Finding a specific tribute can feel like a maze. Honestly, when you are looking through Kersey Funeral Home obituaries, you aren't just looking for a date or a time. You're looking for a story. It is about a person who lived in Auburndale, Florida, or maybe nearby in Polk City or Lakeland. Kersey Funeral Home has been around for a long time. Decades. Because of that, their records are a massive part of the local history in Polk County.
People die. It's the one thing we all do. But how we remember them? That changes constantly. If you’ve ever tried to find an old obituary from ten years ago versus one from last week, you know the struggle is real. Digital archives are great until a link breaks.
Finding Kersey Funeral Home Obituaries Without the Headache
Most folks start at Google. That makes sense. But if you just type in a name, you might get twenty different results from those "people finder" sites that want $19.99 to show you a middle initial. Don't do that. It's a waste of money.
The most direct route is the official Kersey Funeral Home website. They use a platform that hosts their tributes directly. This is where you’ll find the "Book of Memories." It’s actually a pretty cool feature because it’s not just a block of text. You can light virtual candles. You can upload photos of that fishing trip from 1994.
Sometimes the official site is slow. Or maybe you're looking for someone who passed away years ago before everything was digitized. In those cases, you have to get a little bit more creative with your search terms.
- Try searching the person's name + "Auburndale obituary."
- Check the Ledger (the local Lakeland paper).
- Look at Legacy.com, which often syndicates these posts.
The Art of Writing a Kersey Tribute
Writing these things is hard. Like, really hard. You're trying to squeeze eighty years of life into five paragraphs while you're also grieving and trying to remember if Uncle Bob wanted "In Lieu of Flowers" or if he actually loved roses. Kersey Funeral Home usually helps families with the basics, but the best obituaries—the ones people actually read and share—are the ones that sound like a human wrote them.
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Forget the "preceded in death by" list for a second. Talk about the fact that she made the world's best blueberry cobbler. Mention that he never missed a Tampa Bay Buccaneers game, even when they were terrible.
The staff at Kersey, located on Lake Stella Drive, typically guides families through this. They have a template, sure. Most funeral homes do. But the families in Auburndale tend to lean into that small-town feel. You’ll see a lot of mentions of local churches like First Baptist or St. Joseph’s.
Why the Location Matters
Auburndale is a specific kind of place. It’s got that old Florida vibe. When you read Kersey Funeral Home obituaries, you see a pattern of lives spent outdoors. You see mentions of the citrus industry. You see families that have been in Polk County for four generations.
This local connection is why these obituaries are often more detailed than what you’d find in a big city like Miami or New York. People here know each other. They want to know where the service is, but they also want to know which park the reception is at.
The Digital Shift in Polk County
In the old days, you waited for the newspaper to hit the driveway. If you missed it, you missed the news. Now, things stay online. But here is a secret: digital obituaries can be edited.
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If there is a typo in a print newspaper, it’s there forever. It’s ink. But on the Kersey website, if someone realizes they forgot to list a grandchild, the funeral director can usually fix it in about five minutes. That’s a huge relief for families who are already stressed out.
It’s also about the photos. Twenty years ago, you got one grainy black-and-white headshot. Now, these online tributes are basically digital scrapbooks. You can see a whole life play out in a slideshow. It makes the grieving process feel a bit more communal, even if you can’t make it to the service in person.
Common Misconceptions About Local Obituaries
A lot of people think that if an obituary isn't in the newspaper, it's not "official." That’s just not true anymore. Many families are skipping the $500+ charge from major newspapers and just sticking to the funeral home’s website and Facebook.
Another big one? People think obituaries are legal documents. They aren't. They are public notices. A death certificate is a legal document. An obituary is a story. This means you have some creative freedom. You don't have to follow a specific "government" format.
Practical Steps for Researchers and Families
If you are looking for an old record from Kersey, and it isn't showing up on their website, call them. Seriously. They have files. They have books. The staff there understands that genealogy is a big deal to people.
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For those currently planning a service at Kersey, keep these points in mind to make the obituary actually serve its purpose:
- Check the dates twice. It sounds obvious, but when you are tired, you’ll mix up Tuesday the 14th and Wednesday the 15th.
- Focus on the "dash." There is a poem about the dash between the birth date and death date. That’s what people care about. What did they love? What did they hate? (Sometimes it's okay to mention they hated liver and onions).
- Use social media to your advantage. Share the link from the Kersey site directly to Facebook. It’s the fastest way to make sure the high school friends from forty years ago find out.
- Include specific donation info. If you want money to go to the Auburndale Public Library instead of flowers, put the link right there in the text.
The reality of Kersey Funeral Home obituaries is that they serve as a bridge. They connect the quiet, private grief of a house on a lake to the wider community that wants to show up and support. Whether you are a historian digging through the past or a grandson trying to find the right words, remember that these records are the heartbeat of Auburndale’s history.
Gather your facts. Write from the heart. And if you get stuck, look at the other tributes on their site for inspiration. There is a lot of wisdom in how this community says goodbye.
To get the most accurate information right now, visit the Kersey Funeral Home website directly and use their internal search bar. If the person passed away recently, check their official Facebook page, as they often post service updates there faster than the main site updates. For historical searches, the Auburndale Public Library has local newspaper archives on microfilm that can fill in the gaps for deaths occurring before the internet era.