Maria Zannino well remembers old days of home funerals in Baltimore.
She and her husband, Joseph, and other family members would take the deceased and all needed materials ? candles, flower stands, chairs ? to the home of the deceased. Thus began a two-to three-day vigil, an important tradition in Baltimore.
For the most part, lifestyles have moved families away from home visitations to have shorter visitations and ceremonies in funeral homes. That?s just one of the many changes the Zannino?s have seen in the 45 years they have owned Joseph N. Zannino Jr. Funeral Home on South Conkling Street in Baltimore City.
“The shorter visitations weren?t our idea. We always do whatever the family wants,” said Maria Zannino, who operates the home with family members, including her husband and son Charles.
“Every aspect ? from the initial contact to the preparation to the service, we always have three to five Zannino family members present. We always give personalized service,” she said.
Such commitment by Zannino and other independents fought off a sizable corporate movement to take over the more than 250 independent funeral homes in Baltimore.
In the mid-1990s well-heeled corporate funeral chains ? including Service Corporation Inc. of Houston and The Loewen Group, Covington, Ky. ? swept through major U.S. cities. The chains sought to acquire as many of the nation?s 22,000 funeral homes as was feasible. Baltimore funeral directors were wined, dined, and given high offers.
“Frankly, they offered to buy us out and offered a lot more than the business is worth. We turned them down,” said Ira Levinson, co-owner and vice president of Sol Levinson & Brothers Inc., which at 1,100 calls a year ranks in the top 2 percent of homes by volume in the United States.
“We live in the community. We care about the community. And that is why we won?t turn our community over to the care of corporate chains,” Levinson said.
The Zannino family felt the same way.
“I don?t think the chains accomplished what they wanted to in Baltimore,” Charles Zannino said. “The independents stood their ground and kept their ethics. Privately owned firms saturate this area and they?ll continue to do so.”
