Obituary & people search
Search Montana Obituaries
Look up obituaries, death records and people by name.
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Obituaries in another state
Obituary guide
How to find an obituary in Montana
For a recent death, start with the funeral home's website and the obituary pages of Montana's daily papers, such as the Billings Gazette, Missoulian, Helena Independent Record and Bozeman Daily Chronicle. For an older obituary, the Montana Historical Society's digitized newspapers reach back to 1864, and the Montana State Genealogical Society keeps death indexes.
What to have ready
- Full name, including a maiden name
- Approximate date and place of death (town and county)
- Age at death or birth year
- Names of close relatives (spouse, children, parents)
Tip: Knowing the county narrows the search the most. Montana is large, and many towns had only one local paper.
Where to look, by when the person died
| When the person died | Where to look |
|---|---|
| Last few years | Funeral home websites; the Billings Gazette, Missoulian, Helena Independent Record and Bozeman Daily Chronicle; Legacy.com's Montana page |
| 1990s to recent decades | Newspaper databases at your public library with a library card; the Montana State Genealogical Society's 1954–2002 death index and other resources |
| Older or historic | The Montana Historical Society's Montana newspapers: its public portal has nearly 2.5 million pages from more than 150 papers (1864–2018), and Chronicling America has more than 450,000 Montana pages (1864–1963). Also try microfilm at public libraries and local genealogy societies. |
| Official death record | The MSGS Montana State Death Registry Index. See how to order a Montana death record. |
Major newspapers' obituary pages
The Missoulian, Independent Record and Chronicle obituary links lead to these Legacy.com pages. They loaded on our check without a login.
Libraries and archives
- Montana Historical Society newspapers: includes a downloadable newspaper index listing what's available and where
- Montana Historical Society genealogy guide and indexes
- Montana State Genealogical Society: death registry information, early deaths and the 1954–2002 death index
- Missoula Public Library
Timeline expectations
- Recent obituaries: these appear online once the family or funeral home publishes them, so timing varies.
- Digitized newspapers: the public portal runs from 1864 to 2018, but coverage varies by town and title.
- Lookup turnaround: not stated by the sources we checked.
Tips
- Start with the MSGS death indexes to pin down the date and county. Then search the MHS newspaper portal for that town's paper.
- The Historical Society notes that its newspapers are a key source for obituaries, so check its newspaper index to see which titles cover the town you need.
- If the person grew up in another state, the hometown paper there may also have run an obituary.
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.