How to Find International Obituaries

Obituaries represent different things to different people. Sometimes they are used as a genealogical reference. Sometimes they are used as a means of reaffirming your most basic victories--"Well, at least I lived longer than THAT old grouch." And sometimes they can be a surprising source of literary style and interesting tales of humanity's travails, achievements, and idiosyncrasies. Expanding your obituary horizons to an international level is possible but requires a bit of effort and perhaps a small outlay of funds.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Peruse obituaries randomly by going to one of the larger newsstands and purchasing international newspapers. Archives of obituaries are also available online for some newspapers.

2. Check to see if newspapers from large international cities have accessible websites. These websites will often carry daily or weekly lists of obituaries.

3. Use one of the not-for-profit services to research a specific obituary. These are sometimes slightly unwieldy with regard to an application process, but no fee is involved.

4. Subscribe to one of the services that looks up international obituaries. Subscriptions are available on a short term basis as well as for a full year. Costs vary from $100 per year to $250 per year.

5. Use a large search engine if you are seeking the obituary of a specific person, particularly someone who is relatively famous.

6. Take an international journey and read obituaries in their indigenous setting. An obituary of a famous Frenchman is always more interesting when sitting in a small Paris outdoor café.

Tips & Warnings

• Checking obituaries from different countries can be interesting with regard to style as well as content. The language barriers can sometimes be traversed because English translations are available for larger newspapers.

Resources

• Listing of worldwide obituaries, but requires a fee
• Listing of worldwide obituaries, but requires a fee
• Blog that discusses the surprising literary nature of obituaries
• Archives of obituaries in the English newspaper the Guardian
• Non-profit volunteer service that looks up obituaries for genealogical researchers