Katrina Martel Cockerham passed away July 14, 2023, at home with her family after a two-and-a-half-year battle with cancer. She was 61 years old.
She is survived by her husband, Joseph D. Cockerham; daughters: Sophia Olga, Kathryn Olivia and Isabella Kristina; mother, Olga Severino Martel; brothers George Vincent S. Martel, and Michael Victor S. Martel; aunt, Florinda Severino Baluyut and uncle, Lope F. Severino III.
She is preceded in death by her father, Jose V. Martel and her aunt, Susan Sonya Severino.
Born Katrina Olga Severino Martel on November 21, 1961, to Jose V. Martel and Olga Severino Martel in Manila, Philippines. She grew up in the suburb of Makati and graduated from Assumption High School in 1979. She attended Smith College in Massachusetts earning a Bachelor’s degree in economics in 1983. Studied Lengua y Cultura Espanola at Universidad de Navarra in Pamplona, Spain in 1984 and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from New York School of Interior Design in 1990.
She and Joe married in 1990 and raised their three girls in New York, moving to Warwick in 1998. There she created a warm and unique family home where she loved to throw summer parties for family and friends, opening up all the sliding doors to the decks and dressing all the tables with her extensive china collection.
Katrina always went out of her way to remember people, able to offer a smile and conversation no matter where or when they last spoke. She made everyone feel at ease and welcome, always knowing what to say and when.
She was a member of the St. Stephen the First Martyr Church and actively involved at St. Stephen-St. Edward's School when her children attended and beyond, organizing events and fundraising for the school and parish. She ran an after-school arts and crafts program where she shared both her love of creating and of travel with her students. She believed there was nothing you couldn’t figure out how to make yourself, and there was no skill that you couldn’t improve at just by trying. You may still see banners she created hung at church for First Communions.
Her love of travel was a gift from her parents, traveling extensively in Asia, Europe, Africa and Australia with them. She passed that gift to her husband and children as they continued to explore throughout their lives together.
The family would like to thank their friends, family, and work family for their support through this difficult journey. They would also like to thank Hospice of Orange and Sullivan for their care, compassion, and guidance.
As per her wishes, her body is to be cremated, she will be interned at Santuario De San Antonio Crypts, Manila, Philippines, with her family. A remembrance will be held later this year.