Ave Maria Society Newsletter 2022

Ave Maria Society

Gary ‘76 and Kim Alles

Kenneth E. and Diana G. Arbary

Dan and Andrea (Boots) ’96 Baumann

Mariann Baumgartner ’58 †

Maurice ‘60 and Cherie (Berendes) ‘60 Berendes

Pat and Beth Blankenberger

Brandon ’98 and Lindsey Boots

Ira Joseph † and Dorothy Jane † Boots

Ira Gerard ’72 and Theresa (Seib) ’72 Boots

Thomas ’65 and Deborah Borries

Rose (Brenner) Breivogel ‘55

Fr. Raymond Brenner

Virgil ’64 and Joan Brenner †

Ronald ‘52 and Patricia Browning

Jerry and Cherie (Nemer) ‘75 Burgdorf

Juanita Byers

Justin ’56 and Shirley (Adler) ’59 Clements

Jack ’60 and Phyllis (Kruse) ’72 Corn

Allan Crane ‘59

Alan † and Mary Jane (Muensterman) ’52 † Dale

Julie (Fechtmeister) Deeg ‘72

James † and Doris (Mayer) ‘52 Dewig

Randal Dick ‘78 †

Timothy A. Dickel

Rodger Duncan ’60

James † and Rosalie Dunkel

Mike † and Clarita † Ellert

Rita ‘55 and Richard Eykamp

Fr. James Endress †

Butch ’66 and Linda Feulner

Fifth Third Bank

Harold † and Mary Lou † Forche

Theresa Frielinghausen

Bishop-emeritus Gerald A. Gettelfinger

Andrew ’65 and Darlene (Folz) ’64 Goebel

Elmer Goedde †

Jerry ’60 and Pamela (Heathcotte) ’60 † Gries

Raymond ‘63 and Janette (Duncan) ‘65 Gries

Robert and Judy (Eisterhold) ’60 Griffin

John R. Groben †

Ralph and Linda (Will) ‘62 Hague

Fred ‘64 and Mary (May) ‘64 Happe

Jeff ‘84 and Leanne † Happe

Theresa (Boots) ’69 † and William ’60 † Helfrich

Cheryl Herrmann ’71

Jeremy ‘98 and Jennifer Herrmann

Scott Herrmann ‘01

Joshua Hodge ‘99

Ronald ’59 and Kathy Hollander

John R. and Ann (Logel) ’66 Johnston

Gregory † and Edwina Kempf

Harold ’54 and Shirley Kempf

Robert King ’58 †

Gregory ‘73 and Linda Kissel

Edward ’59 and Judy (Seibert) ’60 † Knapp

James ’68 † and Elvira Knapp

Bill † and Carroll Knight

Patricia Koch

Robert ‘56 and Cynthia Koch II (continued, p. 3)

Dear Friends,

As I approach my one-year anniversary in my role as President of Mater Dei, I continue to be humbled by and incredibly grateful for the passion and commitment of our Mater Dei community. Many in our community provide their time, talent, and treasure on a regular basis to support our mission to educate and prepare the whole person for the future. In addition, over 180 members of our community have made it a priority to ensure that our beloved Mater Dei will continue to develop young people for generations to come by becoming members of the Ave Maria Society.

At the inception of the Ave Maria Society in 2011, my wife, Laura, and I were considering the tremendous impact Mater Dei had made in our lives with generations of our family coming through these doors as young people and graduating as young adults excited to begin the next chapter. We wanted to ensure that Mater Dei was here for our grandchildren and beyond, and that’s why we were eager to become charter members of the Ave Maria Society by simply naming Mater Dei as a partial beneficiary of an individual retirement account. We are proud to join the committed members of the Ave Maria Society to play a part in ensuring generations of families have the opportunity to experience the special place that is Mater Dei.

I strongly encourage you to join us and invite others as we come together to learn more about our planned giving society and our plans for the future of Mater Dei. Regardless of the size of a gift, your support ensures the next generation of students will benefit from a Mater Dei education. I hope to see you at our annual Ave Maria Society Morning on Thursday, April 20th.

In Christ, Through our Blessed Mother,

Deacon Dan Niemeier ‘80 President Mater Dei High School

Our Giving Journey

As graduates of Rex Mundi High School, Bill ‘61 and Carroll ‘62 Knight have always understood the value of a Catholic education. Upon graduation, Bill worked as a machinist and journeyman tool maker in various shops before opening his own machine shop, Shamrock Tool, in 1992. He retired in 2008 and sadly passed away in May of 2014. Carroll retired in 2004 after 28 years with Ford Motor Credit. They were members of St. Joseph Church in the county for 42 years. After Bill’s death, Carroll moved and joined Corpus Christi Parish where she is a current parishioner.

“Our faith and Catholic education have always been an important part of our lives. For this reason, we decided to include Mater Dei in our estate planning. We chose to name Mater Dei as the beneficiary of a life insurance policy. Once the policy is paid out, it will be used to officially establish the ‘William and Carroll Knight Family Endowment.’ We have chosen to have the distribution from this endowment benefit two things dear to our hearts: spiritual and religious pursuits of Mater Dei High School and supporting the needs of the football program.”

Bill and Carroll were married for 50 years and had two sons and one daughter attend Mater Dei: Danny Knight ‘82, current Mater Dei principal Darin ‘85, and Amy Meyer ‘88. Their six grandchildren all attended MD with their last one set to graduate in 2025 . Seven great-grandchildren are currently attending St. Joseph in the county as students or in their religious education program with hopes of continuing their education at Mater Dei.

Ave Maria Society

Larry ‘59 and DiAnne (Stevens) ‘60 Kremer

Rose Kuhn ‘55 †

Fr. Raymond Kuper †

JoAnn Laugel ‘66

Jack † and Anna † MacGregor

Jerry † and Charlotte MacGregor

Jeffrey and Debra Marx

Mater Dei High School Teachers

Mater Dei Friends & Alumni Association

Mater Dei High School

Thomas ‘56 † and Mary (Koressel) ‘55 † May

Paul ’67 and Nancy (Morrow) ’67 Mayer

Betty (Bristow) McAtee Singer ’50 †

Robert ’62 † and Jane Miller

Joe and Wynn Mitchell

Mary Kay (Koch) ‘58 and James Muehlbauer.

Deacon Daniel ’80 and Laura (Tenbarge) ’80 Niemeier

James A. Niemeier ‘69 †

Stephen ‘65 and Stephanie Niemeier

Tom ’55 and Joanie (Berendes) ’55 Niemeier

Deacon Richard ‘50 † and Betty Joan (Martin) ‘50 Preske

Timothy Quinton

Kent ‘77 and Laura (Eickhoff) ‘80 Reddington

Rex Mundi High School

Rich Risemas

David ‘70 and Darlene (Nix) ‘70 Robinson

Rose Rogge

Robert † and Rosemary † Rooney

Donald and Patricia Rupprecht

Robert ’58 and Mary Lue (Neale) ’58 Russler

Walter † and Irene † Ruston

Oliver and Mary Ann Schapker

Allen ‘62 and Linda Schmitt

Connie (Crane) Schnapf ‘63

Fr. Edward Schnur

Larry and Janice (Goebel) ’64 Schuble

Jack † and Catherine Siemers

Stan Singer ‘57 † and Lenna DeMarco

Sr. Mary Carmel Spayd

Sr. Mary Carmen Spayd

Joseph T. Theby, III

Thomas O. Tighe ’62 †

Dan and Gail (Brack) ’58 Titzer

Ross and Jennifer (Knapp) ‘93 Vaughn

Cliff ’88 and Sarah (Titzer) ’88 Wagner

Robert ‘58 † and Judy † Wargel

Fr. William Wargel †

Al ‘55 and Darlene (Berendes) ‘55 Weinzapfel

James ’61 and Sandra (Runau) ’63 Weinzapfel

Jerome † and Helen (Folz) ‘51 † Weinzapfel

Joseph ’87 and Rhonda Weis

Diane Weiss-Altstadt ‘67

Frances A. Wheeler

Thomas ’71 and Carla Wildeman

James ’51 † and Eileen (Berendes) ’51 Will

Leonard Will, Jr. ‘64

Leonard † and Dolores † Will, Sr.

Robert and Kathy (Emge) ’66 Wittgen

John † and Marian † Witting

Fulfilling Wishes

By Diane (Dunkel) Buskavitz ‘72

It was always an important priority to my parents that all of their children received a Catholic education. My Dad worked two jobs for many years to provide for his family’s stability. Mother was at home to take care of us, and she worked tirelessly to provide a good home life. This meant many personal sacrifices for them both, but it was done with a goal in mind and in their hearts. Dad would comment that by the time all of the eight kids graduated from high school, he and Mom paid for 96 years of Catholic education in the Evansville Diocese. An MD supporter through and through, Dad would say, “Even though we graduated from Memorial, our blood runs red and gold!”

James Dunkel and Rosalie Kremer Dunkel met in their 8th grade year at St. Boniface and married Oct. 6, 1951. They were the proud parents of eight children, all of whom graduated from Mater Dei High School. They have 29 grandchildren, 43 great grandchildren, and 9 great, great grandchildren. A great loss to our family, Dad passed away on June 18, 2022.

Becoming a member of the Ave Maria Society was always very important to my Dad. He talked to me many times about this, but unfortunately he did not live to see it come to fruition. Mom and I have taken the steps to fulfill his wishes by establishing the James and Rosalie Dunkel Endowment which will provide support to Mater Dei High School for years to come. My parents set an excellent example to those around them of what it means to be dedicated, work hard, be respectful and kind, but especially to keep faith in our daily lives. Hopefully this example will encourage others to follow in their footsteps.

They are everyday people with a passion for Mater Dei and her mission to educate young people in a faith-filled environment. They are people who choose to honor loved ones with a lasting gift. They are friends and alumni dedicated to the past, present, and – most importantly – the future of Mater Dei High School.

Becoming a member is simple. We can provide resources to help determine which planned giving option is best for you, including bequests, individual retirement accounts (IRAs), charitable gift annuities, endowments, and life insurance. Once you have made a planned gift or established an endowment with Mater Dei as the beneficiary, notify the Office of Institutional Advancement and you will become an official member of the Ave Maria Society.

For more information contact:

Who are members of Mater Dei High School’s Ave Maria Planned Giving & Endowment Society?