Jacques H. Geisenberger Jr.

Jacques H. Geisenberger Jr., (Jack) a lifelong resident of Lancaster County and third generation Attorney, passed away on November 10, 2017 after a short illness. Jack was the son of the late Jacques H. Geisenberger, Sr. and Mildred Schaul Geisenberger. Jack is survived by his first wife Rosalind Printz Geisenberger. They are the parents of four children Steven (Christine Sable), Robert (Karen Kosterlitz), Lynn Barbell (Alan), and Richard (Marci Muskin). He is survived by eight grandchildren listed in their birth order (Wesley, Nicole, Justin, Eli, Robyn Barbell, Elliot Barbell, Harrison and Dana). His beloved companion Dinah L. Keating provided enormous support during all 13 years they were together and especially in his final months. The Geisenberger family is forever indebted to Dinah for the love and support that she, her children Dori and Dana, and their families provided to Jack over the years. He is also survived by his sister Ann Geisenberger Chudnoff. Jack was born July 27, 1931 and raised near the corner of Columbia Avenue and Centerville Road. He attended J.P McCaskey High School where he graduated in 1949. From there he followed in his father’s footsteps at Franklin & Marshall College graduating in 1953 (B. A. History). An ROTC student, he joined the Air Force upon graduation and served two years in Japan shortly after the Korean War. In the early 1960’s, he joined the Reserves as a Judge Advocate serving until 1968 and attaining the rank of Captain. In 1955, he again followed in his father’s footsteps attending the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He worked as a cab driver in Philadelphia to help pay the bills. Dad knew all the shortcuts in Philadelphia. During law school he met and married Rosalind and they had their first child. After graduation in 1958, he returned to Lancaster to join his father’s law firm which traced its roots back to the start of his grandfather Lionel’s firm in 1901. He was admitted to the bar in 1959. His law school classmate and friend Robert “Bob” Pfannebecker also joined the firm known as Geisenberger, Pfannebecker & Geisenberger. Jack’s unique management style ultimately caused him to part ways from his initial firm and later on with others . But he maintained friendships and the mutual respect of multiple generations of Lancaster’s legal community including those he parted ways with as a Partner. His good friend from law school once described Jack as an absolute “bulldog” of an advocate for clients and the law. He’d be proud of such an epitaph. In 1985 he was elected President of the Lancaster Bar Association. Other professional affiliations included the American and Pennsylvania Bar Associations and the Commercial Law League. He was a mediator and arbitrator and often instructed CLE classes. His specialty in Bankruptcy Law had its roots back to his grandfather’s practice and while most bankruptcies end badly, more than a few businesses and farms in Lancaster County owe their continued existence to Jack’s expertise in bankruptcy reorganization. In 2005 he was so incensed by the “unconstitutional” restriction imposed on attorney’s by a new bankruptcy law that he spent hundreds of hours preparing a case against U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez. His complaint was eventually dismissed but he wouldn’t allow an assault on the sanctity of attorney-client communications to go unchallenged. As an Attorney he wasn’t afraid to take on unpopular causes. Among the more renowned was the 1960’s effort by the Columbia School District to merge with Hempfield, where his children were students, which was well chronicled in a February 15, 2009 story by the late Chip Smedley at http://lancasteronline.com/search/?q=Jacques%20Geisenberger%20Columbia . More recently in 2010 he jumped into the firing line when he represented the Pennsylvania Academy of Music in its final efforts to survive. He retired in August 2017 at age 86 after 58 years of active full-time practice. Jack’s main outlet in life was being an avid Philadelphia sports enthusiast. Road trips to sporting events with friends, family and colleagues were frequent. He took pride in the fact that he attended the last Philadelphia Eagles football championship in 1960 and was a long time season ticket holder. In 2010 he was invited to the 50th anniversary celebration at Franklin Field for surviving ticket holders. Over the last 30 plus years he took pride in sharing his game day experiences with his adult children and especially his grandchildren and he passed the eternal hope of a Super Bowl triumph to the next generation. Jack was also a dedicated high handicap golfer and former member of Conestoga Country Club. He enjoyed the thrill of joining the “hole in one club” with an ace on the 5th hole at Conestoga. In his later years Jack enjoyed his time with Dinah often at her second home in Red Point near Northeast, Maryland. Many a weekend afternoon saw Pop-Pop tinkering in the garage or yard with his or Dinah’s grandchildren. Jacques was a proud fourth generation lifetime member of Congregation Shaarai Shomayim. His family learned early in life that they were members of the oldest continuous Jewish family in Lancaster County. He taught them that the legacy carried a responsibility to represent the Jewish Community well in the Greater Lancaster Community. He was part of a generation that experienced anti-Semitism in America and took great pride in breaking down those barriers for future generations. Politics was not a forbidden topic in the Geisenberger household. Discussions were encouraged and his children were taught that their opinion was valued but needed to be backed with facts. Yelling insults was not the way to prevail in the courtroom or the dining room. In the 1960’s and 1970’s, he was active in the Republican Party. Jack’s politics evolved and he was deeply concerned with the alt-right faction of the GOP which is anathema to everything he believed. Jack was affiliated with numerous civic and social organizations during his lifetime including the Columbia Lions Club, Columbia Hospital Board, American Red Cross, East Petersburg Boro, and the Elks. Relatives, friends and colleagues are respectfully invited to a Memorial Service to be held at the Fred F. Groff Funeral Home at 234 West Orange Street in Lancaster (parking is available onsite) on Friday November 17th at 11:00 a.m. Family visitation begins at 10:15 a.m. If you prefer we encourage you to dress informally including sports jerseys – Cowboys fans will be admitted at their own risk! Interment occurred at the Shaarai Shomayim Cemetery on Sunday November 12th. Please omit flowers. Memorial contributions may be made to the fund of your choice at Congregation Shaarai Shomayim, 75 East James St., Lancaster, Pa. 17602 or to the Lancaster County Community Foundation, 24 West King St., Lancaster Pa. 17603.