My experience with Joseph H. Brown Funeral Home in Baltimore, Maryland--where do I start?…read more When my father, Warren McLean, passed away at home on May 30, 2026, while under home hospice care, I contacted the funeral home to have him transported. From the very beginning, things went smoothly. The two gentlemen who came to my home, Anthony and Aaron, were professional, compassionate, and respectful. They carefully explained the transportation process and removed my father from our home with dignity and care. When it came time to make funeral arrangements, we met with Mr. Brown Jr. himself. He took the time to explain the process, the services available, and the associated costs. Of course, discussions about expenses are never easy during a time of grief, but I understood that this is a business and there are necessary costs involved. Overall, that part of the process was handled professionally. Next, I worked with Ms. Johnson. Initially, she came across as a little reserved, but as our appointment continued, she warmed up and became very kind and helpful. She answered my questions, guided me through what clothing and items I needed to provide for my father, and made herself available whenever I needed clarification. There was a scheduling error that resulted in my service being double-booked, requiring us to change dates. While that was frustrating, mistakes happen, and Ms. Johnson immediately corrected the issue and accommodated us in other ways. For that, I am grateful. Unfortunately, things became difficult on the day of the viewing. There were several things that were supposed to have been done for my father that were not done. Most importantly, jewelry that I specifically wanted him to wear had not been placed on him. Naturally, my family and I had questions and concerns. When we attempted to get answers from one of the staff members, a brown-skinned gentleman whose name I do not know, we were met with an attitude that was rude, dismissive, and unprofessional. At one point, when my brother was asking questions, he responded by asking if my brother had ever attended mortuary school. No, none of us have attended mortuary school but that was our father lying there. We were grieving, confused, and simply looking for understanding. The issue was never about whether we had professional training. The issue was that we were a grieving family seeking answers. His lack of compassion and poor customer service escalated an already emotional situation. Thankfully, Anthony stepped in and completely changed the tone of the interaction. He took the time to explain everything thoroughly and respectfully. He understood that grief affects people differently and that families often have questions. That is all we wanted from the beginning. The other staff member could have handled the situation the same way, but instead chose to be rude and dismissive. I strongly recommend that this employee receive additional training in customer service and grief sensitivity. Mortuary training may teach the technical aspects of the profession, but customer service and compassion are equally important when dealing with families during one of the most difficult moments of their lives. On the day of the funeral, everything once again went smoothly. Anthony and Aaron were there, and they treated my family with kindness, dignity, and respect. They never made us feel like just another family, another number, or another paycheck. They understood that we were grieving and treated us accordingly. I cannot say enough positive things about Anthony, Aaron, Ms. Johnson, and the lady at the front desk whose name I unfortunately cannot remember. They were professional, compassionate, and caring throughout this process. Mr. Brown Jr., I encourage you to take a closer look at certain members of your staff. While some employees represent your funeral home exceptionally well, others could benefit greatly from additional training in customer service and dealing with grieving families. Despite the issues we experienced, I am thankful for those staff members who treated my father and my family with the dignity, compassion, and respect we deserved during such a difficult time. The McLean Family

I absolutely adore this funeral home. Every time my family uses their services, they perform an…read moreexceptional job. I particularly appreciate how they took excellent care of my father during his time in their care. Aaron and his partner, who drove my family, ensured our comfort and made sure that my sister and I were involved in everything related to our father.

I would have loved to give more stars but unfortunately, Mr. Johnathan has made me lower my score…read more Recently, my mom passed away and my family has used Estep Funeral Home because we have had a great experience with them in the past. They did a wonderful job on my mom making her look so beautiful and peaceful. Everyone there were very nice, sympathetic, and professional. However, there were some confusion with the insurance policy (because Johnathan for some reason could not get the policy numbers correct no matter how many times it was given to him through email or verbally). Eventually, everything cleared up and the funeral home was paid. But during time he was unprofessional with a family member who was helping me with the funeral arrangements and dealing with policy. My family member decided to leave a review about their experience dealing with him and of course it was not a good one. Today, while I am still grieving the passing of my mother, Johnathan called me to question me about the review that my family had given and was very rude, unprofessional, and nasty. It's one thing to call to see what the problem was, how things could have been handled differently, or to just apologize, but to call and be nasty and rude about it and even threaten to respond back to review with a negative comment of your own is downright unprofessional. And from what I see there are other bad reviews here as well as on yelp. My mother is gone, and you are calling her grieving daughter about a review? Are you serious? By you making that call has cause more harm and good. The next time you decide to call a grieving family stop and think first about how that call can affect them and your business.

Very unprofessional! Be sure to get a copy of EVERYTHING or they will try to say that don't have…read moreit! Also be sure to make sure your love one have everything you took to them to put on them. Our loved one didn't have her earrings or her necklace on. They had to go and "look" for them. take your business somewhere else!!

My husband died suddenly and we chose Cremation Society of Maryland because of good reviews. They…read morewere all I could hope for: sympathetic and caring follow up and follow through. They were efficient, practical, and reasonably priced. There was never any pressure to upsell or expand the service we wanted. I view this as particularly important because the event itself makes family members feel very vulnerable and unsure of next steps. They know what they're doing and how to do it well. If cremation is the choice, these are the people you want on your side.

During one of the hardest weeks our family has ever experienced, the Cremation Society of Maryland…read moretreated us with compassion, patience, and dignity. Our family situation was complicated, with authorizations needing to come from multiple people, one family member overseas, and a grieving mother who needed extra time and support. At every step, their staff was kind, respectful, and understanding. They answered our questions, guided us through the process, and never made us feel rushed or pressured. After initially working with another provider that added stress during an already overwhelming time, finding the Cremation Society of Maryland felt like finding people who genuinely cared about helping families through difficult circumstances. We are deeply grateful for their professionalism, empathy, and the dignity with which they helped us care for our loved one. Thank you for making a painful process a little easier for our family.

My daughter and I were at a loss trying to get the proper paper work in order to lay her mom in…read morepeace. After trying multiple county, and state agencies, only to be told that we didn't have the documents needed, ( they were left in the house nowhere to be found) to have her RIP. Ms. Danielle Shaw, of Peaceful Alternatives, stepped in and within in a hour put our worries to rest. She gave us a step by step process which showed compassion, dignity, and positivity when we needed it most. We couldn't thank her enough. If you need peace of mind at this rough time go see Danielle

Our family had a very positive experience. The staff was kind and professional. Everything was…read morecarefully explained. Pricing clear. No upselling. In a difficult time they were comforting.

This rating is noting that i really want to give at all I will never recommend this funeral home…read moreservice to no one the funeral director that's services and finalized my love one was horrible l. The makeup was totally wrong the makeup was two tone the color on her chin was different from the make up on different parts of her face. The wings was old and not fresh look its totally bad when someone has a love one that has pass the family wants to have there love one look has close has they remembered. Our love one didn't look NOTHING LIKE HER SELF this is far from me just being in my feeling it just wasn't professional. Ill never recommend this service

Please be careful using this funeral home. When we visited my grandmother at the funeral home, we…read morewere shocked and upset because she looked like a totally different person. My coworker had to calm my sister down by telling her it's just a shell and our grandmother is in heaven. My grandmother's nose was made small, her face and neck spread wide, false eyelashes on, and very heavy dark foundation caked on her face not matching her neck and hands. My grandmother never liked make up or false eyelashes and they should have asked my aunt if it was okay to put that on my grandmothers face or try to go for a more natural look and left her facial bone structure alone. The funeral home did such a horrible job on my grandmother's face that our family members and friends asked my aunt, uncles, and I, what happened to her face because it don't look like her. I told them it was the funeral home.

This was for someone my family knew so we weren't there for very long. I can tell you that the…read morevalleys were really respectful and they appreciated our every request, helping us get out by trying to avoid traffic and accidents at all costs; apparently there has been many in the past.

The funerals for several of my family members were handled by Mitchell-Wiedefeld including both of…read moremy mother's parents. Fortunately it's been a few years since I've been there, but if "Six Feet Under" is any indication I doubt the staff turnover is very high and they're probably still doing the right thing. Overall the facility is very nice and accommodated us well. The people working there were very attentive, even to the point of assuring that certain items made it from the viewing to the cemetery (including the body, but I digress). I really like the neighborhood, too. That's kind of a hindsight thing, but I thought it was important to mention.

Growing up in Baltimore County, I see change everywhere and not always in the good direction…read more A constant has always been Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens. Meticulous detail to the grounds has always been priority one. It is nice to see high standards kept and continuing on even today.

So This is strange I think.. writing a review for a cemetery, but they deserve their kudos. I…read moreaccompanied a friend who was in desperate need of a final resting place for her father's ashes. I was struck by the sincerity of the staff.. not the usual slickness that is accompanied by questionable sympathy. My friend was never rushed or pressurred.. and the represenative that worked with us was a truly likeable and easygoing guy. I also like that this business donates plots to fallen police and firemen. I will say the office building is quite outdated and a bit run down.. Actually doesn't smell that great.... but that is not why we come. We come for the grounds... which are beautiful and cater to a wide variety of cultures. It is very interesting to see the different ways people memorialize their loved ones, America is a melting pot and so are our funeral/burial customs. The niche here leans way from the mainstream American cemetary... although it certainly isnt too far out of the box. It is nice that they make it clear that they can find a way to honor almost any cultural tradition. They don't have headstones( just in laid markers) ... so all you see is beautiful green punctuated by a few family mausoleums. There is a lake in the middle with swans and ducks.It is placed on some gently sloping hills with some tall old trees. They have several themed gardens.. including a heroes garden, and lovely tranquility garden ( catering to the Asian population) .. as well as several others. Usually cemeteries are such depressing, creepy places.. but this looks like a well maintained park.. The main mausoleum, is quite nice and airy.. It has gone through a few style incarnations over the years.. but it actually works well... i found the building to have a very serene overall effect. I came to be of comfort to a friend, but also ended up finding a place that just might suit my own family one sad day.