Hubert G. ("Hugh") "Hugh" Corcoran

Hubert G. ("Hugh") Corcoran was born to John B. and Hazel Corcoran in Mobeetie, Texas, on Oct. 27, 1936, the fourth of six children. Mobeetie was a hardscrabble rural panhandle town where life for their farming and ranching family was difficult and full of privation. Under unimaginable circumstances, Hugh, his mother, and the siblings still on the farm fled to Oklahoma City when Hugh was 15 years old, and he graduated high school from Northwest Classen in 1956. He later obtained an associate's degree in mechanical engineering. Other than a two-year stint in the Marines at Camp Pendleton in California, and despite having the heart and soul of a Texan, Hugh would live in Oklahoma the rest of his life.

He worked as a plumber and bartender before becoming a meter-reader for Oklahoma Natural Gas in his twenties, a company he took deep pride in working for and where he received several promotions over his decades of service. In 1961, he met Bobbie Ann Brown, who he said was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen, at an OKC beer joint. They married the next year, and two daughters, Steffie and Kelley, soon joined the family. By the late '60s, they had built a house and settled in Piedmont. Hugh and Bobbie's nearly 60-year marriage had its share of ups and downs, but they had a powerful – albeit sometimes volatile – and enduring love.

Within a few years, Hugh began working for a subsidiary of ONG, Thermal Systems. In 1985, he was asked to join their management team, necessitating a move to Tulsa, and he and Bobbie built a house in Owasso. The company eventually divested from ONG, and Hugh, ever the loyal employee, retired from Johnson Controls at age 72.

Every summer, he planted a vegetable garden in the brutal heat and red clay soil of Piedmont and was particularly proud of his tomatoes and okra. A huge sports fan, he decried them as "fixed" when disgusted (being a Boston Red Sox fan gave him plenty of opportunities for that) and celebrated when his teams (the Red Sox, the Texas Rangers, the Sooners, Jack Nicklaus, the Boston Celtics, and more) were doing well. Fishing was a passion, and he never met a racehorse or jockey he wouldn't consider throwing money at. In his later years, he frequented Fair Meadows in Tulsa on a near-daily basis and traveled with Bobbie to Louisiana Downs in Shreveport every few weeks to wager large sums on the ponies and partake of the casino's many games of chance. He was a born gambler who would place a friendly, or not-so-friendly, bet whenever he was convinced he was right about a sports statistic (usually) or any other matter (slightly less frequently).

He was not social, but he loved to spin a hilarious yarn, stories studded with profanity that were often based on his real-life escapades – accidentally casting a lure into a man's head on a booze-filled fishing trip ("I'm telling you, that old boy turned around and looked at me with big eyes, and the hell if he didn't have a goddamn lure stuck in the side of his head"); on two separate occasions driving a golf cart into a water hazard during cocktail-fueled rounds; some crazy tale, details lost to history, about a man (or was it a horse? a dog?) named "Doo-Doo Red"; and a memorable, horrifying discussion of girls' bathing suits – "all you need is two Band-Aids and a cork" – said to an adolescent Kelley and her friend.

His daughters deeply regret that they did not keep better records of his hilarity and colorful turns of phrase, though "honyock," "you just hide and watch," and "stupid robins" remain at the forefront of their memories.

Hugh was a handsome devil and a tortured soul with a heart of gold, a man for whom the phrase "hard worker" doesn't begin to cover his dedication to his employers and colleagues and who may never have taken a sick day, even when a hangover would have kept someone with better sense at home. The family has no way to know how many people he helped over the years, but he had a heart for those going through struggles. He was big drinker in his day, but he left all adult beverages behind in his older years, when his strength and rock-solid demeanor were needed to help Bobbie as she became more physically frail and unable to drive.

Hugh is survived by his daughters Steffie Corcoran of Yukon and Kelley Bryan of Tulsa, son-in-law Dr. Vincent Bryan and granddaughter Grace Bryan of Tulsa, and grandson Derrick Bryan of Royse City, Texas. Hugh and Bobbie loved their grandchildren – to whom they were "Grammy and Paw-Paw" – fiercely, and some of their happiest years were when the grandkids were young.

There are not enough words to express the family's thanks to the incredible team of caregivers – led with love, intuition, and skill by executive director Kari Willard and with particular thanks to Ann, his first nurse, who quickly became the best friend he ever had – at Brookdale Broken Arrow, where Hugh spent the last five years of his life as his dementia grew more advanced. In his last days, Brookdale nurses and CNAs told the family it was an honor to care for him and shared tales of his flirtatious ways, his frequent compliments, and his oft-repeated appreciation for all they were doing for him, long after he no longer was able to recognize his family.

Bobbie Ann died in January 2022, and his best friend Ann left Brookdale two months later. The ravages of dementia got their hooks in him after that. The family is grateful that this proud, independent man is no longer suffering, and we would welcome any remembrances, however colorful, you have of him, whether here or via email at steffie.corcoran@gmail.com or kelleybryan@yahoo.com.