Question
For years my mother had a perennial marigold seed handed down for her mother (60+ years, I think).  This plant was very hearty, with tight, round light and dark orange blooms.  The greenery was also hearty with a very nice 12-18" height, almost like a small bush.  We grew these successfully for 3 generations.  Interestingly enough, my mothers plants, nor did mine come back in 2007.  What happened?  We live in Ohio and did have 2 pretty cold winters... but that has been the case for many years.

Answer
Hi Nicole,
 A hard winter or a late freeze can kill any plant.  I lost a whole patch of crysanthamums to a hard winter-there was NOTHING left-not even roots!
 Search around, maybe you have a volunteer marigold in the area that you can get seeds from.

Sijka