Finding a specific tribute in the old Contra Costa Times obituaries used to be as simple as walking to the driveway and snapping a rubber band. You’d flip to the back of the "B" section, and there they were. But things changed. Honestly, if you’ve tried to look up a family member or an old friend recently, you probably noticed that the "Contra Costa Times" name is harder to find than it used to be.
The paper didn’t just vanish, but it did evolve.
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Back in 2016, the Bay Area News Group decided to consolidate its local mastheads. The Contra Costa Times was merged with the Oakland Tribune, the Hayward Daily Review, and several others to form the East Bay Times. This wasn't just a branding tweak; it fundamentally shifted how archival records like death notices are managed and searched online. If you are looking for a loved one, you are essentially looking for a needle in a digital haystack that has been moved to a different barn.
Where the archives actually live
When people search for Contra Costa Times obituaries, they are often trying to bridge the gap between the physical paper they remember and the digital databases of 2026. Most of these records have migrated.
Essentially, you have three main paths to find what you need. First, there is the partnership with Legacy.com. Most "modern" obituaries—meaning anything from roughly 2001 to the present—are hosted there. It’s convenient, but it’s not perfect. Sometimes the search filters are finicky. If you don't get a result, try searching just the last name and the year.
Second, for the deep history, you have to look toward the Contra Costa County Historical Society. They keep the stuff the internet forgets. We're talking about the Contra Costa Gazette records and early Times clippings that date back to the 1800s. They actually have a physical History Center in Martinez.
Finally, there's the California Digital Newspaper Collection and paid services like GenealogyBank. These are the heavy hitters for researchers. They have the scanned pages. You aren't just reading a text file; you’re seeing the actual ink-on-paper scan, including the original photos and the surrounding news of that day.
Placing a new notice in the East Bay Times
If you're currently in the position of having to place an obituary, don't look for a Contra Costa Times office. You won't find one. You’ll be dealing with the Bay Area News Group (BANG).
The process is pretty standardized now, though it can feel a bit corporate when you’re grieving. You basically have two options:
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- Work through the funeral home: This is the easiest way. Most funeral directors in Walnut Creek, Concord, or Richmond have a direct portal to the East Bay Times. They handle the formatting and the billing.
- Self-service via the ad portal: You can go directly to the East Bay Times website and use their "Place an Ad" tool.
Kinda pricey? Yeah. Obituaries in major regional papers have become significantly more expensive over the last decade. They charge by the line, and if you want to include a photo, expect the price to jump.
Pro Tip: Many families now opt for a "short form" notice in the print paper to save money, which then points readers to a full, longer tribute on a digital memorial site. It’s a smart move that keeps the tradition alive without breaking the bank.
The confusion of the "Zoned" editions
One thing that trips people up is that the Contra Costa Times used to have "zones." You had the West County Times, the San Ramon Valley Times, and the Valley Times.
When you’re digging through the Contra Costa Times obituaries archives, you might find that a person was listed in one edition but not the other. This was common in the 80s and 90s. If your search is coming up dry, widen your geographic filters. Someone who lived in Pleasant Hill might have been listed in the Walnut Creek-centric edition rather than the one covering Richmond.
How to search like a pro
Don't just type a name into Google and hope for the best. It doesn't work well for local news anymore.
- Use the "Site" operator: Type
site:legacy.com "Name"orsite:eastbaytimes.com "Name"into your search bar. This forces the engine to only look within those specific databases. - Initials matter: In the mid-20th century, it was common to list men by their initials (e.g., "J.W. Smith") or women by their husband's name ("Mrs. Robert Smith"). If the full name fails, try the initials.
- Check the libraries: The Contra Costa County Library system provides free access to NewsBank for cardholders. This is a massive "cheat code." You can search the full text of the Contra Costa Times from the 1990s through the merger for free, often from your own living room.
The cultural weight of the local obit
It might seem like a small thing, but these records are the primary source of history for our suburbs. Before social media, the Contra Costa Times obituaries were the only public record of a life lived in the shadow of Mount Diablo.
They tell us who built the orchards that became the housing tracts. They tell us about the workers at the Chevron refinery and the teachers who opened the first schools in San Ramon. When you find an old clipping, you aren't just finding a death date; you’re finding the narrative of the East Bay’s growth.
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Actionable next steps for your search
If you are starting a search today, here is exactly what you should do:
- Check your library card status: Log into the Contra Costa County Library website. Look for "Research Databases" and find NewsBank or ProQuest. This is your best shot at finding the 1995–2016 window for free.
- Contact the Historical Society: If the person passed away before 1990, the Contra Costa County Historical Society is your primary resource. Send them an email with the name and an approximate date; their volunteers are incredibly helpful.
- Use specific keywords: When using Legacy or GenealogyBank, add a "keyword" like the high school they attended or the company they worked for (like "Pacific Bell" or "Shell"). This filters out the hundreds of other people with the same name across California.
- Visit the microfilm: If you’re really stuck, the Walnut Creek and Concord libraries still have microfilm machines. There is something uniquely visceral about scrolling through the actual film of a Tuesday morning paper from 1974.
The name on the masthead might have changed to the East Bay Times, but the lives recorded in those pages remain a permanent part of the Contra Costa story. Whether you're doing genealogy or just trying to remember an old neighbor, the records are there—you just have to know which digital door to knock on.