How to search:

This LA Times Obituary database is searchable by either first name, last name or a combination of the two. It is a "begins with" search. If you search for the last name Mill, it will return the first 50 names beginning with the letters Mill. (ie. Millan, Millard, Miller)

We have just updated the LA Times Obituary Index to include entries for fourteen years. You are now able to check the index to the Los Angeles Times for the years 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2004

If you don't find the name you are searching listed there, that means there is no obituary in the LA Times for that person.

In 2002 Mrs. Dorothy Garven, a charter member of Los Angeles Westside Genealogical Society, contacted the Society with the idea and source material for a wonderful project. She had collected fourteen years of obituaries and death notices printed in the Los Angeles Times for the years 1988 through 2001.  She suggested that the Society prepare an index for the obituaries, and we agreed that it was a valuable project. Since her original proposal to SCGS, she has delivered three more years of obituaries and death notices.

We are delighted to report that, thanks to the work of many volunteers, we are able to release the initial installment of this valuable database. Our database debuts with an index to the decedent names listed in the obituaries and death notices for years 1988 through 1993, and 1995. In addition to the standard obituaries and death notices, the index includes entries for In Memoriam, Cards of Thanks, Funeral Notices, etc. A 20 year index is our goal.

The project is an excellent example of the limitations of digital content, and how traditional methods of indexing and cataloging continue to be valuable and necessary. Because most of the obituaries and death notices during this time frame were published on a for-fee basis (much like a classified advertisement), the information is often missing from online or digital versions of the Times.

The online obituary data provides the name and year the notice was printed of the indexed person. Individuals interested in obtaining a copy of the actual obituary or death notice can contact the Research Department of the Southern California Genealogical Society and request a copy for a nominal fee.

We thank the following volunteers for their typing efforts: Linda Murrin, Inez Turner, Sharon Lansford, Lanelle Jacoby, Louise Calaway. We especially thank Mrs. Dorothy Garven for her dedication in saving all of those newspapers, day after day after day after day.