Obituary & people search
Search Kentucky 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 Kentucky
For a recent death, start with the funeral home's website and the local newspaper's obituary page. For an older obituary, turn to the newspaper databases at Louisville's public library (LFPL) or Kenton County Public Library, then to the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives (KDLA) and UK Libraries' newspaper collection.
What to have ready
- Full name, including a maiden name or nickname
- Approximate date and place of death (city and county)
- Age at death or birth year
- Names of close relatives (spouse, children, parents)
Tip: Knowing the county narrows the search more than anything else.
Where to look, by when the person died
| When the person died | Where to look |
|---|---|
| Last few years | Funeral home websites; newspaper obituary pages such as the Courier Journal, the Lexington Herald-Leader and The Paducah Sun; Legacy.com's Kentucky page |
| 1990s to recent decades | LFPL's Courier-Journal database (1999 to present, library card needed); Kenton County Public Library's Northern Kentucky Newspaper Index (1982 to present) |
| Older or historic | LFPL's Courier-Journal Historical database (1830–2000, card needed); Kenton County's index for 1900–1935; county library indexes such as Lawrence County's Big Sandy News index (from 1885); UK Libraries' newspapers and microfilm; Chronicling America; microfilm at your county's public library; county genealogical societies |
| Official death record | KDLA holds older death records, and the Office of Vital Statistics holds 1966 to the present. See how to order a Kentucky death record. |
Major newspapers' obituary pages
- Courier Journal (Louisville): the listing loaded without a login on our check
- Lexington Herald-Leader, on Legacy.com
- The Paducah Sun
Libraries and archives
- LFPL genealogy resources: Courier-Journal databases; a library card is needed
- Kenton County Public Library genealogy: the Northern Kentucky Newspaper Index needs no library card
- Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives: see its birth and death records handout (PDF)
- UK Libraries: UK says it holds the world's largest collection of Kentucky newspapers, including the Kentucky Digital Newspapers database
- Kentucky Historical Society
- Lawrence County Public Library: Big Sandy News obituary indexes: indexes from 1885 to 2025, with the paper itself online in the library's Big Sandy News Digital Collection
- Henderson County Public Library genealogy collections: an obituary index to the Henderson Gleaner since 1956. Staff will send copies through the obituary request form.
Timeline expectations
- Recent obituaries: these go online once the family or funeral home publishes them, so timing varies.
- Digitized archives: LFPL's Courier-Journal coverage runs from 1830. For smaller papers, coverage varies.
- Death records at KDLA: county records for 1852–1862, 1874–1878 and 1891–1910, plus statewide records for 1911–1965.
Tips
- Northern Kentucky sits in the Cincinnati metro area, so check Cincinnati papers as well as local ones.
- For Louisville deaths before 2000, LFPL's historical Courier-Journal database is the fastest place to start.
- The Big Sandy News index lists the date the obituary was printed, not the date of death.
- If you only know the region, try UK Libraries' librarians. They can help you find which paper covered a given town.
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.