Carina Cagata

Carina C. Cagata passed away at the age of 89 on Friday 1/5/24.
Born on November 7, 1934 in the town of Liloan Bonifacio, Province of Misamis
Occidental, Philippines to Ireneo and Aniana. She was the second of 4 children. Her
siblings include Laura, Julito, and Anito.
Carina (known by her friends as Caring) started her life like most girls, but at age 8, her
life was interrupted by World War 2. Due to the Japanese occupation of the
Philippines, her family had to seek shelter in the jungles. This was a very frightening
experience for her. Their sleep was often interrupted at night by cries of warning to
seek shelter as the Japanese were approaching their area. Fortunately, her family
escaped any harm.
Once the Americans drove the Japanese out of the country and the war ended, she
was able to return to school. She was a devout catholic and felt that her calling was to
dedicate her life to religious service by entering the convent. However, the nuns felt
differently and thought God had other plans for her. After several weeks, she left the
convent and returned to school to pursue medicine. Unfortunately, she became ill and
was forced to change her major as she was unable to keep up with her studies while
recovering. She attended the University of San Carlos and received a Bachelors
degree in Pharmacy in 1960.
She began working at Oroquita Provential Hospital, where she met Artemio Cagata,
who was one of the physicians on staff. They married on January 5, 1963, and began
their 60-year, loving adventure. Soon after, their family grew. Ardel (‘63), Jay (‘65) and
Sibyl (‘69) were born.
Although their life in the Philippines was happy and rewarding, they bravely brought the
family to the United States in the early 1970s to pursue the American Dream. They
lived initially in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and later moved to Steubenville, Ohio. They
were contacted by their friend, Joseph Larosa, and were persuaded to move the family
to Louisville, Kentucky.
Caring worked at Audubon Hospital as a pharmacy technician and later as an IV tech.
She worked there for 25 years until she retired in 2004. She was an active member of
the Fil-Am Society of Greater Louisville and Southern Indiana, and was part of the
women’s auxiliary. Caring loved to sew, shop for hours, garden, read celebrity gossip
magazines, dance, spend time with friends, and she was an excellent cook. She loved
to entertain and would often host parties at the house for multiple occasions. Her
favorite activity since retirement was to get together with friends on the weekends to
eat and karaoke all night long.
Everyone who knew her would agree that Caring was a kind, fun, generous, loving
woman. She was a strict disciplinarian with her children, but she loved them
profoundly. Their safety and success in life was very important to her, and she worried
about them constantly. She was generous with her time, talent, and friendship with her
family, friends, and even strangers. She has touched all our lives in some way or form.
She will be missed terribly but will always be in our hearts.
Caring is survived by her children: Ardel (Kirsten), Jay (Carrie), and Sibyl (Steve);
grandchildren: Collin, Ethan, Camryn; step grandchildren: Chris, Cameron, Kingsley.
She was preceded in death by her husband (Tem), father (Ireneo), mother (Aniana), and
her siblings: Laura, Julito, and Anito.
Visitation will be from 9:00 - 10:00 am EST on Saturday, January 20, 2024, at St.
Bernadette Catholic Church, 6500 Saint Bernadette Ave, Prospect KY.
Followed by a Catholic funeral mass at 10:00 am EST. The funeral mass will be live
streamed on www.stb2008.org
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in her memory to St. Bernadette Catholic
Church - https://www.wesharegiving.org/app/giving/WeShare-3429?tab=home
(Click on “memorial fund” near the bottom of the page) or to the American Stroke
Association - https://www.stroke.org/