Woman’s husband might be among bodies at funeral home under investigation

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV/Gray News) - A Colorado woman says she has not been able to get any closure after losing her soulmate nearly two months ago.

Mary Simons’ husband, Darrell Simons, died on Aug. 13.

“He was my whole world,” she said. “He was a hard worker, kind, caring and honest. Everyone that knew him loved him.”

When he died, Simons decided to give Return to Nature Funeral Home a call.

“We had actually used them in 2018 for my mother and they were wonderful,” Mary Simons said. “They took care of everything; we didn’t have to worry about a thing.”

Having been a self-described housewife, Mary Simons said she found herself in a completely new world, having to cope with a major loss and searching for work.

She wanted the process of handling her husband’s remains to be as easy as possible while getting some closure.

Initially, the process of getting her husband cremated was lengthy but she didn’t think anything of it as she waited a while to get her mother’s remains due to insurance.

But this time around there were a few red flags along the way.

“After we turned my husband over, it was a totally different experience,” Mary Simons said. “There was very little communication.”

After struggling with the process for a bit, Mary Simons saw the reports regarding more than 115 bodies being improperly handled by the funeral home.

“I was absolutely devastated. I just knew that’s where my husband was,” Mary Simons said. “It’s like my whole world came crashing down again.”

She said her husband’s body possibly being handled improperly is a horrifying thought.

“He was a good man and for something like this to happen to him is just heartbreaking,” she said.

The funeral home remains under investigation. Mary Simons said authorities told her that it could be months before they could find and identify her husband.

She said she wants closure and justice at this point.

“I want everybody to realize there are victims behind this, there are people whose whole worlds have been turned upside down. This is just plain evil,” Mary Simmons said.

Representatives of the funeral home have not yet commented regarding the investigation.

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