'Amazing' community gift

Dozens of supporters attended 76 Joy Street's kickoff party Monday night in Willows.

Owner Shiela Etchepare has pledged to donate 100 percent of her profits during the month of February to support cancer research.

The battle against all forms of cancer is a very personal fight for Etchepare, who lost her mother, Patsy Enos, to cancer in January 2009. Etchepare's father, John, passed away the following month, and family members suggest he died of a broken heart.

Etchepare said her shop, which sells a mix of antiques, home decor and candles among other items, has been inundated with well-wishers and friends of her late parents since she announced her fundraising intentions last month.

"The community has been there for us during our darkest days," Etchepare said Monday, "and now they're back for some of our better ones."

Etchepare called the experience "cathartic," and said she knows her parents are with her always in spirit.

Bronson Pittman, the chaplain at Butte Home Health Center in Chico where both John and Patsy spent their final days, said he feels "personally connected" to the family after spending just a brief time with Etchepare's parents.

"This (fundraiser) is such an amazing gift for the whole community," Pittman said. "To me, (Etchepare) represents a beautiful legacy inherited from her parents and that legacy is an exquisite passion to truly help other people."

Pat Ireland, a Willows resident and two-time cancer survivor, said she is "very happy" to see so much community support for the fundraising drive.

"This is certainly a very worthy cause and the community is fortunate to have this opportunity," Ireland said.

Jenn Kline of Willows said she has been shopping at 76 Joy Street since she was a little girl and was excited for the opportunity to support "a very good cause."

"It's my mother's birthday (Tuesday) and I know she would say that her heart is very full," Etchepare said, "and my heart is very full as well."