About Us

With two locations in Abingdon and Bel Air, Maryland, McComas Funeral Home is proud to be among the best-known and respected funeral homes in Maryland.

Unlike funeral homes that are part of large corporations, McComas Funeral Home is owned and managed by the McComas family, just as it has been since 1808. Today the sixth consecutive generation of the family continues its tradition of serving families just like yours with care and professionalism.

Certainly, the range and nature of services provided by McComas Funeral Home has grown and changed throughout its two hundred-year history. Yet, the McComas family remains committed to respectfully honoring those who have died and compassionately meeting the emotional needs of family and friends. It is the goal of everyone at McComas Funeral Home to carry out each family’s wishes and pay attention to every detail, so that after your experience, you will feel that you and your family have received the finest assistance available.

Howard K. McComas III

Howard K. McComas III was born on December 6, 1943 in Harford County, Maryland. He is the son of Howard Kennard McComas, Jr. and Nena Sewell McComas. Howard was raised in Abingdon at the old McComas Funeral Home, one block from the present McComas Funeral Home building. Howard graduated from Edgewood High School in June 1961 and began serving his funeral director and embalmer apprenticeship under his father at the McComas Funeral Home. He attended Eckles College of Mortuary Science in Philadelphia and graduated in March 1964.

Howard is very active in his community. He has been a member of Cokesbury United Methodist Church since 1954 and currently serves on the Board of Trustees. In 1959 Howard became a member of the Abingdon Volunteer Fire Company where he is still a member and served as Assistant Chief for five years in the late 1960's and early 1970's. Howard, along with his wife Judy, live in Abingdon.  

In 1971, Howard and his mother Nena, formed the Howard K. McComas III Funeral Home at the present location.

Email: howard@mccomasfuneralhome.com

Howard K. McComas IV

Born and raised in Abingdon, Maryland, Howard K. McComas IV is part of the sixth generation of the McComas family in the funeral business. He is a 1985 graduate of Edgewood High School. After high school Howard attended Lynchburg College and Appalachian State University in North Carolina, where he received his B.S. degree in Business Administration.

Howard is active in the community, serving on the Board of Trustees of Harford Community College, the Board of Directors of the Boys and Girls Club and the Advisory Board of Harford Hospice.

Howard is Vice-President of the McComas Funeral Home, P.A. He lives in Bel Air, Maryland with his wife, Cheryl, and his sons, Howard V (Quentin) and Reagan.

Email: howardk@mccomasfuneralhome.com

Holly McComas Pennington

Holly McComas Pennington has been around the family business all of her life and has been a licensed funeral director since 1994. Holly is a 1988 graduate of Edgewood High School and a 1992 graduate of Salisbury State University with a B.S. degree in Business Management. In 1994, she graduated from Catonsville Community College with an A.A. degree in Mortuary Science.

Holly finds joy in helping others through difficult times, and she is committed to carrying on the McComas tradition of her family serving your family. She strives to do so with the compassion instilled in her by her ancestors, especially her late grandmother, Nena S. McComas.

Holly married Steve Pennington in November 1998. They live in Abingdon.

Email: holly@mccomasfuneralhome.com

Stephen A. Hughes

Stephen A. Hughes was born, and grew up in, Harford Co., and graduated from Edgewood High School. Steve began his employment with the McComas Funeral Home, P.A. in 1972. He has earned his license as an Embalmer and Certified Funeral Service Practitioner. He graduated from Catonsville Community College, with a degree in Mortuary Science, where he has served on the Advisory Board. Steve attends St. Francis Catholic Church and is a member of the Abingdon Volunteer Fire Company. He and his wife, Laureen, have raised two sons, Adam and Ryan, and one daughter, Shelby. They have been very active in Youth Community Activities with the Emmorton Recreational Council, serving in various capacities in Baseball, Softball, Swimming, and Basketball. Steve has also served as a Wolf, Bear, and Webelos Cub Scout Den Leader, and as a Harford County 4-H Assistant Leader. Steve is also a member of the Maryland State Funeral Directors Association and the National Funeral Directors Association

Since 1996, Steve has assisted families in selecting and designing monuments and memorials to be placed at the site of their family members.

Email: steve@mccomasfuneralhome.com

Charles A. Emge, Jr.

Charles A. Emge, Jr. is a 1985 graduate of Edgewood High school. He worked at the Panasonic Warehouse in Glen Burnie, Md for a few years and then moved on to work with the United Parcel Service in Dundalk, Md. After working at UPS, Charlie then began working for the Klein's Grocery Store chain as an Assistant Manager for a few years.

These different career backgrounds never would have pointed in the direction of funeral service; if it was not for the opportunity given by long time friend Howard K. McComas IV. Charlie has been employed with the funeral home since 1994. Graduated in 1997 from Catonsville Community College with a Mortuary Science Degree.

In October, 1998 Charlie married Lisa Ann Siptroth. They reside in Bel Air with daughter, Kelly Ann, and sons Eric Michael and Matthew James. When not spending time with his family he enjoys drawing and painting.

Email: charles@mccomasfuneralhome.com

Kathleen Santivasci

Kathleen Santivasci (Weber) joined McComas Funeral Home in 2008, where she serves as a licensed funeral director and embalmer. Having grown up in Baltimore, Kathleen became a first generation funeral director after graduating from Catonsville Community College Mortuary Science Program in 1989. Her apprenticeship training came under the direction of the Edward J. Weber Funeral Homes in Baltimore in 1990. Kathleen continued her career with the Weber family as a licensed funeral director and embalmer.  In 2007, Kathleen earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Human Services from the College of Notre Dame of Maryland, where she also was inducted into the National Honor Society in Psychology.

A resident of Harford County since 1999, Kathleen has two adult children, Deanna and Vincent, and is incredibly proud to be the grandmother of Reese and Brooke Talbott and Chase Vickers. Kathleen attends Mountain Christian Church and has volunteered as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) in Baltimore City since 2000. She also is a successful author who has written about and facilitated adult and teen bereavement educational programs. In 2002 she received the “Governors Choice Award” for her commitment to youth.

Email: kathleen@mccomasfuneralhome.com

Melissa Kennedy

Melissa Kennedy has been part of the McComas Funeral Home team of professionals since 2007. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Business from West Virginia Wesleyan College in 1999. She graduated from the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science in 2000 and became a licensed mortician in Maryland in 2001 while working in Montgomery County. Melissa also is licensed in Ohio, Virginia and the District of Columbia. In 2005 she received her insurance license.

Melissa now serves families through McComas Funeral Home, where she works with families to help them pre-plan their funeral arrangements. She enjoys working with people and considers her greatest gift to be helping them in their time of need.

Email: melissa@mccomasfuneralhome.com

Barbara L. Purdie

Barbara L. Purdie, joined McComas Funeral Home in December 2009, where she serves as a licensed Funeral Director and Embalmer. Barbara earned her B.S. degree in Business Administration, Management, at the University of Baltimore in 1995. It was not until years later after her youngest son started school that she decided to go back to college to study Mortuary Science, where she could help others through their difficult time of need. In 2007, Barbara, graduated Summa Cum Laude from The Community College of Baltimore County with a Mortuary Science Degree and was elected into the Alpha Eta Society. 

Barbara married her husband Dennis in 1989. They reside in Northern Baltimore County with their sons, Matthew, Daniel, Tommy, and Michael. She is actively involved with the PTA and the Hereford Recreation Council.

Email: barbara@mccomasfuneralhome.com

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