Catherine Van Horn

Cathy’s volunteering began around 1982 with the start of the seasonal sports’ dessert which ran successfully for about eight years, raising funds for the athletic department of Astoria High School. During this time, she assisted Jim Patching with the freshman girl’s volleyball and basketball teams for four years. When Tom Zielinski started coaching these two teams, she continued to assist them for two more years.

She attended all the Cowapa League games that Astoria played including those on the road. Cathy came up with the idea for the football game hamburger feed and helped it take shape. This started with her personal pursuit of getting business to donate items to ensure profit for the school. Her late-night onion and tomato slicing for the hamburger feeds were well worth it, going from every other home game to every home game due to its success. It is estimated that she raised approximately $50,000 for the athletic department at Astoria High. The hamburger feed that started in the eighties soon had Mike Goin providing Cathy and her committee with the schools’ help and has been in motion ever since.

Vacations for most people included the tropics, but for Cathy, this was an annual road trip with her dear friend Laveen Tarabochia, to the basketball state championships where they would attend almost every game and kept unbelievable stats. To this day, she attends most Astoria High athletic events. Cathy Van Horn is one of Astoria High School’s biggest fans and supporters and still loves every minute of it. We thank Cathy for all that she has done for Astoria High School.