About Us
Meet Our Caring Staff
Ryan and Kristal Phelps
Former Owners / Manager / Director
Ryan and Kristal Phelps have owned and operated Hood Mortuary since 2005, until recently in 2025. Their passion is assisting and serving the Durango Community during one of the most difficult times most will face.
Ryan has worked in this industry at Hood Mortuary since 1994. He attended Fort Lewis College and Commonwealth Institute of Funeral Service.
Kristal (a Durango Native and Pioneer family) attended Fort Lewis College. She assists client/families with services as well as pre-need funeral planning.
Ryan and Kristal attended Durango High School (Class of 1994) and are High School "Sweethearts". Pictured here with their daughter, Sarah - A Senior at Durango High.
Ryan and Kristal Phelps
Former Owners / Manager / Director
Ryan and Kristal Phelps have owned and operated Hood Mortuary since 2005, until recently in 2025. Their passion is assisting and serving the Durango Community during one of the most difficult times most will face.
Ryan has worked in this industry at Hood Mortuary since 1994. He attended Fort Lewis College and Commonwealth Institute of Funeral Service.
Kristal (a Durango Native and Pioneer family) attended Fort Lewis College. She assists client/families with services as well as pre-need funeral planning.
Ryan and Kristal attended Durango High School (Class of 1994) and are High School "Sweethearts". Pictured here with their daughter, Sarah - A Senior at Durango High.
Danielle Holcomb
Manager / Director / Cremationist / Embalmer
Danielle Holcomb is a San Diego, California transplant with family roots in southwest Colorado. She is currently attending Arapahoe Community College and completing a degree in mortuary science. She has a true passion for caring for people and being empathetic during all aspects of an individuals’ life or circumstances. She is a visual artist who loves gardening and hiking with her partner and three rescued dogs.
Danielle Holcomb
Manager / Director / Cremationist / Embalmer
Danielle Holcomb is a San Diego, California transplant with family roots in southwest Colorado. She is currently attending Arapahoe Community College and completing a degree in mortuary science. She has a true passion for caring for people and being empathetic during all aspects of an individuals’ life or circumstances. She is a visual artist who loves gardening and hiking with her partner and three rescued dogs.
Cat Smith
Director / Embalmer / Pre-need Counselor
Cat Smith is a dual licensed funeral director from Oklahoma. With a great passion for learning, she has practiced funeral directing in Oklahoma, Colorado, and New Mexico and has experience in the non- profit sector with anatomical gifts of tissue donation. Outside of work, Cat loves tending to her tropical plants, spending time with her dog, Goat, paddle boarding, and riding her motorcycle. Cat has a strong desire to serve others, loves to learn new concepts, and to continuously grow into betterand more refined versions of herself.
Cat Smith
Director / Embalmer / Pre-need Counselor
Cat Smith is a dual licensed funeral director from Oklahoma. With a great passion for learning, she has practiced funeral directing in Oklahoma, Colorado, and New Mexico and has experience in the non- profit sector with anatomical gifts of tissue donation. Outside of work, Cat loves tending to her tropical plants, spending time with her dog, Goat, paddle boarding, and riding her motorcycle. Cat has a strong desire to serve others, loves to learn new concepts, and to continuously grow into betterand more refined versions of herself.
Erika Kessler-Ison
Cremationist/Embalmer
Erika, born and raised in Colorado, moved to Durango in 2019 with her husband Ray. She has a Bachelor's Degree in Anthropology from Metropolitan State University of Denver, an MSc in Paleopathology from Durham University in Durham, England and is a certified Death Doula. She wants to take what she has learned about death care practices in the past to serve families in the present, and plans to continue her education within the death care and funeral industries. Erika loves spending time outdoors hiking, backpacking, rafting, paddleboarding and snowshoeing, as well as spending time with her dog Gunnar, who can be spotted running around the dog park and lounging on the patios of the local breweries.
Erika Kessler-Ison
Cremationist/Embalmer
Erika, born and raised in Colorado, moved to Durango in 2019 with her husband Ray. She has a Bachelor's Degree in Anthropology from Metropolitan State University of Denver, an MSc in Paleopathology from Durham University in Durham, England and is a certified Death Doula. She wants to take what she has learned about death care practices in the past to serve families in the present, and plans to continue her education within the death care and funeral industries. Erika loves spending time outdoors hiking, backpacking, rafting, paddleboarding and snowshoeing, as well as spending time with her dog Gunnar, who can be spotted running around the dog park and lounging on the patios of the local breweries.
Jacob Goertz
Funeral Director/Cremationist
Jacob Goertz is a Colorado native, though he does not know if it counts because he has moved around a lot, and moved to Durango in September of 2019. He has done all sorts of things for work, from teaching English as a Second Language in South Korea to hospital chaplaincy at Mercy to working on ATMs to (now) being a funeral director. He is fascinated by belief systems, literature, and world history. He really enjoys Legos. He loves Scotland, especially the Scottish Isles. He is also an avid sports fan who roots for the Avs, Broncos, Nuggets, Rockies and Cornhuskers and is always looking for a new sport to watch and try to figure out.
Jacob Goertz
Funeral Director/Cremationist
Jacob Goertz is a Colorado native, though he does not know if it counts because he has moved around a lot, and moved to Durango in September of 2019. He has done all sorts of things for work, from teaching English as a Second Language in South Korea to hospital chaplaincy at Mercy to working on ATMs to (now) being a funeral director. He is fascinated by belief systems, literature, and world history. He really enjoys Legos. He loves Scotland, especially the Scottish Isles. He is also an avid sports fan who roots for the Avs, Broncos, Nuggets, Rockies and Cornhuskers and is always looking for a new sport to watch and try to figure out.
Mila Snow
Administrator
Mila grew up in Durango, working in her parents' restaurant and keeping out of trouble (mostly). After heading to New Hampshire to study at the University of New Hampshire, she earned a degree in Communications with a Minor in Microbrewing—because, why not combine creativity with beer? She later completed her MBA in Marketing at Southern New Hampshire University. After eight years on the East Coast, she packed up her truck with her puppy, Athena, and made the cross-country trek back to Durango with her father coming along.
Now, when she’s not at Hood Mortuary, Mila is slinging drinks at El Moro, hiking through Horse Gulch with Athena, or testing her knowledge at the Power House trivia. She’s also into weight lifting, DIY manicures (which have earned her a reputation for having 'terrifyingly sharp nails”) and picking up new hobbies—whether it’s tattooing, line dancing, or dabbling in watercolor painting.
Mila Snow
Administrator
Mila grew up in Durango, working in her parents' restaurant and keeping out of trouble (mostly). After heading to New Hampshire to study at the University of New Hampshire, she earned a degree in Communications with a Minor in Microbrewing—because, why not combine creativity with beer? She later completed her MBA in Marketing at Southern New Hampshire University. After eight years on the East Coast, she packed up her truck with her puppy, Athena, and made the cross-country trek back to Durango with her father coming along.
Now, when she’s not at Hood Mortuary, Mila is slinging drinks at El Moro, hiking through Horse Gulch with Athena, or testing her knowledge at the Power House trivia. She’s also into weight lifting, DIY manicures (which have earned her a reputation for having 'terrifyingly sharp nails”) and picking up new hobbies—whether it’s tattooing, line dancing, or dabbling in watercolor painting.
Joe Doyle
Cremationist / Technician
Joe Doyle
Cremationist / Technician
