Joe Kohn of The Michigan Catholic
Published April 27, 2007

Ruth Corcoran (right) and her daughter, Christine Wolfe,stand in their store, Michael’s Catholic Gift Shop in WaterfordTownship. They opened the store last year after the deathof Michael Corcoran, Ruth’s husband and Christine’s father,and consider it a joy and a ministry.

Michael Corcoran Michael Corcoran, the namesake of Michael's Catholic Gift Shop, was a husband and father of five. Family: Married to Ruth for 37 years. Five children: Christine Wolfe, Michael, Melissa Condron, Lauri Rice and Kathleen Kent. He also had 10 grandchildren. Faith life: An active member of Our Lady of the Lakes Parish in Waterford Township, where he joined the Knights of Columbus. He eventually became the state director for special events for the Knights. Charitable work: Had a special hand in creating the annual Cardinal's Golf Outing, held each year at the Retreat Center at St. John's in Plymouth Township. He also contributed efforts to Boysville of Michigan, a home for troubled youths in Clinton Township, and the annual Prep Bowl, a Catholic school sporting event now held annually at Ford Field in Detroit. Career: A 37-year career with Chrysler Corp., later DaimlerChrysler AG. As Security/Fire Operations manager, he oversaw the construction of fire protection systems in the company's world headquarters and technology center in Auburn Hills. Hobbies: Golfing, fishing, hunting, hockey, basketball and baseball. Died: June 24, 2005, at 58, from cancer.

Ruth Corcoran keeps a framed copy of her husband Michael’s obituary on the wall of her store.

Waterford Twp. — When people lose a loved one, some grieve with their families. Some join support groups. Some take the difficult path of trying to do it silently and alone.

But when Ruth Corcoran lost her husband of 37 years to cancer in 2005, the grieving process involved faith, family — and opening up a Catholic gift store with her daughter, Christine Wolfe.

"We had talked about it," said Corcoran of discussions she'd had with her late husband about a Catholic book store. "It was always on the back burner, and when he passed away the insurance money is what we used to open it."

So Michael's Catholic Gift Shop came to be — a showroom of first-communion dresses, religious goods, holy cards and plenty of Catholic books, situated across from Our Lady of the Lakes Parish in Waterford Township. Ruth Corcoran and Wolfe have owned the store for just over a year and have had their faith strengthened by many who have walked through its doors.

The store's namesake, Michael Corcoran, was a father of five and deeply involved in the Catholic Church as the state director of special events for the Knights of Columbus. Michael died in 2005 after a bout with cancer of the liver. He was 58, and had five grown children.

Ruth makes no secret about it: her and her daughter's store is part of a healing process in their lives.

"It gives me a purpose in the morning when I get up," Ruth says. "The depression is almost gone, the loneliness is, well … but when I'm here, I've left all that at home. I love coming here."

The store has been venue to many a conversation about grief, healing and God's presence through hard times, she adds. In many ways, customers have helped her mourn her husband; she's helped them mourn their losses, too.

"They come back a lot and we talk," she says, "and I think it helps. … I just feel like we're evangelizing and we're doing God's will, and it's a wonderful thing for me."

Neither Ruth nor her daughter had any experience running a store before Michael's death. But they say they had plenty of help from the Holy Spirit setting up the store.

The name was available to be registered.

Their preferred phone number (248) 623-MIKE, was available, as was their preferred fax number, (248) 623-4GOD.

The 800-square-foot storefront they occupy was renovated and made available, just across from their home parish.

"Everything we did, it was like God's hand was right there for us," Ruth says.

And He kept on making His presence felt through their clientele, Wolfe adds.

"People stay and talk for hours," she says. "They don't just come in and grab something and go back out. We have bonds with our customers."

Wolfe, who has two children, especially likes the book section of the gift shop, and spends much of her time reading and researching books from reputable Catholic publishers. One of her greatest finds was "Grieving with the Help of your Catholic Faith," by Lorene Hanley Duquin. Her mother loves the book, and has recommended it to many of her customers.

Other items unique to their shop come from people they know — such as rosary bracelets made by a fellow parishioner, or artwork they sell for their friend Bro. Bruno Karpinski, a Jesuit who lives nearby at Colombiere Center in Clarkston.

And while the things normally associated with a store still apply — inventory and the like — the most important aspect, they agree, is not what's for sale, but rather what's for free: God's presence through their fellow Christians.

"We're here for the community," Wolfe says. "We may sell one 79-cent holy card all day, but we've got a lot of friends."