(PENROSE, Colo.) — In the wake of the shocking discovery of over 115 bodies improperly stored inside the Return to Nature Funeral Home in Penrose, family members of the deceased are now grappling with renewed grief and a profound sense of betrayal.
One of the affected families had used the services of Return to Nature Funeral Home not once but twice. Their first experience with the facility occurred back in 2018 when they entrusted their beloved mother, who had a deep love for nature, to the home’s green cremation services.
The promise of a biodegradable cremation and a tree planted in her honor in a national forest had given them peace during a difficult time. This summer, they turned to the same facility again for another family member. However, their hopes of a dignified farewell have now been shattered, as they are still awaiting the ashes they may never receive.
It has been two agonizing months since Mary Simons lost her husband, Darrel.
She fondly recalls, “My world came crashing down when my husband died, and I was finally starting to live just a little bit again… There’s just no hope that he’s not there.”
She believed that his body had been sent to the Return to Nature Funeral Home for a biodegradable cremation on August 15. However, her world was shattered anew when she discovered that the same facility she had entrusted her husband to was the very one where the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office had uncovered 115 bodies improperly stored.
Simons shares her anguish, saying, “Since this has happened, my whole world crashed again. It’s so hard because you can’t help but think about him just laying there rotting away.”
The revelation has left her haunted, wondering about the state of her husband’s body.
Fremont County Sheriff’s Office revealed that the Penrose facility spans 2,500 square feet, leaving families to imagine the unsettling conditions in which their loved ones may have been left.
Anna Davisson, Darrel’s sister-in-law, expresses her distress, stating, “You start thinking about, okay, so it’s this big, there’s this much space… I mean, it makes you feel like you’re going to vomit like you don’t want to think about it.”
Fremont County property records further reveal that the Penrose funeral home’s license had expired due to failing to file a routine reporting form by the end of July.
Davisson raises critical questions about oversight, stating, “When you have the hospital contacting these people and they’re getting them… Do they not have to show a license or anything like it?”
The family now wondering who would do something like this.
“The thought that anybody could take advantage of people that are at their most vulnerable… There’s no excuse for it. It’s a pure evil. I don’t know how else to look at it,” said Davisson.
Davisson has taken it upon herself to create a private Facebook group for the affected family members.
She explains, “I wanted these people to be able to come forward together and discuss in a safe space where they don’t have to worry about people being rude or disrespectful.”
Mary Simons joins in, saying, “I’d love to just know that I’m not alone. And I want you to know that you’re not alone either.”
FOX21 reached out to the Return to Nature Funeral Home for comment but has yet to receive a response. Family members of decedents who have used their services can find support and connect with others in a similar situation through Davisson’s Facebook group here: Facebook Group Link.
The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office is urging family members of decedents who utilized the Return to Nature Funeral Home to contact them at [email protected] or call the Fremont Emergency Management line at (719) 276-7421 as investigations into this shocking case continue. Victim’s assistance personnel are now responding to messages.
For more coverage of this story tune into FOX21 News at 9 pm on Sunday 10/8.
FOX21 will continue to provide updates on this situation as more information becomes available to us.
