Obituaries detail the death of an individual. Obituaries provide the deceased name, date of death and disposition of remains. Informative obituaries detail cause and place of death, list of survivors and their relationship to the deceased, biographical facts, employment, social activities and whether the person was a member of a faith community. Obituaries, death, burial and funeral notices along with memorials and notices of thanks from the family may contain any, all or none of the facts about the deceased. The two major obituary resources are the Denver Obituary Project from the Denver Public Library and the Colorado Obituary Project from the Colorado Genealogical Society. Read about how to find and order a Denver obituary.
Cemeteries are the final resting place for many Coloradans. For our purposes we have included single burial sites, family and community graveyards and urban memorial gardens.
Funeral home and mortuary records usually give detailed information about the deceased. Information to be found may included the name of the deceased, date and place of birth and name of parents, date of death and burial, location of burial, payment, and clues to the type of funeral. Mortuary Records such as Horan Mortuary, Rogers and Nash Mortuary, and Farmer and Hale Mortuary are terrific indexes to archival records.
HeritageHub (formerly America's Obituaries and Death Notices)
Search by name of deceased or keyword in a growing list of newspapers, including the Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News. Coverage varies by newspaper, generally 1990 and later.
American Woodmen Insurance Ledger: 5 June 1901 to 31 July 1907: Index
Index to life insurance files of insured and beneficiaries 1901 to 1907. American Woodmen’s Life was founded in Denver, Colorado in 1901 as a Fraternal Benefit Society established to provide life insurance for the “un-insurable” Black Community. The register shows in chronological order the name of the insured, “camp and state” of residence, age, name of beneficiary or beneficiaries, and their relationship to the insured. States covered in this first ledger include Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indian Territory [Oklahoma], Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, South Carolina, Texas, and Washington, D.C. This register represents the first of 40 ledgers. The company went out of business in 1993.
Arapahoe County Coroner’s Reports, 1876 – 1891 Index
Index of Arapahoe County Coroner reports, including death and inquest dates.
Biography and Genealogy Master Index
Index to biographical information on people from all time periods, geographical locations, and fields of endeavor.
Colorado Obituary Project
Statewide index of approximately 50,000 non-Denver obituaries mostly from the 1970s through 1990. Researchers may request a copy of the full-text obituary through the Western History and Genealogy Department. Full obituaries are accessible in C MSS WH1317.
Denver Obituary Project
Denver Obituary Project
Index of obituaries and funeral notices that appeared in the Denver Post or Rocky Mountain News: 1913, 1914, 1915-1919, 1920-1924, 1925-1929, 1930-1934, 1935-1939, 1940-1944, 1945-1949, 1950-1954, 1955-1959, 1960-1964, 1965-1969, 1970-1974, 1975-1979, 1980-1984, 1985-1989, 1990-1994, 1995-1999, 2000-2004, 2005-2009, 2010-2014, 2015, 2016. 2016 is our last year of indexing. Obituaries after 2016 are available with a library card from America's Obituaries and Death Notices.
Denver's War Dead: World War I --- Fallen Heroes of World War I
The names of the men and women from Denver who lost their lives during WWI. List taken from the article, “Hail, Heroes! Hail!” which appeared in the Denver Post, November 11, 1920.
Denver Area Cemeteries
Historical background and a list of current cemeteries.
Calvary Cemetery Listing 1889-1893
Calvary Cemetery Listings are an index to lot purchases in Denver’s first Roman Catholic Cemetery from
1889 to 1893.
Colorado Statesman Index
Index of funeral notices, obituaries, and news articles from the leading weekly newspaper serving the African American community from 1904 to 1954.
Colorado World War I Casualties in Europe
Location of the burial place of each fallen soldier given.
Crown Hill Cemetery Burials
List of burials at Crown Hill Cemetery from 1908-1950.
Fairmount Sexton Records 1891 – 1953, Fairmount Cemetery, Denver, Colorado
The Fairmount Sexton Records 1891–1953 are arranged in rough “alphabetical order” by age, sex, race, date of burial, and other information.
Fallen Heroes of World War I from Denver, Colorado
Recorded are the names of the men and women from Denver who lost their lives in service to their country during the European War, 1914-1918.
Farmer and Hale Mortuary Index 1889 - 1909
Index to registers by this mortuary. Registers are available for in library use only and require staff retrieval.
Horan Burial Index 1900 - 1956
Index to registers of burial by this mortuary. Registers are available for in library use only and require staff retrieval.
Intermountain Jewish News (IJN) Obituary Index
The index is composed of a number of columns of information, most taken directly from the IJN obituary, but many also supplemented from different sources. Associated cemetery (burial) information is also included when that information could be identified
in the obituary.
Record of United States Soldiers for the Suppression of the Rebellion, buried in G. A. R., Old Riverside, Catholic, and Hebrew Cemeteries at Denver, Colorado
Members of the Grand Army of the Republic from Colorado who were buried in the G.A.R. burial ground at Riverside Cemetery. Includes those buried and later removed from Calvary [Catholic], Hebrew, and Old City [Mount Prospect] cemeteries, in Denver.
Riverside African-American Burials
Index to over 5240 burial records in Riverside cemetery.
Riverside Cemetery Burial Register Index, 1876 - 1963
The index includes date of burial, name of deceased, age, location of burial and some additional information.
Clipping Files: Obituaries (BCAARL)
An index to obituary newspaper clippings available at the Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library.
Rogers and Nash Mortuary Records 1873 – 1979
Index to registers of burial by Rogers and Nash Mortuary.
Sons of Colorado, v. 1 - 2; 1906 - 1908 - Article Index
An index to articles from the monthly publication of the pioneer society Sons of Colorado. The title of the publication was later changed to The Trail.
Sons of Colorado, v. 1 - 2; 1906 - 1908 - Obituary Index
An index to obituaries of Colorado pioneers that appeared in the monthly publication of the pioneer society Sons of Colorado. The title of the publication was later changed to The Trail.
Trail Index 1908 – 1929: Index to Deaths and Obituaries
Index of articles including profiles and obituaries of pioneers that was published 1908-1929 by the Sons of Colorado.
WW I Colorado Casualties in Europe
Includes name, rank, cemetery and burial location of each fallen soldier.
WW II Honor List of Dead and Missing; State of Colorado
Listing of Colorado's war dead and those missing in action during World War II.
Clipping Files: Biography (BCAARL)
An index to biographical newspaper clippings available at the Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library.
Clipping Files: Biography (WHG)
The clipping files are a large collection of articles of local interest which have been gathered from a variety of newspapers. The articles range in date from the early 1900's to the present. They are available for use on-site in the Library. The subject heading of Biography includes a list of the clippings of notables and lesser known persons.