Wyoming Obituaries

Wyoming’s newspapers began with the Union Pacific railroad in 1867. The Wyoming Newspapers project from the Wyoming State Library has digitized hundreds of historic titles, free to search.

Recent Wyoming 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 Wyoming are:

• Casper Star-Tribune
• Wyoming Tribune Eagle (Cheyenne)
• Laramie Boomerang
• Jackson Hole News&Guide
• Gillette News Record

Legacy.com’s Wyoming 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.

Wyoming obituaries in historic newspapers

The Cheyenne Leader was first printed in 1867, as the Union Pacific reached Cheyenne. Railroad towns such as Laramie, Rawlins and Rock Springs followed, and their papers recorded deaths among railroad workers, miners and ranch hands.

Coal mining in Rock Springs, Hanna and other towns brought immigrant workers whose deaths in mine disasters were reported in long lists, and the 1885 Rock Springs massacre of Chinese miners was covered by papers across the territory. Ranch country weeklies are often the only printed record of deaths on isolated homesteads.

The Wyoming State Library and the University of Wyoming Libraries launched a joint digital newspaper collection in 2021. The Wyoming State Archives in Cheyenne holds newspapers on microfilm along with state records.

Where to find older Wyoming obituaries

Digitized Wyoming newspapers

• Wyoming Newspapers — Free digitized historic Wyoming newspapers from the Wyoming State Library.
• Plains to Peaks Historic Newspapers — Combined search of Wyoming and Colorado historic newspaper collections.

Archives and libraries

• Wyoming State Archives — Newspaper microfilm and state records in Cheyenne.
• Wyoming Newspapers, FamilySearch Research Wiki — Volunteer-maintained guide to Wyoming 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.

Wyoming death records

Wyoming death certificates are restricted to family and others with an interest for 50 years. Order from WDH Vital Statistics Services; the Wyoming State Archives holds older records and newspaper microfilm.

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

Tips for finding an obituary in Wyoming

• Search Wyoming Newspapers first. The State Library's free archive covers papers from every county.
• Use Plains to Peaks. It searches Wyoming and Colorado papers together.
• Ask the State Archives. It holds Wyoming newspaper microfilm and older records in Cheyenne.
• 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