Ana Mikelina Zarkovic

Ana Mikelina Zarkovic, age 12, of Old Smyrna Road in Freeport, Ohio tragically lost her life in an accident at her home on August 23, 2025.

Born August 1, 2013, in Union Hospital in Dover, Ohio, she was the only child of Goran and Angela Zarkovic. She was their pride, their joy, and their reason for living. Everything they did was for Ana and her future.

Ana attended Immaculate Conception School in Dennison, Ohio for 3 years (kindergarten, first, and second grade) before leaving to be homeschooled by her mother due to Covid restrictions. She attended Harrison Central Elementary for 4th, 5th, and 6th grade. Ana left a huge impact on all the people she had met there. She considered Harrison Central to be her family and wanted to be everyone's friend.

Ana would have started Junior High only 2 days after her death. She was so excited to start Junior High; she could not wait to have the freedom that it offered to allow her to interact with all of her graduating class.

Throughout her twelve years of life, Ana was involved in numerous activities. She was on the Cambridge YMCA gymnastics team for 2 years, played softball, and ran cross country at ICS. Ana loved sports and was a very talented athlete. At Harrison Central, she played basketball, recreational softball, travel softball, soccer, and was a cheerleader. She also took piano and violin lessons.

For Junior High, she made the decision to dedicate all her efforts into cheer. She was on the Football, Basketball, and Competition Cheer squads. Ana spent hours training and learning routines and always told us that cheerleaders do not get enough credit as her training was more challenging than any other sport she played. Her goal was to make the Harrison Central High School Cheer squad so good that by her senior year she could convince the state to consider cheerleading as a sport.

Ana was the light of her dad's world. Goran would move mountains for his little girl. He began teaching her to play soccer when she was just three years old and he coached her soccer team for two years. Ana loved the special moments they had together. Her dad taught her to ski, chop wood, and work in his machine shop. He also taught her to shoot, and she became an excellent long-range shooter. She loved going to the range with her dad and shooting balloons. Most of all, she loved that her dad would dedicate four days each year just for her where he would take the day off work and let her skip school so they could go on ski trips.

Ana's bond with her mother, Angela, was so strong that she often said that their souls were connected. Her mother was her best friend, her safe place, and she would always say "home is anywhere you are." As a homesteader and bakery owner, Angela taught Ana to be self-sufficient in all aspects of running a household. Ana could cook, bake, and clean all by herself. The last meal she prepared was just hours before her death where she set a proper table for her mom, dad, and PapPap. She took great pride in her cooking and homesteading skills.

Ana loved to sing, dance, and do nails; she was as close to a professional nail technician as a 12-year-old could be. Everyone wanted Ana to do their nails. Aside from nails, she had a passion for making TikTok videos and was an avid Snapchatter.

Above all of this, and most importantly, Ana was known for her strong and unwavering faith, her deep understanding of the Bible, and her relationship with Jesus was immeasurable. She dreamed of becoming a commercial pilot, but overall, her goal was to bring as many people to Christ as she possibly could be. Everyone who came to Ana's house prayed with her.

In addition to her parents, she is survived by her maternal grandfather: Gerald (PapPap) Gleason of Gnadenhutten, Ohio; paternal grandparents: Cedo (DiDi) and Nevenka (Baka) Zarkovic of Jagodnja Donja, Croatia; honorary grandparents: Richard (PawPaw) and Lynn (MeMe) Dunlap of Freeport, Ohio; her honorary sister: Aubrey Bryant of Cadiz, Ohio; Godmother: Karen White Miller of Gnadenhutten, Ohio; honorary Godparents: Jennifer and Daniel Abrams of Freeport, Ohio; and a vast amount of family from various countries all over the world.

She was proceeded in death by her maternal grandmother Catherine Verhovec Gleason who tragically passed away on Christmas Eve in 2017, her maternal Great-Grandmother and namesake, Anna Wzeborowski Verhovec, and her paternal Great-Grandmother Milka Carevic of Pozega, Croatia.

Visitation will be held on Sunday, August 31, 2025, from 4:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M. at Koch Funeral Home in Freeport and on Monday, September 1st, 2025, from 12:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M. with the family present from 12 to 2 and 4 to 8.

A funeral mass will be held at 11:00 am on Tuesday, September 2, 2025, in the Immaculate Conception Church, 206 North First Street in Dennison, Ohio 44621 with Reverend Thomas Gardner presiding. Entombment will follow a horsedrawn and walking funeral procession through Greenmont Union Cemetery in Freeport, Ohio.

Following the committal service (around 2:00 P.M.) a meal will be served at the Freeport Volunteer Fire Department.