History
The company known today as Rausch Funeral Home, P.A. began in 1974 when John O. Rausch and his wife Myrtle purchased, expanded and built their home onto the Buchanan Funeral Home located on Mt. Harmony Lane in Owings, MD. The funeral home business was established in the mid 1800’s by Francis William “Mr. Billy” Hutchins, and remained in the Hutchins family name until 1969 when the business was sold to A. Kent Buchanan by William Harry Hutchins, Jr. at the time of his retirement. John’s daughter Barbara “Bobbi” Rausch followed her father into the business as a licensed funeral director in the 1970’s, and his son-in-law Bill Gross, also a licensed director, came into the business several years later. Rebecca Gross, Bill and Judy’s daughter, joined the business as a licensed funeral director in 2009.
In 1989 the Rausch family purchased the Borgwardt Funeral Home in Port Republic from Donald Borgwardt. This facility was originally owned and operated by the Harkness family, and for several years prior by Robert Beall.
In 1992, upon John’s retirement, the firm was restructured as Rausch Funeral Home, P.A. and Bobbi, Bill and his wife Judy serve as officers on the Board of Directors.
In February of 2007 the firm opened its third location on H.G. Trueman Road near the former Mill Branch Road intersection in Lusby, MD. This newly constructed facility created, for the first time, a local funeral home in the Lusby/Solomons area that serves the southern part of Calvert County, as well as southwest St. Mary’s County.