When I am not in Denver at the Capitol advocating for Colorado’s House District 47 I’m together with my wife and mother operating a third-generation family funeral establishment. My grandfather started by washing cars and working his way up, licensed by the state of Colorado in 1943. He retired at the age of 80. Together the family has served our community for more than 85 years.

Though it might not be considered a common career, the funeral business is a vital service to offer families in their time of need. It is an honor I am proud to be a part of. When a family loses their loved one, they entrust my family to care for their loved ones with the greatest respect. We take great pride in ensuring the celebration of one’s life is carried out with the utmost dignity.

When I heard about the events that happened at the Return to Nature funeral home in Penrose, I was outraged and sickened. The lack of care and respect these individuals were shown for the sacred task we are given is appalling. From what I have heard and read, these bodies were improperly given the services paid for and contractually agreed upon with the specific funeral provider. Those loved ones who were to be cremated were not done so and false materials such as cement were given to families in an urn.

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I know some families want their loved ones to be part of a “green funeral.” This is not a service my family’s funeral home has considered offering.??

In the aftermath, I have heard two consistent questions: “How did we let this happen?” And, most importantly: “How do we prevent it from happening again?” Some of my colleagues have floated possible legislation as the answer to the latter.

In 1983, during Gov. Richard Lamm’s administration, the Colorado Funeral Licensing Board was abolished. Since then, there have been no “licenses” required to operate any funeral home.

Funeral homes and crematoriums are required to register with the Colorado Office of Funeral Home and Crematoriums and are required to follow safety and health codes mandated by the state. This includes proper storage when there is no embalming, cremation and burial within reasonable allotted times for each. Currently, the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) has begun annual “license fees” from funeral homes.

Since ethics, morals, compassion and dignity cannot be implied by just putting a name on a certificate or in a frame, the state would be required to grandfather the current establishments and their employees and proceed to establish enforceable laws pertaining to methods reasonable and ethical to all concerned.

In rural Colorado, as is House District 47, funeral homes like the one my family operates have been servicing their small communities for years and years. Many funeral home directors, including myself, did not attend mortuary school. This is a trade that has been handed down from generation to generation. My mother and aunt were raised in an actual funeral home, helping my grandparents in answering phones, helping set up for visitations and all-night vigils, to name a few.? Just as electricians or carpenters have apprentices to whom they teach their skills, that is how many small-town funeral home directors learn our trade.? It is not only a trade to some of us – it is a ministry.

To require these folks who are not bad actors to spend time and money to do something they have been doing most of their adult lives is simply unacceptable. Many of these family-owned funeral homes would end up having to close their doors or be forced out by large “corporate” operations. To deny someone a living, one providing a service to their hometown communities, is unacceptable.

As legislators, our job is to serve the best interests of Colorado. Though we must do our part to ensure a travesty like this does not occur again, we must also not allow unintended consequences that would potentially make Coloradans worse off. Many family-owned funeral homes have been kindly and compassionately providing these services to rural and urban Colorado communities for generations. It would be a grave mistake to make reputable firms pay a huge price for those who do not follow the law.

Ty Winter, a Republican, represents District 47 in the Colorado House of Representatives.  His district includes Las Animas, Baca, Prowers, Bent, Otero, Crowley and Kiowa counties, along with parts of Pueblo and Huerfano counties.  He is a former chair of the Las Animas Republican Party and together with his wife and mother, operates a third-generation family funeral establishment.