When you choose Ruck Funeral Homes, you’re choosing a team of professionals who adhere to the highest standards of service and compassion. As proud members of national and state funeral associations, we’re trained to provide the specialized care your loved one deserves. Whatever kind of service you have in mind, we’ll work closely with you to make sure every detail reflects their life and legacy.

Before the Ruck name became synonymous with compassionate service, Leonard J. Ruck was simply a young chauffeur for Snowden & McCasland and the George Ruth Funeral Home on Harford Avenue. When he married Margaret L. Finnegan in 1918, love brought him to 6405 Sefton Avenue in Northeast Baltimore. Back then, Harford Road ended abruptly at Hamilton Avenue, where passengers hoping to venture farther north would wait for the occasional “Jerk Water” car to rattle up the road.

Marriage marked a turning point. Leonard began his apprenticeship at the Ruth Funeral Home and quickly discovered his life’s calling. By 1924, he’d earned his credentials as a licensed Funeral Director and Embalmer. That same year, with equal parts ambition and audacity, Leonard J. Ruck opened the first Ruck Funeral Home right in his in-laws’ living room! As business grew, he purchased a three-story building from the northwest corner of Harford Road and Echodale Avenue—and moved it across the street!

Leonard’s dedication became a family legacy. His wife Margaret joined him as a licensed Funeral Director, and all four of their children followed: Leonard F. “Fran” Ruck, Eugene A. “Gene” Ruck, Margaret M. “Mary” Giordanetti, and Bernard C. “Bernie” Ruck, who served as President until his retirement in 1995.

The Ruck legacy expanded in July 1974 with the purchase of the John J. Duda Funeral Home of Dundalk, and again in November 1978 with the acquisition of the Wm. Cook-Brooks Funeral Home, transformed into Ruck Towson Funeral Home. In 1989, the family established Hilltop Service Corporation—a state-of-the-art cremation facility where staff maintains complete oversight throughout the entire process.

After 98 remarkable years, our original Harford Road location closed on January 1, 2022, but what began in a living room over a century ago continues through our Dundalk and Towson locations. Today, third-generation Michael J. “Mike” Ruck leads the firm as President, while his son “Mike” Ruck Jr. serves as Senior Vice-President—the fourth generation to carry forward this commitment.  

Through four generations, one thing has never wavered: our commitment to serving Baltimore families with the dignity, compassion, and personal care that has defined the Ruck name since 1924.