Obituary & people search
Search Kansas Obituaries
Look up obituaries, death records and people by name.
- Search by name
- All 50 states + D.C.
Obituaries in another state
State Obituaries (all states)AlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyoming
Obituary guide
How to find an obituary in Kansas
For a recent death, start with the funeral home's website and the obituary page of the Wichita Eagle, Topeka Capital-Journal or your local paper. For an older death, the Kansas Historical Society's newspaper collection, much of it online, is the best place to start.
What to have ready
- The person's full name, including a maiden name or nickname
- The approximate date of death and the town or county where they died
- Their age or birth year
- Names of close relatives
Knowing the county narrows your search the most. Nearly every Kansas town had its own paper.
Where to look, by when the person died
| When the person died | Where to look |
|---|---|
| Last few years | The funeral home's website; the Wichita Eagle, Topeka Capital-Journal, Lawrence Journal-World and Kansas City Star obituary pages |
| 1990s to recent decades | Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library's obituary index; newspaper databases at your library |
| Older or historic | The Kansas Historical Society's Kansas Digital Newspapers and newspaper microfilm; its Fraternal Order Death Notices index; Kansas Memory |
| Official death record | Kansas has kept state death records since July 1, 1911. See how to order a Kansas death certificate. |
Major newspapers' obituary pages
- The Wichita Eagle (on Legacy.com)
- Topeka Capital-Journal (on Legacy.com)
- Lawrence Journal-World
- The Kansas City Star (on Legacy.com)
Recent listings are open to read. Older articles may need a subscription.
Libraries and archives
- Kansas Historical Society in Topeka offers open access to nearly 12 million pages from its newspaper collection on Newspapers.com, including nearly every Kansas paper from 1854 to 1923. Its newspaper collection is nearly comprehensive, and Kansas residents can borrow newspaper microfilm through interlibrary loan at their local library.
- Fraternal Order Death Notices indexes more than 50,000 people whose deaths were reported in Kansas lodge proceedings, such as the Odd Fellows (1873–1970).
- Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library has an online index of more than 170,000 obituaries from Topeka newspapers, 1906 to the present, and takes copy requests.
Timeline expectations
- Recent obituaries usually appear online within days, often before the service.
- The open-access digitized collection is strongest for 1854 to 1923. For later years, use microfilm or a library database.
- The Topeka index is available online at any hour. Turnaround for copy requests isn't posted.
Tips
- For a pre-1923 death, search Kansas Digital Newspapers first.
- A fraternal death notice can confirm membership and the year of death when no obituary turns up.
- Limit Topeka obituary requests to people who lived in Topeka or Shawnee County, as the library asks.
Last verified:
Note: Coverage years, fees and web addresses are set by the libraries, archives and newspapers listed and can change. PublicLibraries.com is not affiliated with them.