Funeral Details

Tanja Isabella Emery (née Rowe) departed this life on Sunday, June 29, 2025 in Chicago, IL at the residence and in the compassionate care of her daughter Natalie, after a lengthy battle with metastatic breast cancer.

Tanja was born in the spring of 1962 in Karlsruhe, Germany, the first-born daughter of Christa Elisabeth Rowe (née Koberstein). Shortly before her fifth birthday her family emigrated to the United States, settling on the north side of Chicago. Growing up in the Lakeview neighborhood Tanja quickly became a Chicago girl, attending Burley Elementary School and Lakeview High School, where she excelled in math and swimming, and cultivated friendships that would last a lifetime.

It was during her high school years that she met and fell in love with her husband, the late Jack Emery. They went on to marry soon after she graduated, had four children together, and made many cherished memories along the way.

Tanja’s fortitude and intelligence led her to her career at the Chicago IT firm Keno Kozie, where she spent many years assisting the company in varying capacities and was beloved by her colleagues. After leaving Keno Kozie, she dedicated her time and talents to help her husband build and maintain their family business, Chicago Kitchen Center.

Tanja was artistic and creative, and quite skilled in drawing. She was self-taught and adept in crocheting, and a prolific and joyful baker whose sweet creations impressed her family and friends. She would often see a seasonal craft or recipe in a magazine and recreate it in a manner superior to the original. She enjoyed making things for others and was a thoughtful, gentle soul.

Tanja is preceded in death by her mother, Christa Rowe, her husband Jack Emery, and her daughter Erica Emery. She is survived by her children Jeffrey (Tiffany), Eric (Jessica), Natalie (Kevin), her six grandchildren Xavier, Aubree, Jet, Ella, Weston and Jack, and her sisters Patricia Krielaart (Rudy), Ronda Van Valkenburgh (Charlie), Candice Gibellina (Patrick), and her nieces and nephews.

In our time on this Earth, we should all be heartened to remember that God does not call us to be perfect. He calls us to love, to be kind and to forgive. Tanja was loving and kind and always quick to forgive, and that is how we will remember her for the rest of our days.
Memorial Visitation Saturday, July 19, 2025 beginning at 9:00am at the Midtown Funeral Home and Cremation Options, 3918 W. Irving Park Road, Chicago. Service will begin at 10am. A procession to Acacia Park will follow after the service at the funeral home. Her ashes will be interred in the same grave along with her late husband, Jack. Arrangements by Midtown Funeral Home and Cremation Options, 773.654.3744, www.midtownfunerals.com