Nearly six years ago, Colorado Country Life featured Lorraine Melgosa of Manzanola and her horse-drawn hearse in its magazine (tinyurl.com/HorseDrawnHearse). For about 20 years she offered her services, free of charge, to carry the caskets of soldiers, police officers, murder victims and children to their final resting places. In 2013, Melgosa, her horse and her hearse retired.
Now, she is bringing back her horse-drawn hearse.
This past year, when three Colorado deputies were killed in the line of duty, she couldn’t stay retired. She reached out to friends and supporters and they reinstated the service, now as the Rocky Mountain Honor Guard. Melgosa is now training two horses to be ready if there is a call for their services.
A GoFundMe page has been started at gofundme.com/rocky-mountain-honor-guard to help defray expenses involved in providing this service. Although, as Melgosa said in a FOX31 news story, she is praying she never gets a call. If that call does come, she, her horse and her hearse will be ready to provide an honorable, respectful way to honor law enforcement and military personnel killed in the line of duty.