Obituary of Florence MacLean Corcoran

A funeral service for Florence Corcoran, age 100, of Spirit Lake, will be held Saturday, July 18, 2015 at 11:00am at Turner Jenness Funeral Home in Spirit Lake. Burial will be at Lakeview Cemetery. Visitation will begin at 10:00am on Saturday at the funeral home. Memorials can be designated to the family which will be designated to the OKoboji Protective Association in Florence's name. Florence MacLean was born September 4, 1914 to Hugh and Maud MacLean in Rock Rapids, Iowa. She attended school in Rock Rapids and graduated high school in 1931. After graduation she enrolled at the State College of Iowa, now currently the University of Northern Iowa. Florence received her teaching degree and first taught in Oto, Iowa. Her first assignment was to teach grades 4-8, all at the same time in the same room, the same building. During the years, she grew up with, and went to school with, and eventually married her true love, Tommy Corcoran. They were married July 3, 1941, shortly after Dr. Corcoran enlisted in the National Guard which became part of the U.S. Army. He was eventually captured by the German army and spent three years as a prisoner of war. During the war years, Florence managed the OPA office in Rock Rapids. She was in charge of issuing ration stamps for the public during the war years. After her husband's liberation from Stalag XVII, the couple moved to Des Moines, Iowa. At that time, they adopted their first child, Thomas Michael, followed three years later by their second, Becky Ann. Florence dearly loved her children and always took pride in saying, "I was a darn good mother" which was the absolute truth. She and Dr. Tom continued to live in Des Moines at "the quarters" on the grounds of the VA hospital. Shortly after the war they vacationed at Crescent Beach Resort in the Iowa Great Lakes. Having fallen in love with the lakes, they purchased a cottage on West Okoboji, spending their summers there, and eventually building their retirement home on that site. Her faithful companion, Julie, was a German Shorthaired Pointer. Florence loved the lakes as a great place to live, raise children, and enjoy life. Florence passed away July 14, 2015 at Lakes Regional Healthcare in Spirit Lake, Iowa at one hundred years of age. Florence is preceded in death by her husband and parents. Left to cherish her memory are her two children Tom (Mary) Corcoran and Becky Ann Corcoran (Mark Sullivan); four grandchildren, Michael Sullivan, Sean Sullivan, Mike (Jodi) Eckard and Adam (Autumn) Eckard; four great-grandchildren, Jayden, Jaxson, Aspen and CeCe. Florence was a true educator who enjoyed working with children of all ages. She was a very much loved individual and will be very much missed by her family and friends.