Washington Obituaries

Washington’s first newspaper appeared in 1852, before the territory was created. The free Washington Digital Newspapers site and the Washington State Digital Archives, which holds death records, are the two main starting points.

Recent Washington obituaries (2000 to today)

Most obituaries published since about 2000 are online. Daily papers post paid death notices and family-written obituaries in an Obituaries section, usually hosted by Legacy.com, and keep them online with a guest book. The largest daily papers in Washington are:

• Seattle Times
• The Spokesman-Review (Spokane)
• The News Tribune (Tacoma)
• The Columbian (Vancouver)
• The Herald (Everett)
• Yakima Herald-Republic

Legacy.com’s Washington page searches the obituaries of most of these papers and many smaller ones at once. Funeral homes also post obituaries on their own websites, often before the newspaper does and sometimes instead of it: search the person’s name with the town and “obituary” or “funeral home.” For obituaries no longer online, ask your public or state library: many offer NewsBank or ProQuest databases with the full text of recent newspapers, free with a library card.

Washington obituaries in historic newspapers

The Columbian was first printed in Olympia in 1852, when the region was still part of Oregon Territory. Papers in Olympia, Walla Walla, Port Townsend, Seattle and Tacoma reported deaths in logging camps, sawmills, mines and at sea.

Washington drew Scandinavian, Chinese, Japanese and many other immigrant communities, and Seattle had Japanese-language papers such as the North American Post and Scandinavian papers such as the Washington Posten. Logging and mining accidents, and the 1910 Wellington avalanche, filled the pages of local papers.

Washington Digital Newspapers, from the Washington State Library, offers free historic papers from around the state. The library’s cemetery and obituary guide lists local obituary indexes, such as Tacoma Public Library’s index, and the Washington State Digital Archives offers free death records.

Where to find older Washington obituaries

Digitized Washington newspapers

• Washington Digital Newspapers — Free digitized historic Washington newspapers from the Washington State Library.

Obituary and death indexes

• Washington State Digital Archives — Free searchable Washington death records and other state records.

Archives and libraries

• Cemetery & Funeral Home Records, Washington State Library — Guide to Washington obituary indexes, cemetery records and newspaper microfilm.
• Washington Newspapers, FamilySearch Research Wiki — Volunteer-maintained guide to Washington newspaper archives, indexes and microfilm, with local links.

Also search the nationwide archives: Chronicling America, FamilySearch, Find a Grave, Newspapers.com. See all nationwide obituary resources.

Washington death records

Anyone can get an informational copy of a Washington death certificate; certified copies go to family and others with an interest. Order from DOH or the county health department. The Washington State Digital Archives has free indexes to older death records.

• Washington State Department of Health, Vital Records — the office that issues Washington death certificates, with ordering instructions and fees.
• Where to Write for Vital Records: Washington — the CDC’s summary of where to order, current fees and which years the office holds.
• Washington Vital Records, FamilySearch Research Wiki — free death indexes and certificate collections, with the years each covers.

Tips for finding an obituary in Washington

• Start with the Digital Archives. Its free death records give the date and county.
• Use the State Library's guide. It lists obituary indexes and funeral home records by county.
• Check Oregon papers. Southwest Washington deaths also ran in Portland papers.
• Look beyond the word “obituary.” Older papers reported deaths under headings like “Died,” “Deaths,” local news and personals columns, funeral notices and cards of thanks, and often listed married women under the husband’s name (“Mrs. John Smith”). See death notices vs. obituaries.

Common questions