Henry Joseph Pulizzi Sr.

About

Bucknell University

Henry Pulizzi Obituary

PULIZZI

HENRY JOSEPH PULIZZI SR. "Hank"

Henry Joseph "Hank" Pulizzi Sr. passed away peacefully on June 3, 2023, in Bethesda, MD. He was 85.

Pulizzi was born and raised in Williamsport, PA., where he played baseball in the city's famous Little League and developed into a competitive tennis player on the hardcourts of Brandon Park. After graduating from St. Mary's High School, Pulizzi studied electrical engineering and played on the tennis team at Bucknell University. He met the love of his life and future wife, Carol Bachschmid, and made countless enduring friendships at Bucknell.

Upon graduation in 1960, he served as an officer in the U.S. Army at Fort Monmouth in New Jersey. In 1961, he began a 41-year career at the Potomac Electric Power Company and continued to serve the country in the Army Reserves. He and Carol settled in Potomac, MD, where they lived for six decades.

As manager of transmission and distribution at Pepco, Pulizzi worked hard to help keep the lights on for the company's customers. Summer storms meant long nights—often days on end—working with Pepco crews to repair damaged lines and restore lost power. He loved the work.

After retiring in 2002, Pulizzi spent his time doing what he loved most: doting on his children and grandchildren; fishing at his second home in Florida; and making annual trips to Europe with Carol. They cherished time in Lucca, Italy, near the home of his maternal ancestors.

Pulizzi's sense of humor was renowned among family and friends. Dry and sometimes absurd, but never mean. He loved cigars and a nightly glass of gin. No vermouth, no tonic, just gin. And not the fancy stuff. He was a devoted fan of D.C. sports teams, in good times and bad. RFK Stadium, the Capital Centre, Cole Field House—he was there for all the big games, and many more. In recent years, he took delight in watching the deer and foxes that made a home in his backyard. His tough-guy gaze fooled no one. He was gentle and kind.

Pulizzi is survived by his loving wife of 59 years, Carol Bachschmid Pulizzi; 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.

A celebration of his life will be held at a future date in Washington, DC.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by The Washington Post from Jun. 9 to Jun. 11, 2023.

Memories and Condolences
for Henry Pulizzi

6 Entries

Saverio Sam Cortese

February 14, 2024

Hank look for Art Miller so that you can Play Golf at Par level. He was my roommate on the many trips to play golf at Amelia Island.

Frank Musick

September 1, 2023

Hank was a great mentor and made we realize right away that the utility industry was the place for me. Hank was a great person
Frank Musick.

Carol Sullivan

August 8, 2023

I enjoyed working with Hank Pulizzi! He inspired , motivated, and supported me through my academic endeavor. He supported my growth on the job. We had a lot of laughs over the 10 years I was his secretary. He doted over his family most days, which made it a pleasure to meet them.

Carol Sullivan

Mary Thornton (Davis)

June 21, 2023

I worked as secretary to Mr. Pulizzi for several years, and he was it was a pleasure and honor to know him.

Linda Pearson

June 18, 2023

I loved Hank and will miss that wonderful sense of humor. I still use some of his priceless sayings.
I was Carol´s roommate at Bucknell so was eye witness to their attraction. I also spent 3 1/3 months in Europe with her in 1961 and saw the letters coming from Hank. A true love affair.
My husband and I took a fall vacation with them to Lucca one year where we stayed in an old farm house. it was a special place.

Christoper Walz

June 9, 2023

I spend thirty-seven years working with Hank at Potomac Electric Power Company, being first assigned to his engineering section. During this time, we experienced many technology changes from working with mainframe computers to then desktops to laptops and most importantly computer-aided design ( CAD). The company hesitated to move forward with these new systems, but with Hank we engineers managed to make these advances. It was similar to our clothing attire going from suits, white shirts, and ties to "casual" Fridays. I became the underground transmission engineer and under Hank´s leadership expanded the Pepco system to one of the largest "underground pipe-type" cable transmission systems in the country. On occasions, there were electric failures that Hank´s Devision had to quickly find and repair. On one early morning, we lost electric power to the U.S. Capital and Senator Bob Dole responded to one news reporter´s question about working in the dark, "it wasn´t unusual they do it all the time!" We also coordinated Pepco electric system relocation to facilitate WMATA subway construction. In my latter Pepco years, I managed the Transmission Project Management Group under Hank and we developed a program to maintain the overhead transmission tower rights-of-way to one with lower vegetation growth. This happened after one of the trees along a high voltage line R/W in the Burnsville Area caught fire and one nearby farmer religious called in "an exploded burning tree." I retired in 2000 and, with Hank and Carol, we have many fond memories.

Showing 1 - 6 of 6 results