Olde Towne Funeral Home of Manassas
“Holding hearts close when it matters the most”
History
While Olde Towne Funeral Home is a new business, the building itself has been part of the Manassas community for over a century. Baker Funeral Home first operated a funeral business at this location in the 1920’s. For over 80 years, the Baker family served Manassas and the surrounding areas until Clifford and Linda Blasius purchased the business and property in 1979. After almost 20 years, and in celebration of the funeral home’s 100th anniversary, the Blasius family added their name to create Blasius-Baker Funeral Home.
In 1997, Mr. and Mrs. Blasius sold the business to ECI, which was then purchased by SCI, however, the property remained in the family. In 2007, Robert Pierce, owner of Pierce Funeral Home, bought the property from the Blasius family. After many years of sitting empty, Courtney Pierce, his daughter, decided to reopen it as a funeral home once again.
Many of you will remember the historic funeral home from years past. However, once you step inside, you will find a beautiful and bright interior that feels nothing like a traditional funeral establishment, but rather like you walked into someone’s home. We hope this helps families to feel more relaxed and at peace during what can be a very stressful time in their lives.
We look forward to serving your family.
Our Team
Lori Blasius Burke (Funeral Director)
Lori was raised in Olde Towne Manassas where her family owned and operated Blasius-Baker Funeral Home. She graduated from Osbourn High School in 1995. After high school, she continued her education at the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science where she received her Associate’s Degree in 2000.
Lori is unique in that she witnessed firsthand just how dedicated one must be to be a funeral director. She began working at an early age doing odd jobs around the funeral home. This led her to become more involved with the business. Trained by her father, Cliff Blasius, her “uncle” Tom Lester, and dear family friend, Gary Maxwell, Lori has been able to perfect her own skills by using the decades of experience from her mentors. Every family has different needs and Lori believes each family deserves her full attention. This has led to her maintaining many personal relationships with the families she has served over the years. Lori has been a licensed funeral director since 2000.
She lives in Catlett with her husband, Charles, and their two boys, Ridge and CW. Lori enjoys watching her boys play sports and spending time with her large extended family. She also loves to decorate, paint, and refinish furniture.
Gabe Chase (Funeral Associate)
Gabe is one of our funeral associates, who became interested about the funeral business after his family had to bury a loved one. He was born in Fairfax, Virginia and lived most of his life in the Northern Virginia area. He graduated from Osbourn High School in 2019 and is currently pursuing a career in law enforcement. An avid Saints fan, Gabe enjoys visiting New Orleans, admiring the stores in the French Quarter and learning about the history of the beautiful city. In his spare time, Gabe spends his days playing his Bass and Drums and listening to metal music.
Elaine Lee (Funeral Associate)
Elaine Lee was born and raised in Manassas Park and has lived the majority of her life in the Manassas area. Elaine graduated from Manassas Park High School and has spent the last 30 years working in various public safety positions to include fire and rescue, sworn police officer, animal control as well as emergency communications. Elaine is currently an Emergency Communications specialist at the Manassas City Police Department where she also is a mental health advocate for employees of the police department.
Elaine has two children Katelyn (Matt) and Andrew (Bri) as well as two grandsons Everett and Porter. She spends her free time with her three cats, dancing, hiking, kayaking and anything outdoors. Elaine has a passion for helping others, especially in a time of distress, and her calming manner is invaluable. Elaine has been a long-time friend of the Blasius family, and believes that working at Olde Town Funeral Home will be an ideal opportunity to give back to the people of this community.
Ronda Brown (Funeral Associate)
Ronda was born and raised in Manassas, Va. and graduated from Osbourn Senior High School, Longwood and George Mason Universities holding multiple advanced degrees in education.
For over 44 years, Ronda continues to work for the Manassas City Public School System.
Ronda spends her free time out at Brown Hall Farm where she enjoys working with horses creating team development and leadership programs for educators and businesses.
Working at Olde Towne Funeral Home will be an excellent opportunity to serve the community through caring, compassion, poise, and precision to meet the needs of all.
Ann Benkoski (Funeral Associate)
Ann was born in Framingham, Massachusetts where she spent most of her adult life. Due to her husband’s job, their family relocated to Manassas, VA in 1998. It was shortly after that she became the Sacristan for All Saints Catholic Church where she served for 17 years until her retirement.
Ann has three children: Kim, David and Sue; and eight grandchildren: Paige, Danielle, Matthew, Caleb, Jacob, Brooke, Morgan and Emerson. She enjoys spending time with her family, walks in the park, and good conversations with friends.