YES

We’re Available to YOU and Your Family 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. You can Call us Day or Night, 719-475-0583

YES You Can! Embalming is NOT Required by Law under most all circumstances. 

You might be under the impression, as many are, that choosing Cremation without Embalming means that viewing your loved one’s body one last time is either illegal or likely to be highly distressing. Movies, television, and encounters with ‘traditional’ funeral professionals are apt to leave you with the impression that embalming is necessary to keep a body for long enough to make proper arrangements or allow friends and relatives to have time to travel to the funeral. This is simply NOT TRUE!

It’s entirely possible in the great majority of individuals to arrange for a formal "traditional" viewing, open to friends and loved ones, without resorting to toxic chemicals. 

Many people are afraid of subjecting their dear ones to the sight of them in death. “It’s just a shell,” they say. “I want them to remember me as I was, not lying in a casket.” That’s valid, but consider this: for many people, being able to see their loved one’s face one last time and take their leave at their own pace is an important part of achieving closure and beginning the healing process. You may be ‘sparing’ those who love you from something they need and want very badly.

Instead, if it’s possible, talk to those close to you and see what they have to say about it – and perhaps even allow them room to change their minds when the moment arrives. They may be surprised to discover that they feel entirely differently than they thought they would. There’s no way to anticipate how anyone will feel or behave when they’re in the immediate aftermath of loss. 

EMBALMING DOES NOT have to take place to see or to hold a scheduled visitation with your loved one. You can spend a few Final Moments right here at the Funeral Home with them before Cremation or Burial.

The Answer is YES, under the right circumstances and conditions you can still view your loved one. Please contact us to visit with one of our Experienced and Educated Funeral Directors for further information.

Medicaid WILL PAY for specific Funeral / Cremation services if the minimal Medicaid requirements are met. We have a GREAT relationship with Medicaid & We Work Directly with Medicaid on YOUR behalf.

Contact Us for MORE INFORMATION

YES we have a Beautiful Chapel that holds 60 visitors. It's Perfect for a Memorial Service. Please Contact us for more information.

A Funeral or Memorial Service provides many purposes to you and your family. A service provides…

• Helps confirm the reality and finality of your loved one passing away.

• Provides a climate of mourning and the expression of grief.

• Allows the sorrows of one to become the sorrows of all.

• Is the only time when love is given and not expected in return.

• Is a vehicle for the community to pay respects.

• Encourages the affirmation of religious faith.

• Is a declaration that a life has been lived.

The Funeral - Memorial Service allows people to remember and honor their loved one in a special way. It serves as a central gathering place for family and friends to give emotional support to one another. It encourages mourners to face the pain of their loss and express their thoughts and feelings. It helps the survivors to better cope with their grief and enables them to move forward in their lives. It initiates the grief process while bringing closure to the death.

When we speak of the Funeral - Memorial Services we should define it in the terms of today. Many picture the Funeral - Memorial Service as an exclusively religious event with the body present in a casket, followed by earth interment or with an urn sitting in the center of a church. This is no longer the case at all. So many options exist for Funeral - Memorial Services.

By Funeral - Memorial Service we mean the post-death activities that may include any type of meaningful ceremony to commemorate the life of the deceased. With or without a casket or an urn present.

While affirming the comfort and solace many find in the rites of their church, we also acknowledge that religious services may be inappropriate for those who do not have a religious affiliation.

The Funeral - Memorial Service should meet the needs of the family. The service, whether religious in nature or not, may include personal reading, stories, memorial videos, or anecdotes about the deceased, eulogies by family members, and songs of meaning to the family.

We believe that death is both a private and a public matter. While the death of a family member is a very personal loss, that death also effects distant family, friends, and the community at large.

Families who might not see the value in a service or desire “private” services should be urged to consider the needs of others to express their own grief at the loss of this person.

While some would view a Funeral - Memorial Service as a painful experience and would thus want to avoid it, it is in reality a first step towards healing.

Even the very act of arranging for a Funeral - Memorial Service can be thought of as therapeutic in that the grieving person is engaged in meaningful activities that force them to communicate, make decisions, and interact with others.

We acknowledge that cremation is an alternative to earth burial or entombment as a form of disposition of the body. It does not and should not be thought of as an alternative to having a Funeral or a Memorial Service.

The Funeral - Memorial Service is mainly for the living. It provides a means of saying farewell. Saying goodbye is a healthy way to begin moving forward. Please allow us the opportunity to provide you and your family with all the different options Return to Nature Burial & Cremation has to offer families with regards to Funeral and Memorial.

YES You Can host a Funeral Service, Memorial Service, Military Honors or Viewing / Visitation right in Your Own Home.

Home Funerals are part of a sweeping change in how people perceive death and dying and choose to celebrate and grieve the newly departed. Many Funeral Homes want no part of this trend. We at Return to Nature, however, understand that to stay relevant in any field means to grow and change with the times. Instead of discouraging this new (and very old) way of doing things, we’d like to help. We can offer the resources and legal information you need to arrange a Home Funeral service and Help YOU to integrate components of a Home Funeral with "modern" Funeral practices.

Green / Natural Burial is a return to the traditional way of burial. No chemicals, metal or unnatural materials. Just you and the Earth, returning to nature. Interment of the bodies is done in a biodegradable casket, basket, shroud, or even nothing at all. No embalming fluid, no concrete vaults. As natural as possible.

We Have TWO Local Cemeteries right here in Colorado Springs that Allow for Green Burial. We hope to see more area cemeteries begin to welcome this return to tradition.

Please Contact Us for More Information about Green Burial Services and Options.

When is the Right Time to Pre-Plan your Burial or Cremation ? The answer is RIGHT NOW. Why leave the ultimate Celebration of YOUR LIFE and your Final Disposition to last minute decisions?

What is Pre-Planning ?

Pre-Planning, also known as Pre-Need or Pre-Arrangements are the final plans that people make for themselves or others before that person actually passes away. They can be funded or unfunded.

AT-NEED Burial or Cremation arrangements are made at the time of death, usually by surviving family members or by a trusted friend on behalf of the deceased. Making Burial or Cremation plans at the time of death are particularly difficult because the time frame is short and emotions are high as survivors are dealing with their grief. Not only is there much planning to do, there are also imminent financial concerns.

If any of the following questions concern you, then you are probably someone who would appreciate the benefits of Pre-Planning your Funeral, Burial, Memorial or Cremation services.

Do YOU want to ease the burden on your family? If your wishes are unknown when you pass away, they will be faced with making difficult decisions at a trying time. Will they know if you wish to be buried or cremated? Will they agree on an open or closed casket? Will they agree on how much to spend? Who will pay for everything? Will they need certified death certificates? What for? Who will know what to dress you in? Where would you like to be placed? Confusion and disagreements are common occurrences when there is no plan to follow. You can avoid this by leaving behind a plan. It's a simple solution.

Leaving a Plan does NOT mean you have to Pre-Pay for your Funeral. YES Pre-Paying does make things easier BUT just having a plan on paper can make a world of difference for your family. Please have something written down.

Do YOU want your family to have the benefit of a meaningful Funeral or Memorial Service? A Funeral and/or Memorial Service is an important event for a grieving family. Psychologically, it provides a sense of closure and enables the family to begin the healing process. Families benefit emotionally and socially by honoring the lives of their loved ones with a fitting Celebration of Life. It can be difficult to make the Funeral or Memorial service the absolute best it can be when planning in a short amount of time with no direction.

Do YOU want your final wishes to be followed? If you have specific preferences for the final disposition of your remains and the nature of your Funeral or Memorial Services, you can clearly express them in Pre-Planning forms. You may have a preference for burial or cremation, if you want seen or not, the epitaph on your headstone, or the music and readings at your service. Or you may not want any ceremony at all. Whatever YOUR wishes, they need to be set forth in YOUR PLAN.

Do YOU want to be self-reliant and have your affairs in order at the end of your life? Taking care of your final arrangements is a thoughtful and caring thing to do for your loved ones. It is comforting to know that you have done all you can do to ease their burden. You can be assured they will appreciate you thinking of them, even after you're gone.

With or Without PRE-PAYING please fill out the Pre-Planning forms. We will keep your forms in a safe and secure location until the day they are needed.

It does NOT COST anything to be prepared.

Please stop by to pick up the Pre-Planning forms from our office at 123 East Las Animas Street, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80903 or download the PDF file titled Pre-Planning right here on our website. Once you have finished filling out ALL the questions to the best of your ability please return the completed forms to us by email, regular mail or please drop off your Pre-Planning forms to our office.

Pre-Planning your Burial or Cremation services in advance is a wise and responsible thing to do for your loved ones. Plan Your Service Your Way & protect Your loved ones from the unknown.

A child can suffer from death much like adults, but with even less understanding. When dealing with children, it is important to realize that they probably know more than what we give them credit for.

While parents naturally want to “protect” their children from hurt, even the youngest child knows that something is terribly wrong and wants to know why everyone is crying. Such overprotection only serves to rob the child of an opportunity to develop coping skills necessary later on in life, when no parent can protect them from grief because it is the parent who has died.

Preschoolers generally view death as temporary. They play games where someone is “dead’ and then gets back up again. Children ages 5-9 generally view death as permanent, final, and universal. They tend to personify death as a person or ghost that carries off people. (So do some adults.) Children from age 10 and up into their teens may show an unwillingness to talk about their feelings. Being young, they believe that death is a long ways off and rarely consider it on a personal level.

To help a child deal with a death:

• Be open to their questions. Answer them truthfully and as completely as possible, given the age of the child. If you don’t know the answer, just say so.

• Include the child. If they want to attend the funeral, let them. If they want to view the body with the rest of the family, let them. Make them feel a part of the family. Do not however, force them to participate in things they do not want to participate in.

• Avoid euphemisms. The person did not “pass away” they died. The person is not “lost.”

• Watch your terminology. Do not equate death with a journey. The person may fear a parent going away on a trip for fear they will never return. Do not equate death with sleep or the child may be afraid to go to bed. Do not say the person is “with Jesus” without further explanation. The child may hate Jesus for taking their grandparent away from them or be mad at the grandparent for leaving them to go to be with Jesus.

• Make sure the child understands the difference between minor illness and fatal illness. The child may think they will die the next time they get a cold.

• Accept attempts at humor. We all react to situations of stress with laughter at times. Accept this also from the child. Accept all expressions without criticism.

• Give the child affection. Don’t allow them to feel they are being abandoned, especially at the loss of a parent. Assure the child that they are loved and will be cared for.

• Explain things as you go along. Don’t expect the child to have all the questions let alone all the answers.