At a Glance
- Tatiana Schlossberg, 35, was laid to rest on Jan. 5 at St. Ignatius Loyola, the same church that held Jackie Kennedy’s funeral in 1994
- The environmental journalist and mother of two died after an 18-month battle with acute myeloid leukemia and a rare Inversion 3 mutation
- Caroline Kennedy, 68, now faces the unimaginable task of helping her grandchildren remember their mother
- Why it matters: The Kennedy family confronts another devastating loss, echoing the tragedies that have defined their legacy for decades
On a bitter Monday afternoon, Caroline Kennedy walked into the limestone sanctuary of St. Ignatius Loyola behind her 3-year-old grandson Edwin, dressed in a tiny blue blazer, and 1-year-old Josephine, cradled gently in her arms. Six days earlier, the family had announced the death of Tatiana Schlossberg, Caroline’s 35-year-old daughter, from an aggressive blood cancer that ravaged her body in the final year and a half of her life.
A Private Life, A Public Loss
Tatiana, a passionate environmental writer and New York Times climate reporter, had just given birth to Josephine on May 25, 2024, when doctors discovered the cancer. What followed was a brutal marathon of chemotherapy, stem cell transplants (one from sister Rose, another from an anonymous donor), and clinical trials.
She lost 30 pounds. Her hair fell out. She couldn’t bathe or feed her daughter. She couldn’t pick up her children.
> “I don’t know who, really, she thinks I am, and whether she will feel or remember, when I am gone, that I am her mother.”
> – Tatiana Schlossberg, writing in The New Yorker
A Family History of Heartbreak
Caroline Kennedy has now buried her daughter in the same church where she said goodbye to her mother, Jackie, in 1994. It’s a cruel echo of history: Caroline was just 6 when her father, President John F. Kennedy, was assassinated. She later lost her uncle Robert F. Kennedy, her brother John in a plane crash, and now her daughter.
> “When you think about the losses Caroline has suffered… it’s a series of horrible personal tragedies that lead up to what may be the hardest of them all.”
> – Steven M. Gillon, Kennedy historian
Tatiana herself addressed this generational trauma in her November New Yorker essay, writing: “Now I have added a new tragedy to her life, to our family’s life, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it.”
A Writer’s Final Words
Before her diagnosis, Tatiana planned a second book on climate change and the oceans. Instead, she spent her final months creating memories with Eddie (who wore matching head scarves during hospital visits) and Josie (who toddled around in yellow rain boots and fake pearls).
She wrote candidly about her cousin RFK Jr., calling him “an embarrassment” for supporting research cuts that could help cancer patients.
> “She fought like a warrior. She was valiant, strong, courageous… a perfect daughter, sister, mother, cousin, niece, friend, all of it.”
> – Maria Shriver, cousin
Key Takeaways
- Tatiana Schlossberg died at 35 after an 18-month battle with acute myeloid leukemia and Inversion 3, a mutation found in <2% of patients
- Her funeral was held Jan. 5 at St. Ignatius Loyola, the same church as Jackie Kennedy’s 1994 funeral
- She leaves behind husband George Moran, son Edwin (3), and daughter Josephine (1)
- Caroline Kennedy, 68, now faces the task of helping her grandchildren remember their mother, just as Jackie** once did for her
The Kennedy family, no stranger to tragedy, mourns yet another unimaginable loss.
