Pioneering Earth-Friendly Funeral Care in Colorado and Beyond
The Natural Funeral opened its doors in March 2019 in Old Town Lafayette, Colorado, founded by Karen van Vuuren, Daniel Ziskin, and Seth Viddal. Their shared vision was to create a holistic, heart-centered funeral home rooted in environmental sustainability, compassionate care, and meaningful choice.
Today, The Natural Funeral is led by CEO Mike Reagan and Co-Founder Seth Viddal, with funeral home operations overseen by Austin Timpson. We continue to grow while staying true to our founding mission: to provide gentle, natural, and reverent care for both the deceased and the bereaved.
We were proud to be the first funeral home in Colorado to offer water cremation (alkaline hydrolysis), and we led the successful effort to legalize Natural Organic Reduction (terramation) in Colorado in 2021. We remain the only provider of terramation in the state. At our Arvada Care Center, we carry out both terramation and water cremation with the utmost respect and attention to detail.
Through our TerraCare Partner Program, we are empowering funeral homes, crematories, and cemeteries across the country to bring terramation to their own communities—advancing the movement for more sustainable and conscious deathcare nationwide.
We now operate two full-service funeral homes—our original location in Lafayette and a second in Loveland—and a dedicated Care Center in Arvada, Colorado. Across all locations, our team upholds The Natural Funeral’s values with every family we serve:
- Consumer Choice: We offer a full spectrum of disposition and ceremony options, natural products, and holistic support—always without pressure. Our goal is to inform and empower.
- Family Rights & Participation: You have the right to meaningful involvement and full transparency. We honor your beliefs, traditions, and the personal significance of this rite of passage.
- Environmental Sustainability: We do not offer chemical embalming. We use gentle, non-invasive body care and offer only services and products that minimize ecological impact.
- Beauty & Aesthetics: Grief can be softened by beauty. Whether it’s a hand-crafted urn, a simple poem, or a quiet gesture of reverence, we honor the healing power of the beautiful.
- Community & Education: We are more than a funeral home—we are a community resource. Through seminars, grief groups, and events, we open conversations around death and dying with openness and care.
At The Natural Funeral, we pledge to serve with transparency, integrity, and deep respect for all beliefs. Our mission is to walk with you through life’s most tender moments, offering healing choices that reflect your values and honor the Earth.
