By Emily Goodman and Jeanette Parmigiani
Last October, the passing of Louise Brink Geczy left a profound void not only at The John Carroll School — where she taught for more than 25 years — but here within our Jewish community of Baltimore.
Her loss was acutely felt by the members of our Holocaust survivor community, whose lives she impacted for decades.
Louise’s title at The John Carroll School, a private Catholic, co-ed 9-12 high school in Harford County, was the Senior Project Coordinator and Coordinator of External Holocaust Programs. Few, if any, private or Catholic schools have such a position, but due to her passion and commitment to teaching about and honoring the victims and survivors of the Holocaust, Louise helped to create a such a legacy for the school.
In a time when moral courage can feel increasingly rare, Louise stood as a reminder that education is more than just teaching facts. It’s about shaping today’s youth with humanity and tolerance — a key lesson for students to take away when learning about the Holocaust and how dangerous intolerance and bias can be when left unchallenged.
Louise built a strong relationship with the Baltimore Jewish Council, creating a meaningful partnership that benefited both John Carroll students and local Holocaust survivors. She launched a “Week of Remembrance” and invited members of the Holocaust Survivors Speakers Bureau to visit the school.
The school provided kosher meals, transportation to Bel Air, student escorts for each survivor, and thank-you gifts for attendees. Many survivors, then in their mid-to-late 80s, readily accepted Louise’s invitations to speak.
To this day, members of the Speakers Bureau, while mostly children and grandchildren of survivors, eagerly await the invitation each spring to make the trip to Bel Air to experience the same warm welcome from the John Carroll community.
This spring, for the first time, there was the noticeable absence of Louise. Louise was someone who took the time to know the survivors personally, many of whom stayed connected with her throughout the year and not just on the annual visit to the school.
In 2013, Louise proposed that John Carroll host the BJC’s “Lessons of the Shoah,” an annual program that brings together about 300 students and teachers from a wide range of schools for a full day of Holocaust and genocide education. Schools ranging from nearby C. Milton Wright in Harford County to St. John’s Preparatory in Buckeystown traveled to John Carroll for this meaningful program, which includes breakfast and lunch at no cost to the schools. Transportation is also provided for schools in need.
Even during her time in and out of cancer treatment, Louise’s commitment to bringing this education to her students never faltered. In fact, one might not have ever known the ongoing health challenges that she faced because the quality of her work never changed.
Just weeks before the “Lessons of the Shoah” program in the fall of 2025, Louise was still working diligently on making the day as special as possible. Louise passed away the night before the 2025 “Lessons of The Shoah,” but the program proceeded for all of the students — just as Louise would have insisted.
Louise taught more than just her students. Her moral compass was an inspiration to all who had the honor of getting to know her. She taught from deep within her heart, emphasizing the importance of tolerance, love and acceptance. She practiced what she preached and that is why her absence feels so large.
Empathy is something often lacking, but not with Louise. She was honored with many well-deserved awards throughout her time teaching, including the BJC’s Ponczak-Greenblatt Families’ Award for Excellence in Holocaust Education, both in 2009 and again in 2023.
Louise was a gift to all of the communities that she touched. A gift for her students, for the survivors who considered her a friend, and of course to her beloved family, daughters and grandchildren. She had a way of making each person who interacted with her feel cared for, even if just in a passing conversation.
As we face a rising tide of antisemitism and Holocaust distortion, we must all do our best to channel Louise to fight against such hatred. The leadership of The John Carroll School has made it clear that they intend to continue her legacy, and the BJC will proudly continue to be a partner in that work.
This year at the BJC’s annual meeting on Thursday, June 11, at 5 p.m., we will have the tremendous honor of remembering and honoring Louise’s legacy.
The world is better off for the hundreds of individuals whose humanity has been inspired and shaped by Louise.
Emily Goodman is the Baltimore Jewish Council’s director of Holocaust and Countering Antisemitism Programs. Jeanette Parmigiani retired in 2020 as the BJC’s director of Holocaust Programs and remains active as a member of the council’s Holocaust Remembrance Commission.
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