Losing someone is heavy. It's a weight that doesn’t really have a name, and honestly, the last thing anyone wants to do is play digital detective while they're grieving. If you're looking for memorial redwood mortuary & cemetery obituaries, you’re likely trying to piece together a story or find out where to send flowers for a service in the Salt Lake Valley. People usually think these records are just tucked away in a dusty file cabinet or a single corner of the internet. They aren't.
Finding these records is actually about knowing where the data lives. Memorial Redwood is part of a larger network, specifically the Memorial Mortuaries and Cemeteries group in Utah. They have locations in West Jordan, Salt Lake City, and Bountiful. If you’re searching for a specific obituary, you have to realize that the digital paper trail might be spread across several different platforms depending on when the person passed away.
The Digital Architecture of Memorial Redwood Mortuary & Cemetery Obituaries
When you search for memorial redwood mortuary & cemetery obituaries, you’re often looking for the West Jordan location on Redwood Road. It's a massive, beautiful property. But here is the thing: the website architecture for these mortuaries changed a few years back.
Older obituaries—we’re talking stuff from ten or fifteen years ago—might not show up in the "recent" scroll on their main site. You’ve basically got two main hubs to check. The first is the official Memorial Utah website. They centralize their records there. If the service was recent, it's usually front and center. If it was a while ago, you’re going to need a specific name and, ideally, a birth or death year to narrow it down.
Then there’s the third-party factor. Places like Legacy.com or Tributes.com often "scrape" or partner with funeral homes. Sometimes, a family writes a longer, more personal tribute for the local newspaper—like the Salt Lake Tribune or the Deseret News—that contains details the official mortuary site doesn't have. It’s a bit of a jigsaw puzzle. You have to look at the mortuary record for the service details and the newspaper record for the "soul" of the story.
Why Some Obituaries Seem to "Disappear"
It’s frustrating. You search a name, you know they were buried at Memorial Redwood, but nothing pops up. Why?
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Sometimes families opt for a private service. In those cases, a formal obituary might never be published online to protect the family's privacy or prevent "funeral crasher" situations, which are unfortunately a real thing. Other times, it's a simple spelling error in the database. I’ve seen records where "Jon" was entered as "John," and the search engine just gave up.
Also, consider the "Maiden Name" trap. If you’re looking for a woman’s obituary, try searching with and without her maiden name. Databases are notoriously finicky about how names are indexed. If the funeral home entered the record under a legal name but you're searching a nickname, you'll hit a wall every single time.
How to Actually Navigate the Search
Don't just type the name into Google and hope for the best. That leads to those weird, AI-generated "obituary" sites that just want you to click on ads. They’re predatory and often get the facts wrong.
- Start at the Source. Go directly to the Memorial Mortuaries website. Don't use the search bar on the home page if it feels clunky; look for a "Find an Obituary" or "Recent Services" link.
- Filter by Location. Since there are multiple Memorial locations in Utah (Redwood, Mountain View, Murray, etc.), make sure you've selected the Redwood location if that's where the service was held.
- Use the "Search All" Function. If you aren't sure which branch handled the service, use the global search on their parent site.
- Check the Utah State Archives. If you’re doing genealogy and looking for someone who passed away decades ago, the mortuary’s current website won't help you. You need the Utah State Office of Vital Records or the digital archives at the University of Utah.
It's also worth noting that Memorial Redwood is a "Combo" facility. That means they have the mortuary and the cemetery on the same grounds. This is actually pretty rare and very convenient for families. When searching for memorial redwood mortuary & cemetery obituaries, remember that the obituary usually lists the mortuary first (the people who handled the body) and the cemetery second (the place of rest). Because they are the same entity here, the records are usually better integrated than they are at standalone cemeteries.
Writing a Tribute That Lasts
If you are the one tasked with writing one of these obituaries, the pressure feels immense. You’re trying to sum up eighty years in five hundred words. It’s impossible.
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The best obituaries I’ve read at Memorial Redwood aren't the ones that list every job the person ever had. They’re the ones that mention how he always smelled like peppermint or how she never met a stray cat she didn't try to feed.
- Focus on the quirks. Did they hate broccoli? Were they obsessed with the Utah Jazz?
- Be specific about the service. If people are coming to the Redwood Road location, tell them exactly which chapel. It’s a big place.
- Check the dates. This sounds silly, but grief-brain is real. Double-check the year. I've seen obituaries published with the wrong year more times than I can count.
The Role of Social Media
Today, an obituary isn't just a paragraph in the Monday paper. It’s a Facebook post, a digital guestbook, and a legacy page. When a record is posted under memorial redwood mortuary & cemetery obituaries, it usually includes a "Tribute Wall."
This is where the real history lives. You’ll find photos uploaded by old high school friends or stories from coworkers you never knew existed. If you’re looking for information, always scroll down to the comments. Sometimes the "official" record is brief, but the community comments fill in the gaps of a person’s life.
Vital Details for the Redwood Road Location
If you are planning to attend a service found in the obituaries, you need to know the layout. Memorial Redwood is located at 6500 South Redwood Road in West Jordan.
It's a sprawling property. If the obituary says "Graveside Service," give yourself an extra fifteen minutes to find the specific plot. The staff at the main office are usually great, but they’re busy. They have maps available at the front desk. If you’re there for a viewing inside the mortuary, those are typically held in the smaller chapels or viewing rooms near the main entrance.
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Parking can get hairy during large services. If the obituary you found is for a prominent community member, expect a crowd. Redwood Road is a major artery in West Jordan, so traffic at 5:00 PM is a nightmare. Plan accordingly.
Actionable Steps for Your Search
If you are currently struggling to find a specific record, stop hitting refresh on Google. Try these specific steps instead.
First, call the mortuary directly. If the death was very recent—within the last 24 to 48 hours—the obituary might not be live yet. The funeral directors can tell you if a service has been scheduled.
Second, check the "Utah Death Index." For older records, this is a lifesaver. It won't give you the full, flowery obituary, but it will give you the dates you need to find the record in a newspaper archive.
Third, use the FamilySearch or Ancestry databases. Since Memorial Redwood is in the heart of the Salt Lake Valley, and Salt Lake is the global hub for genealogy, these records are often indexed much faster and more accurately here than anywhere else in the world.
Finally, if you’re looking for a plot location but the obituary doesn't list it, use the "Find A Grave" website. Volunteers frequently photograph headstones at Memorial Redwood and upload them with GPS coordinates. It’s an incredible resource that picks up where the official obituaries leave off.
Keep your search terms broad if you fail at first. Instead of "Johnathan Michael Smith Jr.," try "John Smith" and filter by the date of death. Data entry is a human process, and humans make typos, especially in the emotional environment of a funeral home. Success in finding these records usually comes down to persistence and trying three different spelling variations you're sure are wrong, just in case.