Madame Suzanne Geffroy Kohn

October 11, 2021 29 Comments

Madame Suzanne Geffroy Kohn, age 95, of Brookhaven passed away peacefully at her home on Sunday, October 3, 2021.  She was surrounded by her family and beloved caregiver Keisha.  Suzanne was born on November 4, 1925 in Le Puy, France.  She was a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, teacher, neighbor and friend.  She was known as “Madame Kohn” to hundreds of French students at St. Pius X High School and Pace Academy and became life long friends with many of her colleagues, students and their families.  Indeed, she loved teaching and continued to teach until her retirement at the age of 79. Survivors include her daughter Annette Kohn- Lau and husband Norman; grandchildren Robert Kohn and wife Jenna, Jordan Lau and fiancée Christine Marsh, Patrick Lau and Laura Hardin and David Lau; great grandchildren Cleo and Nova.  She was preceded in death by her husband Robert Kohn; sons Daniel Kohn and George Kohn. A Celebration of Life will be planned for the Spring of 2022.  In lieu of flowers contributions may be made to Medicins Sans Frontiere (Doctors Without Borders) or to the Brookhaven Police Department K-9 Unit, checks payable to Brookhaven Police Department with K9 Unit in the memo, 2665 Buford Hwy, Brookhaven, GA, 30324.  Arrangements by Lawson Funeral Home, 4532, Hwy 53, Hoschton, GA, 30548, www.lawsonfuneralhome.org, 706-654-0966.

29 thoughts on “Madame Suzanne Geffroy Kohn”

  3. Madame Kohn was one of my best and favorite teachers at St. Pius. I only wish I had been disciplined enough to retain all that she taught me!! May she be spreading joy and enthusiasm in heaven! In sympathy for all of her family

  4. Elle était une véritable inspiration. Je garde tellement de bons souvenirs d’elle. Même quand je devais pratiquer le français avec un stylo serré dans les dents. Les anges seront heureux

  5. Madame Kohn was the best teacher that I had at St. Pius. She recognized the strengths and weaknesses in each of us, her students, and she helped us develop the former and overcome the latter.
    She had the self-confidence and good humor to let us make jokes at her expense; her teaching style was very effective and attractive at the same time.
    There are hundreds of St. Pius alumni who are better people for having known Madame Kohn.

    1. Thank you, Kevin. It is heartwarming to realize the lasting impact my Mom had on so many people. I know that she put her heart and soul into teaching. She was actually still tutoring some teens in the neighborhood just a few years ago! And she was still correcting my French into her last days!

  6. My two years of high school French at St. Pius with Madame Kohn made an indelible impression and I was determined to see Mont Saint Michel, which was featured on the cover of our text book, in person some day. I was there on my 45th birthday and have made several trips to France since. I know Madame Kohn would have been dismayed at my accent, but so proud of how what I learned in her class became the foundation for my love of all things French.
    My sincerest condolences to her family,
    Anne

    1. Thank you, Anne. So glad you got to Mt.
      St. Michel..one of my favorite places on earth!

  7. I am so sorry to hear of Madame Kohn’s passing. As I look back on my years at St. Pius, I feel she taught me more than the beautiful language of her homeland. She taught me to believe in myself. I am sure the angels greeted her with open arms and guided her to the side of our Lord.

    1. Thank you, Linda. She pushed us to be our best! She did pass in peace and I am sure she is rejoicing with the Lord and with all the dogs that, I have been told, do go to heaven!

  8. I was both amazed and saddened to learn of Madame Kohn’s death….amazed at her age and saddened to learn of her passing. I taught at St. Pius. Love to Annette and the family.

    1. Thank you, Eugenia. We were pushing her to get to 100, but I guess a solid “A” was enough! She would be 96 this November 4th.

  9. Madame Kohn was not only an extraordinary teacher—she inspired students to do more and go beyond. My four years of French at St. Pius include so many happy, fun, and challenging memories. As she did with so many others, Madame Kohn inspired a lifelong love of all things French, France, the Tour de France, French literature, dreams of living in Paris. (Now my husband understands the five trips to France once our nest was empty. Everything was exactly as she had described!) Annette, you and your family are in our thoughts. Qu’elle repose en paix.

    1. Thank you, Laura. So glad you got to France…FIVE TRIPS! Wow! Bravo!
      My mom had a long and full life and we are so grateful we had her as long as we did. And she stayed active and engaged with life until her final weeks. We are so blessed.

  10. Madame Kohn was an amazing teacher who valued and understood her students as individuals. She inspired me so much…to explore cultures outside of my own, take risks (she even got me to play a small role in a French play — something completely outside of my comfort zone), work collaboratively, laugh, and become a teacher myself. I still remember specific details about her classes. I am so grateful for her presence in my young life and her passion for literature, ideas, cultures and humanity.
    My condolences to her family.

  11. I was so sorry to hear of Madame Kohn’s passing. She was an inspirational teacher at Pace Academy to me and so many of my friends. My French, these 35 years later, is marginal, but the care she conveyed and her dedication to teaching continue to inspire.

  12. She was such a wonderful neighbor and so selfless – she tutored my kids in French when we home schooled. She loved dogs and knew most of the ones in our neighborhood by name, and of course they all loved her! It was a pleasure to get to know her and we will miss her dearly.

    1. Your family was like family to Mom. I am so grateful that you have been in our lives.

  13. Madame Kohn touched so many lives. She was a wonderful person and teacher. I am so happy she lived such a long, happy life. Au revoir repose en paix.

  15. Suzanne Kohn was an extraordinary woman and wonderful friend, We socialized often with her and Bob before Vick retired from Pace Academy and we moved away from Atlanta in 1999. Great times were had playing bridge, hiking at different places in North Georgia and cooking splendid dinners at each other’s home. Suzanne introduced us to roasted garlic cloves, lentils, anisette and to other fabulous French cooking! We travelled with her to her birthplace city of Le Puy in the 1980s (hiked with her to the top of the ancient volcanic formation to view the chapel!) and had the pleasure of staying with her at both her aunt’s apartment in Lyon and at Chateau de Chavaniac, the ancestral home of the Marquis de LaFayette. She seemed to have boundless vitality and interests and was a remarkable person who is greatly missed.

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