY, Colette (Piecynski), 70, Jan. 14
Immaculate Conception Church, Dennison
LOMBARDI, Jeanne (Keuchler), 90, Jan. 24
St. Andrew Church, Columbus
MELFI, Mike, 97, Jan. 27
St. Stephen the Martyr Church, Columbus
MOFFO, Foster M., 81, Jan. 28
Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, Grove City
MORSE, Patricia A. (Sullivan), 96, Jan. 13
St. Patrick Church, Columbus
O’REILLY, John “Jack,” 90, Jan. 17
St. Paul the Apostle Church, Westerville
POSTON, Lowell W., 88, Jan. 27
Basilica of St. Mary of the Assumption, Lancaster
SCHARF, Martha, 92, Jan. 15
Our Lady, The Immaculate Conception Parish, Ada/Kenton
WELLS, Kathleen, 80, Jan. 10
Immaculate Conception Church, Dennison
WEMPLE, Donald L., 84, Jan. 20
Sacred Heart Church, New Philadelphia
WING, Gerald “Gary,” 77, Jan. 22
Holy Family Church, Columbus
WINGARD, Howard W. “Wayne” Jr., 75, Jan. 25
St. Pius X Church, Reynoldsburg
YOCHHEIM, Nico Gray, infant, Jan. 21
St. Brigid of Kildare Church, Dublin