Q. How can I find an obituary?

You may want to start looking for a local - California, Los Angeles County, Ventura County obituary by going to our Genealogy Virtual Resources https://research.tolibrary.org/genealogy and searching in our various newspaper resources, or in Heritage Hub. 

You may also want to check the California Digital Newspaper project for papers not covered in our other resources. 

If you think the person died in Thousand Oaks, you may want to check our Thousand Oaks Historic Newspapers for the presence of an obituary when you are at the Library. If you are not able to come in person, you can send an Ask-a-Librarian request via email, be sure to include the full name, and date of death in your request. 

If you are unable to find an obituary, it might not be you - since the early 1980s the costs of newspaper obituaries has risen steeply, and there are no longer free death notices in most newspapers. As a result, the number of people getting obituaries has dropped sharply since 1980. One option if you are unable to find any obituary and your person is known to have died in California, you should be able to order an "Informational" copy of the Death Certificate from the County Recorder of the county where the person died. Please note, only limited family members are eligible to receive "certified" death certificates, be sure you order an "informational" copy. 

The California Death Index (1905 to 1997) and the Social Security Death Index (1962 - 2014) can provide details for a person's name, location, Social Security number and death date.  The CDI provides an Index number up to the year 1992, and then ceases including that number.  There is a record number for the California Death Certificates, but that can only be found by contacting the State Public Health Records office it is not printed on the death certificate. 

If the person died in Ventura County, then you can apply through Vital Chek at https://recorder.countyofventura.org/county-recorder/ordering-a-copy-of-vital-records/ Please be aware there is a fee for obtaining a copy of a death certificate.