Lucia Funk Corcoran

Lucia Corcoran was many things in her nearly 93 years of life. Born in Indianapolis on November 24, 1932 and passing on November 21, 2025, she was a daughter, a Camp Fire Girl, a Shortridge Student Council member, a college student at Miami of Ohio, a wife, a mother, a grandmother, and even a great grandmother. As a working single mom of four, Lucia completed her education on the Dean’s List at IUPUI in her 40’s. Always a student of history and theology, Lucia never stopped learning or taking notes. That’s what made her so effective in roles such as the President of Janyncees civic organization, Manager of Administrative Services for the Municipal Court of Marion County, and a Cathedral Soup Kitchen Coordinator for which she was honored as a Bishop Chatard Humanitarian Achievement Award winner.

Lucia had an indomitable spirit, meeting adversity with steady calm, while fiercely protecting and defending those she loved and the less privileged. Her radiant smile and shining eyes lit up any room she entered where she most always engaged in lively conversations. Prince or pauper, she listened. She heard people out, allowing them to speak their truths. She graciously lent a helping hand wherever she saw the need. Whether it was to the many charitable organizations she regularly contributed to, or with a weary soul looking for a hot meal, or a shoulder to lean on, Lucia opened her arms and her heart.

Lucia’s life was full; it overflowed with both sorrow and love. From her ability to love deeply and without reserve, she mothered many families. She sheltered young and old alike, those who needed a home when theirs were insufficient or harsh. To the children she raised and to her grandchildren, she was uniquely “ours” yet she also belonged to the much wider family of Christ; and she clearly saw God in those she encountered, often when many could not.

Lucia was a remarkable woman, one who lived through many eras in her long life, and in the tumultuous history of our country. In the various roles of her own interesting life, she was a woman ahead of her time, and yet also firmly a woman of her generation. She raised her family to be independent and encouraged them to live in exciting places so she could visit. She delighted in the adventures of others, being a staunch supporter even when goals could seem out of reach. Lucia was familiar with adversity, yet often remained optimistic, seeing beauty and possibility where others could not.

Today we celebrate her life with tears and with laughter, using a favored Lakota saying, “Today is a good day to die” meaning in faith, she was prepared and unafraid of death. As others have said, she was not a saint, but she did saintly things. May we each go forward with a little bit of Lucia in our hearts.

Lucia was predeceased by her sons, Benjamin in 1951 and Robert in 2022; by husbands, Stanley Fogle in 1988 and Michael Corcoran in 2021; and by her devoted parents, the children’s illustrator Clotilde Embree Funk and businessman C. Douglass Funk, both of Princeton. 

She is survived by her children, Susan Henshaw Dugan (Larry), Elizabeth Dinelli (Richard), Stephen Henshaw (Dawn) and adopted daughter, Katy Mooney Feeser (Michael); and numerous grandchildren, Morgan Henshaw, Michelle Luby, Joseph Henshaw, Riley Dugan, Serena Newhall, James Newhall, Victoria Newhall, Elizabeth Hemingway-Pawlish, Laura Hemingway and Dylan Sandoe-Schulz. Lucia counted numerous children, grandchildren and great grandchildren as her own from her Henshaw, Fogle, and Corcoran clans.

Funeral services will be held at Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral, 1347 North Meridian St, on Saturday, November 29th at 11 AM. Friends are welcome to call from 10 AM until the time of the service.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Refugee Immigration Services at archindy.org.