Sagel Bloomfield Danzansky Goldberg Funeral Care is proud to serve the Jewish community with dignified Jewish & green burials to families throughout Maryland, Washington DC, and Northern Virginia. In a Jewish funeral, the focus is on prayers, psalms, and a eulogy, with mourners often participating in the burial process by filling the grave with earth.
They are members of the Jewish Funeral Directors of America. JFDA was organized in 1932 and is the oldest and largest organization of its kind with members in the United States and Canada. Albert Bloomfield is the current JFDA President.
History of Danzansky and Goldberg
The funeral home’s roots date back to the establishment of the Danzansky Funeral Parlor in 1920. It quickly became a vital part of the Greater Washington Jewish community, known for its community involvement and charitable work.
In the late 1960s, Danzansky merged with the Goldberg family’s funeral business, forming Danzansky-Goldberg Chapels. This merger helped solidify its reputation as a leading Jewish funeral provider in the region.
During the 1970s, the business moved from Washington, D.C., to Rockville, Maryland, establishing a prominent location on Rockville Pike that became a local landmark.
In 1991, the Goldberg family sold their interest in the company to Service Corporation International (SCI), the largest provider of death care in the country.
Edward Sagel, a first-generation funeral director, began his career at Danzansky-Goldberg in 1991. After a period under SCI management, Sagel founded his own funeral home, Edward Sagel Funeral Direction, in 1994. SCI eventually acquired both Sagel’s firm and Danzansky-Goldberg Memorial Chapels.
Present-Day Sagel Bloomfield
In 2014, Edward Sagel, alongside Albert Bloomfield (a third-generation funeral director with deep roots in the Jewish funeral industry), purchased both Danzansky-Goldberg Memorial Chapels and Sagel Funeral Direction from SCI. This marked a return to independent, locally-focused ownership.
Because well-known Danzansky Goldberg played a significant role in the Jewish community of the Washington metropolitan area, Sagel Bloomfield honors their predecessors by keeping the name. There are no longer any Danzansky or Goldberg family members participating in the business.
A Commitment to Service
They provide cremation services, burial services, and an onsite chapel.
Bloomfield said, "Funeral service in general, nationwide, is ... a very traditional business." He said their industry is very slow to change. On the other hand, both Sagel and Bloomfield worked for SCI and saw many of the forward-thinking things they do. The problem is, SCI is so big it's hard to roll out new, creative ideas to the local level.
He continued to say, “When we bought the business back from SCI in 2014, having both [Sagel and Bloomfield] worked in New Jersey and here in Maryland for SCI for about 18 years, we saw that there was great opportunity for us to take our time in the industry and our expertise, along with our staff, to really think about what we can do differently, and then to be able to actually implement those changes and put them into place to then serve our community better.”
They take a personal interest in each customer. They operate based on Jewish values that “the community will take care of us if we take care of it.” Bloomfield said, “We try not to say no to any families … [and] will bend over backwards to help a family. In the last 10 years, we’ve donated in-kind services, upwards of $300,000, to families in need who didn’t have the ability to pay for their funerals.”
Sagel has been licensed since 1991, and Bloomfield since 1993. Both have sons who are studying to become licensed – it’s a family business.
Online Obituaries
On their website, you can leave a message of condolence, and use the obituaries search feature to find the latest local obituaries & death notices. You will discover beautiful and respectful online tribute pages where you can leave messages of support for families, share stories and photos, and make charitable donations.
Memorial Trees
Another option in the Online Obituaries section of the website is for others to plant one or more trees as a way to show the family they care. When they choose to have a memorial tree planted for your loved one, they are doing more than simply putting a plant in the ground. They are making a long-term commitment to the environment, ensuring the memories of your loved one will last on our planet for countless years to come.
In addition to making this service available through
Monument Division
Sagel Bloomfield Danzansky Goldberg Funeral Care, Monument Division, offers outdoor memorial plaques, bronze markers, granite markers, mausoleums, monuments, and headstones. Their Monument Division specialists have helped families of all faiths in Maryland and DC select and design permanent tributes for loved ones.
The caring and experienced professionals will guide you through the entire process: creating a unique design, securing the necessary cemetery permits, and the final installation or unveiling of the monument. They offer personalized memorials, outdoor memorial benches, headstones, footstones, bronze signs, or bronze plaques for pets, civic groups, parks, and cemeteries. Many products can be personalized with photos or etchings customized to your needs.
Pets Are Family, Too
Since 2020, pet funeral services have been available from their sister company, Forever Faithful Pet Cremation & Funeral Care. Saying goodbye to a beloved pet is never easy, and they are honored to support families across the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area during such an emotional time. Many local pet parents have shared heartfelt messages about the compassion and care they received through this service.
For More Information
Sagel Bloomfield Danzansky Goldberg Funeral Care is located at 170 Rollins Avenue in Rockville. They stand ready to assist you. If a death has occurred, they invite you to call them at 301-340-1400.
They are proud to serve the Jewish community and invite you to explore their website https://www.sagelbloomfield.com to learn more about their Jewish funeral services.
If you have any questions or concerns about Forever Faithful Pet Cremation & Funeral Care, please do not hesitate to contact them at 240-428-1348 or visit https://www.foreverfaithfulcares.com/contact-us/rockville-md.
David Robert Lambert is a freelance writer and certified pickleball coach who has lived in Potomac for over 30 years. He enjoys traveling the world with his wife, Deborah.