John J. Corcoran

Dotted across the North Shore of Boston are bricks -- an incalculable number of them -- that John Corcoran carefully placed during 25 years as a union bricklayer. Many of the buildings, stairways and chimneys he pieced together will outlast us all.

John was proud of that. It was sweaty, exhausting, back-breaking work, but it was necessary to keep his house at the top of Lynn's Pine Hill. In that home he and his wife, Rose (VanHorn), raised their 15 children and looked out for 122 others placed in their care -- foster children, many of whom were taken or turned away from their own homes. The couple kept each child until they were adopted, refusing to allow them to be bounced around the foster system.

John Corcoran was born on March 30, 1924. The son of Irish immigrants Michael and Margaret (Gilbane) Corcoran, he was raised with his 11 siblings on Commercial St., Lynn. In 1942, after graduating from St. Mary's High School, he and two of his brothers went to war. He served in the United States Navy on the USS Thompson as a Sonarman, Third Class. During his three years of service in the European and Asiatic-Pacific Theaters, he received several medals and ribbons. When he returned home, he married Rose, and they began to raise their family.

In addition to his work as a bricklayer, John spent 17 years as the chief code inspector for the city of Lynn, and as superintendent of maintenance at St. Mary's Church before retiring in 1989.

Just as it is impossible to count the bricks, it is equally challenging to tabulate the lives John touched through his volunteer work and his time in service organizations. For many years he ran the St. Mary's Parish Council's food pantry. He was a past Commander of the Franco American Amvets Post 161; and a member of the AOH Div. 10, the Valladolid Council #70, and VFW Post 12. He was past president of the Pine Hill LL. He served on the Lynn Economic Opportunity (LEO) board, which works to alleviate poverty; and he sponsored children through the ChildFund International and the Child Help organizations. He was a proud union man, a member of the Local #12 Bricklayers Union; and the State, County and Municipal Employees Union.

John was a man of conviction, courage and strength. He knew how to stand up for himself, his family, and anyone who couldn't manage it for themselves. He could be brash and stern, confident in his own common sense and his view of the world. But he overflowed with compassion and faith. He lived his life the way the Church taught him -- feed the hungry, clothe the needy and tend to the sick.

John was an advocate for and a fierce protector of children. As a leader in the Boy Scouts of America, he brought them to the woods and to the jamborees. As a Little League coach, he taught children how to catch fly balls and the importance of sportsmanship. And, whenever it was necessary, John opened his home to children. He made sure they were fed, clothed, and that they knew they were safe.

John is mourned by his children and their spouses: John and Frances of Peabody; Michael and Kathy of Amesbury; Dennis and Dale of Ocala, FL; Brian and Jane of Andover; Mary Leonard and Lawrence of Shrewsbury; James and Nancy of Lynnfield; Tom and Jill of Cape Coral, FL; Theresa "Terrie" Moreschi of Lynn; Megg Caira and Carl of Swampscott; Frank of Beverly; Emmett and Valerie of Lynn; Christine Salas and Andy of San Pedro, CA. Brother of Joan Barceleau of Lynn, Mary Bongiorno of Peabody, Sr. Julia St. John S.N.D of Worcester, Eileen Queena of Lynn In addition to numerous friends, nieces, nephews, his 35 grandchildren and 40 great-grandchildren.

John was predeceased his children, Stephen; Roseanne; and Eric, his siblings were, Michael "Mickey"; Robert; Joseph; Domenic; Francis; Margaret Minnichiello and Genevieve Doucette.

John’s Funeral will be held from the CUFFE-MCGINN FUNERAL HOME, 157 Maple St. Lynn on Monday at 9:30 AM followed by a Funeral Mass at St. Mary’s Church, Lynn at 10:30am AM. Relatives and friends invited. Interment at St. Mary’s Cemetery, Lynn. Visiting Hours Sunday from 1 to 5PM. Contributions may be made in John’s name to the Sisters of Notre Dame, 30 Jeffreys Neck Road, Ipswich, MA 01938, and to the St. Mary's Restoration Fund, 8 So. Common St., Lynn, MA 01902. For online memorial and guestbook, please visit www.cuffemcginn.com