Adna-based caterer Catrina "Trina" Gardipee prepares herself a salmon-kale salad Sunday in her Adna home. Gardipee, who cooks for local charitable events, has been undergoing treatment for ovarian cancer since January. Friends and family are organizing an April 30 auction fundraiser to help her defray medical expenses and lost work time.
Adna resident Michelle Schilter reviews details Sunday of the April 30 fundraiser to benefit Adna-based caterer Catrina "Trina" Gardipee. A group of friends and family gathered at Gardipee's home to discuss the upcoming event..
Adna-based caterer Catrina "Trina" Gardipee rests her hand on a quilt as she chats with friends on Sunday in her Adna home. Gardipee, who cooks for local charitable events, has been undergoing treatment for ovarian cancer since January. Friends and family are organizing an April 30 auction fundraiser to help her defray medical expenses and lost work time.
Get-well cards festoon the kitchen cabinets of Adna-based caterer Catrina "Trina" Gardipee Sunday in her Adna home. Gardipee, who cooks for local charitable events, has been undergoing treatment for ovarian cancer since January. Friends and family are organizing an April 30 auction fundraiser to help her defray medical expenses and lost work time.
Ask Catrina “Trina” Gardipee how she has managed to go through cancer treatments and keep a smile on her face and she credits the people around her.
It’s her supportive husband and close knit family.
It’s the prayer warriors at Napavine Assembly of God.
It’s the kitchen wall full of cards of encouragement from friends and family.
“A lot of people praying, a lot of people stopping by and supporting me,” Gardipee said. “I couldn’t do this alone. So much encouragement. It’s humbling.”
Gardipee, who has been battling stage 4 ovarian cancer since January, will be the beneficiary of the Catering to Catrina fund-raiser, which will be held April 30 at The Loft in downtown Chehalis. The event is being organized by a group of family and friends who want to raise money to help defray Gardipee’s medical costs as well as the cost of her having to scale back her catering business during her treatments. Several women in Gardipee’s family, including her mother, sisters and niece, have been treated for cancer in the past. Their family carries a genetic marker that makes them more susceptible to certain types of cancers.
“I went through this eight years ago and it was a huge financial burden,” explained Shawneta Teigan, Gardipee’s sister, of her inspiration for the event. “I knew this was going to be a huge financial burden, not to mention the physical burden it puts on you … it’s an absolute shock. Your whole world just goes upside down.”
Gardipee has owned Catrina’s Catering for the past 19 years. She started cooking at Bethel Church’s Wednesday night dinner parties, which she was part of for 10 years.
“Some of the girls started to ask me to do their weddings and then word got out and then it really just snowballed,” Gardipee said. “It got busier every year.”
When Gardipee began her catering business, she cooked in Granges and other rented spaces with professional kitchens. Eventually her husband, Harvey, built a kitchen onto their Adna home, which is located just two doors down from her childhood home. A 1980 graduate of Adna High School, Gardipee said her love of cooking began at her mother’s side.
“I can remember sitting on the counter breaking up bread for my mom’s Thanksgiving stuffing,” Gardipee said. “Mom got all of us into 4-H and we didn’t have animals so we did cooking and sewing.”
During her catering career, Gardipee has lent her culinary talents to many local fundraisers, including the Twin Cities Rotary, Dollars for Scholars, St. Joseph School and Boy Scouts. Gardipee said one of the most heartwarming parts of the Catering to Catrina event planning has been watching the auction item donations that have come in from former catering clients, including some of these organizations her cooking had helped in the past.
“It’s just so humbling. It’s amazing. We have such a great community and I know there so many people going through things. I’m not the only one,” Gardipee said. “I am completely bowled down with humility and gratefulness.”
After her ovarian cancer diagnosis in January, Gardipee found a doctor in Portland and one week later was in surgery. Shortly after, she started chemotherapy treatments. By the time of the Catering to Catrina event April 30 she will be down to her last two rounds of chemotherapy. She said so far the treatments have been gone well, with manageable side effects, and she is hopeful for the future. She said she misses catering and hopes that in the near future she will have the strength to take on more than the few events she has done this year.
A $15 ticket to the Catering to Catrina event gets attendees access to an appetizer and sweets buffet. There will be 150 to 200 items up for live and silent auction bids, including: a bronze statue from local artist Jim Stafford; handmade lures and a fishing pole; a guided fishing trip; a load of gravel; a load of wood; jewelry; handmade knives; handmade furniture; crocheted items; handmade quilts; a “just add pictures” scrapbook; a gift certificate to Mackinaw’s; and a bottle of wine. In addition, there will be a dessert auction and a dollar raffle. Copies of the “Cooking with Catrina” cookbook are also planned to be for sale.
“There will be something for every price point,” Teigan said.
