Valentina Borisovna Khromova

Valentina Borisovna Khromova of Collinsville, CT passed away on 1/19/2023 after a long illness. Valentina was born in Volgograd, Russia (the former Stalingrad). She was the daughter of Boris Vasilievich Agaphonov and Eugenia Vasilievna Agaphonova. Valentina was 7 years old during WWII and was a survivor of the long, massive bombing of Stalingrad when this big city was leveled to the ground by the German air force during long 5 months. She survived the WWII famine and the tuberculosis epidemic. Her faith in Lord was shaped by those times. During Communist regime in Russia, any religion was persecuted and prohibited. Yet she kept her faith in God, shaped by her family. In the postwar era, Valentina made several attempts to enter Volgograd medical school and finally her dream of becoming physician came true. Upon graduation from medical school and completion of OBGYN specialty residency, Valentina was sent to work for 5 years in the remote villages of the Volgograd region to provide medical care to the underserved population. During this time she met her future husband Valentin Sergeyevich Khromov who was a firefighter in one of the villages. They eventually married and moved to Volgograd to start a family. She worked as an OBGYN physician for almost 40 years. She was a brilliant, caring and “never give up” physician who saved an endless number of lives, whether it was the life of a baby or the life of mother. In her free time, instead of dedicating time to herself, she was reading medical OBGYN literature to improve herself even more and gain updated information on the latest treatments and techniques. She was deeply respected by her colleagues and appreciated by many patients. In addition to keeping current in her field, Valentina was fond of music, especially Russian romances and operas. She often recalled that her father’s side of the family loved to sing romances and many family members played accordion and quite often the family gathered together in the evening and sang romances as a quintet or sextet. In 2011 Valentina and her husband moved to the US to be close to her daughter. Valentina was fond of nature, she loved gardening and didn’t mind close encounters with bears or dear in the backyard. After one such bear encounter she stated, ”There was such a peace coming from that animal”. She was admiring long eyelashes on dear, the speed of chipmunks and the gentleness of hummingbirds. Valentina was a talented gardener, growing fruits and vegetables, surprising family, friends and neighbors with the harvested crops. She was a person of enormous kindness and compassion. She is predeceased by her husband Valentin and survived by her daughter Elena Bielawski of Collinsville. Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Peter Claver Church, 47 Pleasant Street, West Hartford, CT on 1/26/23 @ 10 AM, followed by burial at Fairview Cemetery of West Hartford and a reception at the same church.

Valentina Borisovna Khromova

January 19, 2023