About Us
About Hood Mortuary
The caring and experienced professionals at Hood Mortuary are here to support you through this difficult time. Serving Southwest Colorado, we offer a range of personalized services to suit your family’s wishes and requirements. Since 1902, You can count on us to help you plan a personal, lasting tribute to your loved one. Our beautiful facilities are a warm and soothing environment for services and gatherings. And we’ll carefully guide you through the many decisions that must be made during this challenging time.
You are welcome to call us at any time of the day, any day of the week, for immediate assistance. Or, visit our funeral home in person at your convenience. We also provide a wealth of information here on our website so you can learn more from the privacy of your own home.
History of Hood Mortuary
& The Amy Mansion
Rooted in Durango's Past
The Amy Mansion was first designed in 1882 by Ernest Amy, who moved to Durango to manage the New York Smelter. He bought the property with the intent to build a home for his wife, Isabelle, who was from New York. To please her, Ernest commissioned the mansion in the Shingle Style, a design common on the Eastern Seaboard. As a wedding gift from Isabelle's family, the mansion’s intricate woodwork was completed by the Pullman railroad car company, to whom they were related. The home was finished in 1888 for an estimated cost of $50,000.
Originally, the mansion had 17 coal-burning fireplaces, though many have since been covered. The chimneys were too narrow for the soft, locally mined coal, so harder coal had to be shipped in until the fireplaces were converted to gas. As the first home in Durango with indoor plumbing and electricity, the mansion was considered state-of-the-art. According to contemporary reports, it was "heated and lighted in 'the most modern manner'" and "furnished in elegant taste." Around 1893, bars were added to the first-floor windows, reportedly to protect against laid-off smelter workers, or, as other historians suggest, from "wild Indian and drunk cowboys." While the bars have been removed, the marks of their location are still visible. The Amys lived in the home until the late 1890s, when the smelter was sold. The Pingery family then owned the home until they lost it during the Great Depression to a gentleman named Hatcher from Pagosa Springs.
In 1935, "Speed" Doran, the owner of Hood Mortuary, purchased the home for $6,000 and relocated his business there from 9th Street and 2nd Avenue. The mansion's overall appearance has remained the same, with only minor interior and exterior modifications over the years.
Hood Mortuary was founded in 1902 by Andrew Fuller Hood, who also owned funeral homes in Aztec, Silverton, Dolores, and Mancos. The original location was behind the old Masonic Lodge, which Hood also built. In 1924, Andrew Hood passed away, and Mrs. Hood sold the business to "Speed" Doran in 1926. The mortuary changed hands several more times: Ray Calloway purchased it in 1945, followed by Charles Canatsy in 1959, Harold Young in 1971, and William Dunn in 1991. In 2005 Ryan and Kristal Phelps bought the mortuary from Bill Dunn.
Throughout the years, many other funeral homes have come and gone in Durango, but Hood Mortuary has adapted to the changing needs of the community by consistently providing the services local families want and need. Ryan and Kristal Phelps have recently expanded the business, opening a second Hood Mortuary location in Pagosa Springs, Colorado.
