Carol Bachschmid Pulizzi

Carol was born in Washington, D.C., to Carl Bachschmid and Suzanne Barneveld Bachschmid. She was raised in Bethesda, Maryland, where her father owned a jewelry store. Carol was fun-loving and kind from the get-go—roller skating on neighborhood sidewalks, sneaking smokes at raucous sleepovers, and marching with the Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School pom pon team in President Eisenhower’s inauguration. That idyllic upbringing was disrupted in 1957, when Carol’s beloved older brother Ernst died in a tragic car accident, a profound loss that shaped how she chose to live.

After graduating from B-CC, Carol met her future husband, Henry Joseph “Hank” Pulizzi Sr., while a student at Bucknell University. They were married at Blessed Sacrament in Washington, D.C., in 1962. Carol worked for the Joy Boys radio show on WRC, while Hank began his career at the Potomac Electric Power Company. They eventually settled in Potomac, Maryland, and stayed for six decades.

Carol gave generously to the people and organizations she loved. She joined the Board of the Aged Woman’s Home of Georgetown in 1981 and served as the Home’s President and Treasurer for many years, before retiring from the Board in 2019. Volunteering at the Home ran in the family—Carol followed in the footsteps of her aunt Clara Bachschmid, a Georgetown native who served on the Board from 1925 to 1981. Carol was also an avid gardener and decades-long member of the Town and Country Garden Club, where she built countless enduring friendships.

She was a proud mother and grandmother and a fierce friend. Raising her family was her passion and life’s work. Stories of her grandchildren’s accomplishments were peppered into nearly every conversation. She was happiest walking on the beach with family and friends at her cherished second home in Florida. She also loved annual trips to Italy with Hank—a tradition inspired by a post-college European grand tour.

Carol was preceded in death by her loving husband of 59 years, Hank. She is survived by her daughter Kara Hackemer (Dean) of Keswick, Va.; son Henry J. Pulizzi Jr. (Una) of Bethesda, Md.; and five grandchildren—Charlie, Teddy and Lucy Hackemer, and Nora and Luca Pulizzi.

The family is holding a private celebration of Carol’s life.