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You Know the Date of Death | You Don't Know the Date of Death | Important Reminders about Obituaries

IF YOU KNOW THE DATE OF DEATH

For San Jose area resident who died after mid-1985:

San Jose Mercury News Online, 1985-Current -- Includes obituaries and death notices

NOTE: SJLibrary Card Required To Access From Outside The Library
 

For San Jose area resident who died before mid-1985:

Mercury News (1853 - 6 months ago) on microfilm -- In the Lower Level of King Library
 

TIP: The best starting point for searching an obituary on microfilm is the day after the death, although the obituary may instead appear several days later.

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For San Jose area resident who you suspect died after mid-1985:

San Jose Mercury News Online, 1985-Current -- Includes obituaries and death notices

NOTE: SJLibrary Card Required To Access From Outside The Library
 

For someone who you suspect died in 1940-1997 in California:

California Death Records 1940-1997

• Information includes county and date of death
• With this information, you can then search the appropriate newspaper index
• NOTE: This is a "free" website with no SJLibrary Card requirement.
• Warning: The site has pop-up ads. Click here for how to block them
 

For someone who you suspect died in 1962-Present in the United States:

Social Security Death Index (SSDI)

• Search results can include the person's date of death
• With this information, you can search the sources listed above under IF YOU KNOW THE DATE OF DEATH
• NOTE: This is a "free" website with no SJLibrary Card requirement.
• Warning: The site has pop-up ads. Click here for how to block them

Many people who die never have obituaries in the newspaper. 

The Mercury News is likely to have obituaries only for someone who died in the San Jose area or had close ties to it.

For other San Jose area obituary indices, please view the Obituaries web page

You usually need to find a death date because most newspapers do not have indices to help you find a person by name. Most newspapers are not indexed at all before the mid 1980s. The indexing date depends on the newspaper.

Obituaries are articles telling about a person’s life and death. Some people are mentioned in “Death Notices,” which just give the person's name, date of death and usually place of death.

>>> If you got to this page from the Obituaries web page, select this link to Close Window and Return to Obituaries