William Corcoran

WILLIAM CORCORAN, 88, of Jasper, Minnesota, died on April 9, 2021 at his home.

William was born in Trenton, New Jersey, July 15, 1932, the oldest of 3 children born to James and Catherine (Apgar) Corcoran .

He grew up in Hunterdon County, New Jersey. After graduating from Frenchtown High School, he worked a 9-month contract in the engineering office of Kiewit Construction on the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System, in Thule, Greenland. William served 4 years in the United States Air Force, and was stationed in Alaska. He briefly attended Paul Smith College and Duke University before going to work for S.J. Groves and Sons. He spent 24 years at Groves, the latter years as an estimator in Plymouth, Minnesota. In 1984 he returned to New Jersey where he worked for M&L Construction as an estimator until 1992. From 1994 until he retired in 1997, he worked for MidAmerica Energy in Sioux Falls, SD as a gas line construction inspector.

William married Carol MacConnell in June 1968 in Princeton, New Jersey. He was the
proud father of their son, John, and daughter, Julia.

In August 1985, William and Jean Neumiller were wed at St. Paul Lutheran Church, in Raritan, New Jersey. They moved to Jasper, Minnesota in 1994. The couple spent vacations visiting historical sites and museums in the Northeast. Favorite trips were travelling across Canada by rail, and a visit to Cuba. As a young man, William enjoyed driving sports cars. He enjoyed target shooting and remained an excellent marksman to the present. He was an avid reader, preferably with a cat in his lap. His other passions were railroads, stationary steam engines, and making working models. He spent many hours in his metal-machining shop, creating every single part. His largest model was a working quarter-scale cannon. He was in the process of building a small steam engine, literally doing what he enjoyed until his last breath.

William is survived by his wife, Jean Neumiller; son John (Michelle) Corcoran, of California; daughter Julia (Craig LeMoult) Corcoran, of Massachusetts; sister, Catherine (John) Samich, of Arizona; sister-in-law Penny Corcoran, of Pennsylvania; one granddaughter and two grandsons; one nephew and two nieces; and his closest friend for 75 years, Skip Myler, of New York.

William was pre-deceased by his parents; and brother, James Corcoran.