How can I access US death records/obituaries online?

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I'll put this as briefly as I can:

Around January I came across the name of an old friend (who originally hailed from the US - Indiana) in the obituary section of a local newspaper, here in Melbourne. I'd lived in a share house with her years ago here, but we lost touch over the past few years. I don't know how to contact any of her old friends in Melbourne. I don't recall surnames, etc.
I tried a Google search & came up with her name in the obituary section in an Indiana newspaper, but have been unable to gain any further information, despite emailing the newspaper.

What I'd like to do is this:
*Establish that this is DEFINITELY my old friend. (I'm about 99% it is, but .... you know!)
*Try & establish the cause of death. She was only in her 40s & I've been totally mystified by what actually happened to her.
*Make contact with her family to pass on my commiserations & discover what actually happened to her.

Any suggestions of how to proceed?

Any ideas much appreciated.

- Olga

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Isn't the cause of death listed in the obit?

PM me the name and details, and I will do a search of genealogy sites here (Social Security Index of Death etc.)

Sorry about your friend.

Joe

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(Incidentally, this was the US friend I referred to in the 4th of July thread. The one who was so determined that the Thanksgiving meal was "just right" for her friends in Melbourne. Writing about her has caused me to wonder again just what happened to her.)

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Can you go into the finding her name in the obituary section part a bit more? It sounds like you didn't actually read the obituary... If you found it on Google, you should be able to read more by hitting the "cached" button at the very end of the listing.

That's if there was an obituary and you can't access by clicking on it as usual, but not if it was just like a list of people whose obituaries were in that issue.

Anyway, that there was a hit on Google sounds promising, may be ways to get more info from that, tell me more.

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Thanks sozobe.

I came across a link via Google by using her name.
An Indiana newspaper.
It had a list of names (death notices), her's included. But I couldn't access the actual her obituary, probably because it wasn't a new one. It was something like weeks/a month after I read the obituary notice in the Melbourne AGE. (Only current obituaries were available in the newspaper.) Anyway, I wrote to the paper & explained what I wanted & why & got a reply saying that it wasn't possible ... I've forgot the details. I'll just check my old "received" OE files. There's an odd chance that the message might be there.

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That sounds really promising for cached. It might also be a sign-up situation. But if you came across her name via Google, and they had her obituary online at some point, you should be able to get the whole thing with some tricks.

If you'd feel comfortable doing so, you could PM me her name and I could see what I can come up with...

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First response was this:

Thank you for your inquiry.

We have a number of listings in our database under this name. Please
provide us with the deceased's full name, state of residence and
approximate date of death so we can assist you further.

I did that, then got this:

Thank you for your inquiry.

At this time, there is no active obituary matching this description. You may be able to find the obituary in the newspapers online archives.

For obituaries published prior to the start date of the newspapers archives, you may be able to find help at a public library, which may have newspapers archived on microfilm or microfiche.

If we can be of assistance in the future, please let us know

<sigh>

I think maybe the problem was that I didn't know her last address (in Australia)& wasn't certain of the exact date of her death, either. Anyway, no go. I think I'm going to have to start again. Anyone got any ideas of another way to go with this?

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Joe Nation wrote:

Isn't the cause of death listed in the obit?

PM me the name and details, and I will do a search of genealogy sites here (Social Security Index of Death etc.)

Sorry about your friend.

Joe

Thanks, Joe. Will do.

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Posted you the details, too, sozobe. Like I said, please don't go to any trouble. I'll have another try..... Ya never know!

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PM'ed the results -- looks like that was indeed her, from what you've said. My condolences.

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Yes, & amazingly quickly, Sozobe. Thank you very, very much! I'm shocked at the cause of her death - ovarian cancer - she was so healthy! But I'm very relieved to know, finally, what happened. I can't thank you enough! Smile

And thank you, Joe. It looks like you won't have to do that search!

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Ovarian cancer has few symptoms until it is entrenched. It is frequently deadly.

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How can I access US death records/obituaries online?

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