Vincenzina Krymow collection

Vincenzina “Ginny” Krymow was born January 25, 1930 in Detroit, Michigan. Moving to Centerville, Ohio in the 1970s with her husband and children, Krymow spent the majority of her professional career as a social worker and licensed family therapist in the Dayton area. Upon her retirement in 1987, she began to pursue her long-time interest in writing and journalism. She wrote many articles for the Dayton Daily News, the Catholic Telegraph, and St. Anthony Messenger Press. One article she was writing led her to discover the Marian Library where she eventually began to volunteer her time more extensively. An avid researcher, Krymow was very interested in gardening and spirituality and developed a relationship with John S. Stokes Jr., founder of the Mary’s Gardens Movement. She spent time researching various Biblical and Marian medicinal and symbolic plants and flowers, all of which inspired her successfully published books: Healing Plants of the Bible (2002) and Mary's Flowers: Gardens, Legends and Meditations (2002). She traveled the globe to document sacred gardens and shrines devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary and also had a special interest in researching Black Madonna shrines and documenting many across Europe during her travels. Generous in sharing her research interests and time with the community, she gave numerous talks and presentations to various religious and secular groups in Ohio interested in spiritual gardening and flower symbolism during the early 2000s. Along with being a volunteer at the Marian Library, Krymow was also a member of the Mariological Society of America (MSA) and the Marianist Environmental Education Center (MEEC).