Losing someone in a town like Fort Collins hits different. One day you’re grabbing a coffee at Mugs, and the next, you’re hearing through the grapevine that a local legend or a quiet neighbor has passed. It’s a tight-knit place despite the growth.
When you start looking for fort collins colorado obituaries, you’ll notice something pretty quickly: the old ways of finding this stuff are kind of breaking down. It’s not just about opening the Coloradoan on your driveway anymore. Honestly, the digital shift has made things both easier and a total mess at the same time.
Where the Records Actually Live Now
If you’re trying to track down a recent service, you’ve basically got three main "buckets" to check. The newspaper used to be the only one. Now? It's often the last place families go because of the cost.
- The Funeral Home Websites: This is the gold mine. Places like Bohlender Funeral Chapel or Goes Funeral Care host their own "tribute walls." They’re free to view and usually have way more photos than a print ad.
- Legacy and Dignity Memorial: These are the big aggregators. If you search for someone like Juanita Irene Rodriguez or Sandra Ota, who we lost in early 2026, you’ll likely find them here first.
- The Coloradoan: They still run them, but they’re often behind a paywall or just shorter "death notices" rather than full life stories.
The reality is that many families in Larimer County are skipping the newspaper entirely. It can cost hundreds, sometimes over a thousand dollars, to run a full-page spread in print. Instead, they’re posting on Facebook or using a local funeral home’s digital platform.
The Search for 2026 and Recent Passings
Take a look at the start of this year. We've already seen the passing of some deeply rooted community members. Kristen Kovatch, who was only 46, was remembered recently for her love of hiking Colorado’s public lands before her passing on New Year's Day. Then there’s Patrick Milton McCluskey, a proud Colorado native who lived a life of service until he passed on January 3rd.
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Searching for these names requires a bit of nuance. If you just type a name into Google, you might get a "Find A Grave" result from ten years ago. You have to filter by "past week" or "past month" to get the 2026 updates.
Why the Archive Search is a Different Beast
If you’re doing genealogy or looking for someone who passed in, say, 1995, Google isn’t always your friend. The Larimer County Genealogical Society actually has a project digitizing Coloradoan obits from 1988 to 2002. It’s a lifesaver for researchers.
But there's a gap.
For anything older than the late 80s, you’re likely headed to the Old Town Library. They have the microfilm. It’s a bit of a trek, and your eyes will definitely hurt after an hour of scrolling through black-and-white scans, but that’s where the "real" history is.
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Writing a Fort Collins Obituary That Doesn't Sound Like a Robot
If you're the one stuck writing one of these, don't feel like you have to follow a stiff template. People in Fort Collins care about the life lived, not just the stats.
Mention the places.
Did they spend every Saturday at the Larimer County Farmers’ Market? Were they a regular at City Park? These details matter more than their middle name or where they went to high school in 1954.
Expert Tip: Most local funeral homes, like Bohlender, provide a basic form to help you gather the facts, but the "Personal Obituary" section is where you should let loose. Mention the dog. Mention the "almost" world-record trout they caught at Horsetooth.
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The Practical Steps for Finding a Service Today
- Check the Big Three First: Start with Goes Funeral Care, Bohlender, and Allnutt. They handle a huge chunk of the local services.
- Use Social Media Search: Search "Name + Fort Collins" on Facebook. Many families create "Event" pages for celebrations of life because they're easier to update than a static obituary.
- Check for "Celebrations of Life": In 2026, many people are opting for informal gatherings at breweries or parks rather than traditional church funerals. Search those terms specifically.
- Verify via the County: If you can't find an obit but need proof of death for legal reasons, the Larimer County Vital Records office is the official stop, though they won't give you the "story" of the person, just the data.
What Most People Get Wrong
People think if it’s not in the paper, it didn't happen.
That’s just not true anymore.
A lot of fort collins colorado obituaries are now "private" or hosted on small, family-run memorial sites. If you’re looking for a specific person—like John Ralph Gleason, who passed in late December 2025—and you can't find him in the local news, check the specific funeral home in the town where he lived, which might even be Loveland or Wellington.
The boundaries between these towns are basically non-existent when it comes to where people are laid to rest.
Moving Forward With Your Search
Finding a record is the first step; honoring the person is the second. If you’ve found the person you’re looking for, many online tributes allow you to "plant a tree" or donate to a local charity like the Food Bank for Larimer County in their name.
If you are currently looking for a record from January 2026, start by visiting the digital archives of Legacy.com or the specific website of the funeral home mentioned in any death notice you've seen. For historical research, contact the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery archive—they have local records that often pre-date the digitized versions found online.