About Us
The Witzke Family has been providing funeral services to families, in their time of need, continuously since the establishment of the first Witzke Funeral Home in 1912. Craig Witzke’s, great –grandfather established the first Witzke Funeral Home with his wife Lois at 510 Ramsey Street in Baltimore City.
Over the last 100 years the funeral home moved to Lombard St., then to Hollins Ave. and then to 4101 Edmondson Ave., very near the County line. The Witzke family operated at this location until 1969 when a location at 1630 Edmondson Ave., in Catonsville, was opened. In 1980 a branch location was opened in Columbia, Maryland.
Ownership of the funeral home passed from Harry H. Witzke, Sr. upon his death to his wife Lois and then to their two sons Harry H. and Leroy M. Witzke, upon her death. Ownership of the funeral home then passed on to Russell C. Witzke. In 1996 Witzke Funeral homes were acquired by a publicly traded company based out of Houston Texas. This syndicate still operates the locations on Edmondson Ave and Twin Knolls Rd, under the Witzke name.
Today, 100 years after his great grandfather established the first Witzke Funeral Home, Craig Witzke is following in his families footsteps. Craig, a licensed funeral director for over 25 years opened Candle Light Funeral Home, to carry on the Witzke Family tradition of offering the highest level of personalized service.
Craig is a lifelong Catonsville resident with 25 years of experience in funeral service. He is a graduate of Mt. St. Joseph High School and the Mortuary Program at Catonsville Community College.
CANDLE LIGHT FUNERAL HOME by CRAIG WITZKE, IS FAMILY OWNED AND OPERATED AND NOT AFFILIATED WITH ANY OTHER BUSINESSES THAT USE THE NAME "WITZKE FUNERAL HOMES"
Our Building's History
Candle Light Funeral Home by Craig Witzke is located in the recently renovated Historic Candle Light Inn. 1835 Frederick Rd. (at Rolling Road).
The Candle Light has a long history in the Catonsville community. The original house, surrounded by rolling farmland and known as Five Oaks Estate, was built in the mid 1800’s. The house changed hands three times before the mid 1920’s when the Roger’s family began the pleasant tradition of offering afternoon tea and light fare in the parlors and on the gracious porch which once wrapped around the north and east side of the house. Ten or twelve cottages were built behind the house to accommodate people traveling between Baltimore and Washington and the Five Oaks Estate became the Candle Light Lodge. In the early 1940’s the house was purchased by Anna May Calk who served a beautiful spread of traditional Maryland food for over 20 years. Anna May retired in the early 1960’s and sold the lodge to Charles and Ginny Dukehart, who renamed the inn and maintained it for close to 15 years, until an electrical fire destroyed the porch and the adjoining dining room. After the fire the Dukeharts sold the inn and it remained vacant for nearly one year until a group of local investors rebuilt the damaged portions of the building. The Lombardini family, purchased the inn in 1979 and continued to provide the fine food until January 2014. Today, the Witzke Family has restored the building to it's original grandeur.
