Remembering John and Katherine (Katya) Krynitsky

Dr. John Krynitsky was born on June 15th, 1918 at Far Rockaway Beach, Long Island, New York. He was the son of Col. Alexander I. Krynitsky of the imperial Russian Army who was on a military mission in the United States during WWI. John spent a major portion of his childhood and youth living in a shuttered mansion on 16th Street, Washington, DC, which housed the former embassy of the Czarist government and later of the Kerensky regime, and which is now the home of the Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Following the Russian revolution and the rise of the communists, the embassy was closed. Col. Krynitsky was asked to remain as caretaker for the indefinite future. In time, the shuttered embassy came to act as a “magnet” and focal point for several Russian émigrés and escapees from communism. The Krynitsky family lived there until 1933 when the communist government was recognized by the U.S. and the building turned over to the Soviets. With that occurrence, the family promptly vacated and moved to Somerset, MD.

Upon completion of his Doctoral degree in Organic Chemistry, Dr. Krynitsky served 21 years at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in Anacostia both as a naval officer and as a civilian chemist. While at NRL, he carried out numerous research projects on fuel and was effective in solving several Navy and Air Force operational problems. He was the “father” of what is known as the “Water Separometer Test”, which measures the water shedding quality of jet fuels, and which was incorporated into virtually all military and commercial jet fuel specifications.

In his last position, he served as technical director of the Defense Fuel Supply Center where he developed and administered the inspection procedures used in the procurement of fuels by the U.S. government. On several occasions, Dr. Krynitsky testified as a technical expert on fuels before Senatorial committees and served as an expert technical witness in behalf of the government in a patent dispute.

Throughout his career, Dr. Krynitsky received numerous honors and awards. The more important of these include the “Meritorious Civilian Service Award” from the Defense Logistics Agency, the ASTM “Award of Merit” and the honorary title of “Fellow” (the highest ASTM honor), the “Certificate of Merit” from the Joint Military Logistic Commanders, and the “Order of St. Innocent” (the highest honor bestowed on a layman by the Orthodox Church in America). He has over forty-five technical publications to his credit in the fields of organic chemistry and petroleum fuels, and has been granted two patents.

In March of 1949, John met his wife to be, Katherine Petrovna Kushnareff who had recently immigrated to the U.S. from Tsingtao, China. At first, she came to live with her sister, Nina Belaef, in Westport, Connecticut but soon moved to Washington, DC to work at the Army Map Service. Shortly after John and Katherine met, they became engaged and then married on September 10, 1949 at the St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church in Stratford, Connecticut.
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In 1950, John and Katherine built and moved into their house in Somerset, Chevy Chase, MD, located next door to his parents' residence! They became members of the Russian Orthodox Church of St. Nicholas, when it was located on Church St., and proceeded to take a very active part in its development. 

John was elected to the board of trustees and Katherine to the Sisterhood. John served as a trustee for 35 years, of which for 25 years he was Church Treasurer. As Treasurer, John kept detailed records which he explained to the penny at annual parish meetings. Additionally, he recommended investment funds to grow the income of the parish. He was also a member of the Building Fund Committee, and hastened the mortgage burning.

Katherine was a member of the Sisterhood for a like term, and for many years served as its president. Additionally, she was deeply involved in fundraising and other projects, including selling piroshki to raise money needed for the building of the current structure. Their activities covered the periods of

  • Purchase of the land on Massachusetts Ave., on which the Church building was to be subsequently constructed
  • Construction of the Church building (styled after the St. Dmitry Cathedral in the city of Vladimir, Russia)
  • St. Nicholas Church becoming the Primatial Cathedral of the Orthodox Church in America
  • Acquisition of additional properties to house the Rectory and the Annex
  • Exquisite decoration of the Cathedral with beautiful iconography, designed and executed by a team of gifted Russian artists. 

John and Katherine hosted annual Pascha parties, where invitees included priests, bishops, and the Metropolitan, in their Chevy Chase home for decades. For their dedication and service, both John and Katherine received “Honorary Certificates of Thanks” and both were further honored with the award of the “Order of St. Innocent”, the highest award for laity in the Orthodox Church.

Katya passed away in 2006 and John on April 18th of this year at the age of 100. Their contributions to St. Nicholas will never be forgotten. May their memories be eternal! If you would like to hear John and Katya tell their story in their own words, please watch this video.