Legacy Obituaries Oklahoma (2024)

FAQs

How do I find an old obituary in Oklahoma? ›

In OK, there is no legal mandate to publish an obituary in a newspaper when someone dies. The official state paperwork is a death certificate, which is filed with the state's office of vital statistics by a medical certifier or a licensed funeral home director, not by the family of the deceased individual.

It is preferable, when applicable, to include the age at death and a personal comment such as “surrounded by family” or “comforted by his wife.” NB: Sometimes it is desirable to omit the cause of death – such as when death came as a result of extreme violence, or the carrying out of a court sentence.

Obituaries are important. They provide us with the sad but significant news of people no longer alive who were once part of our communities. As important as they are in the ritual of mourning, they are expensive.

Birth and Death Certificates

Some Oklahoma birth and death information is available online through Ok2Explore, a free searchable index from the Oklahoma State Vital Records Division.

Each case has an available "Report of Investigation" prepared by the Medical Examiner. If an autopsy was performed, that report will also be available. There is a $10.00 fee for a non-autopsy case report and $20.00 fee for an autopsy case. Immediate family members will receive a complimentary copy by request.

Can You Bury a Body at Home? There are no state laws in Oklahoma that prohibit home burial, but local governments may have rules governing private burials. Before conducting a home burial or establishing a family cemetery, check with the town or county clerk to see if there are any zoning rules you must follow.

Alternative Options for Publishing an Obituary

If a family chooses not to write an obituary, that's okay. No law insists families should publish an obituary. But there are several alternative options available for families to help pay tribute to the deceased.

Deciding not to publish an obituary is #perfectlynormal in grief. If publishing an obituary in the paper or online feels (or felt) wrong to you - perhaps drawing unwanted attention or sharing on a level beyond what's comfortable - that's OK. There is no one right way to honor someone you love.

If the certifier cannot determine a descriptive sequence of causes of death despite carefully considering all information available and circ*mstances of death did not warrant investigation by the medical examiner or coroner, death may be reported as “unspecified natural causes.” If any potentially lethal medical ...

Why are some obituaries not published? ›

Obituaries are not required by law , so the deceased's family might have chosen to forego publishing one. Publishing an obituary can be expensive , and the funds may be unavailable. The deceased has few family members or friends , so there might have, unfortunately, been no need for an obituary.

Because the family either didn't want to have the death publicized, or the person had no family. An obituary is not required by law.

Reading an obituary is not so much an act of mourning a death but of reviewing a life of notable accomplishment and celebrating it. Obituaries are capsule biographies. Still, obituaries concern death.

It's important to remember that an obituary is supposed to be an announcement and brief biography of the deceased. Don't feel the need to recount every detail of their life. Also try to avoid bragging about every accomplishment or award the deceased received.

Internet Public Library – Finding Obituaries – An updated guide on searching for obituaries. Legacy.com – This site allows you to search for recently published obituaries, a small fee is required to view most results. Obituary Central – A database that searches for obituaries and performs cemetery searches.

FREE PUBLIC INDEX SEARCH

OK2Explore is a free searchable public index of births and deaths that occurred in the state of Oklahoma. It includes information from records of births occurring in Oklahoma 20 or more years ago and records of deaths occurring in Oklahoma five or more years ago.

As funeral homes across America post obituaries to their respective funeral home website, The Obituary App organizes them all into particular cities. Now, a user can look at all the obituaries posted by multiple funeral homes in one place. There are two obituary feeds within The Obituary App.

Use an online search tool to find an older obituary for family tree research. There are several obituary search sites. Some are paid sites – but you may be able to access these resources for free at your local library or historical society. Ancestry is a handy source for those researching and preserving a family tree.