Tatjana Freelove was a resident of Darien for the last decade. She passed away at home on Thursday, Jan. 26 after a hard fought battle with cancer over the past five years.
Tatjana Freelove passed away on Jan. 26. Her funeral was held Monday morning.
Tatjana was born in Paris, France on Aug. 11, 1968 to Antje Vanjak and Marija Drazic; both of Croatia. As a 2-year-old she moved to New York and spent her youth in Brooklyn’s Dyker Heights neighborhood.
Tatjana attended grade and middle school at St. Bernadette’s. She graduated from Bishop Kearney High School in Brooklyn in 1986. Tatjana also graduated from St. John’s University in 1990, majoring in criminal justice and psychology.
She began her career as a sales assistant in the institutional equity department at Kidder, Peabody shortly after graduation. Tatjana continued her career as the chief financial officer at Rock Maple Ventures and later as a partner at Rock Maple Funds, a fund of hedge funds. At the same time, she managed part of human resources for Del Mar Asset Management, a multi-strategy hedge fund.
___________
— an obituary from Edward Lawrence Funeral Home
___________
She was a member of Westchester Country Club and enjoyed cooking, gardening, travel, interior design and fashion.
Throughout her life, she was active in the Catholic Church. During her formative years she was a member of St. Cyril & Methodius Roman Catholic Church in New York City. More recently she served as a catechist at St. Thomas More Church in Darien. And for the last several years, Tatjana has been an active member of St. John Church, also in Darien.
Tatjana is survived by her husband of almost 11 years, David W. Freelove; and four daughters, Katarina,22, Jelena, 21, Mia,19, and Madeline, 8, all of Darien. The children currently attend Trinity College, Georgetown University, Franklin & Marshall College and New Canaan Country School.
She is also survived by her mother, Marija Vanjak of Brooklyn; two younger brothers, Josip Vanjak of Brooklyn and Petar Vanjak of Darien; five nephews and two nieces.
The Edward Lawrence Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements. Visiting hours were held Sunday and her funeral, with the Rev. Frank Hoffman presiding, on Monday morning at St. John Church. Interment will be private. A reception at Westchester Country Club in Rye, N.Y. will follow the mass to celebrate her life.
The family asks that donations be made to Memorial Sloan Kettering in NYC in lieu of flowers. Donations can be made to a page set up in memory of Tatjana here.