Obituary of Tatjana Freelove

Tatjana Freelove was a resident of Darien for the last decade. She passed away at home on Thursday, January 26th after a hard fought battle with cancer over the past five years. Tatjana was born in Paris, France on August 11, 1968 to Antje Vanjak and Marija Drazic; both of Croatia. As a two 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. 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 RCC in New York City. More recently she served as a catechist at St. Thomas More RCC in Darien. And for the last several years, Tatjana has been an active member of St. John's RCC also in Darien. Tatjana is survived by her husband of almost eleven years, David W. Freelove, and four daughters, Katarina (22), Jelena (21), Mia (19) and Madeline (8). The children currently attend Trinity College, Georgetown University, Franklin & Marshall College and New Canaan Country School. The family resides in Darien. She is also survived by her mother, Marija Vanjak of Brooklyn and two younger brothers Josip Vanjak and Petar Vanjak of Brooklyn and Darien respectively. Tatjana has five nephews and two nieces. Visiting hours are at the Edward Lawrence Funeral Home 2119 Post Road Darien from 2:00-4:00 pm and 6:00-8:00 pm on Sunday, January 29th. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. John's RC Church, 1986 Post Road in Darien on Monday, January 30th at 10:00 am by Father Frank Hoffman. Interment will be private. A reception at Westchester Country Club in Rye, NY 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 through: http://mskcc.convio.net/site/TR/GivingPages/AnnualGiving?px=3695623&pg=personal&fr_id=2771 Funeral Home: Edward Lawrence Funeral Home 2119 Post Road Darien, CT USA 06820