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Honestly, trying to track down recent or historical records for obits in Lafayette Indiana feels like a maze sometimes. You think it would be a simple Google search, but then you’re hit with paywalls, outdated local newspaper sites, or funeral home pages that haven't been updated in a week. It’s frustrating. When someone passes away in Tippecanoe County, the information is usually scattered across a few key places, and knowing exactly where to look saves you a lot of aimless clicking.
Whether you're looking for a service time for a friend like Janet S. Hayden or Steven Lee Doty—both of whom had notices recently—or you're a genealogy buff digging into the 1800s, Lafayette has a specific "digital ecosystem" for this stuff. It isn’t just about the Journal & Courier anymore.
Where the Real Data Lives Now
Most people start with the Journal & Courier (the J&C), and while they’re the primary newspaper of record, their online archives can be a bit finicky if you don't have a subscription. If you’re looking for someone who passed away in the last few days, like Helen Louise Gross or Mary L. Tanksley, you’re actually better off checking the local funeral home websites directly.
The Local Heavy Hitters
In Lafayette, a handful of funeral homes handle the vast majority of services. These sites usually post the full text before the newspaper even goes to print. It’s just faster.
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- Soller-Baker Funeral Homes: These guys are a staple in the Lafayette and West Lafayette area. Their online obituary section is very clean and often includes visitation hours at their Lafayette or West Lafayette chapels.
- Hippensteel Funeral Service: Another big one. If you’re looking for Claude Elliott or Ellen L. Risk, their records were hosted here. They’ve been around forever, so their archives are actually quite deep.
- Tippecanoe Funeral Chapel & Tippecanoe Memory Gardens: Located out toward West Lafayette, they handle many of the burials at the Memory Gardens.
- Fisher Funeral Chapel: They serve a lot of families in the greater Lafayette and Logansport area.
Basically, if you can’t find a name on one, check the others. It’s rarely a "one-stop shop" situation.
The Genealogy Goldmine: Tippecanoe County Public Library
If you’re looking for obits in Lafayette Indiana from twenty, fifty, or a hundred years ago, the internet is going to fail you. Most of that stuff isn't digitized in a way that Google can crawl. You’ve got to go old school.
The Tippecanoe County Public Library (TCPL) downtown is basically a time machine. They have the "Family Memory Center," which houses microfilm of the Journal & Courier (and its predecessors like the Lafayette Morning Journal) dating back to the mid-1800s.
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They even offer a "Genealogy Lookup" service. If you live out of state and can't physically walk into the library on South Street, you can mail them a request. You need a name and a rough date. They won't just "find all the Smiths," but if you tell them "John Smith died in August 1944," a librarian will usually hunt it down for a small fee.
Why Some Obits Seem to Vanish
Have you ever searched for someone you know passed away in Lafayette, but nothing comes up? It’s happening more often.
Running an obituary in the newspaper is expensive. In 2026, a full-length tribute with a photo in a Gannett-owned paper (like the J&C) can cost hundreds of dollars. Because of that, some families are opting for "digital only" memorials on sites like Legacy.com or simply posting the details on Facebook.
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Also, privacy is a thing. Some folks choose to have no public notice at all. If you’re searching for a "missing" record, try searching the Tippecanoe County Health Department for death certificates, though those aren't public record in the same way an obituary is—you usually have to prove you’re direct kin to get those.
How to Write a Lafayette-Style Tribute
If you're the one tasked with writing one of these, don't overthink it. Lafayette is a community that values a mix of "town and gown"—meaning we celebrate both the local blue-collar legends and the Purdue University academics.
- The Hook: Start with the basics. Name, age, and when they passed. "Peacefully at home" or "surrounded by family" are the classics.
- The Purdue Connection: If they worked at the university or were a die-hard Boilers fan, people here want to know. It’s part of the local DNA.
- The Details: Mention their favorite spot. Did they spend every morning at DT Kirby’s or Triple XXX? Mention it. Those little details make it feel human.
- Service Info: Be crystal clear about the location. If it’s at St. Mary Cathedral or a specific Soller-Baker chapel, specify which one (Lafayette vs. West Lafayette).
Actionable Next Steps
If you are currently searching for information or need to manage a notice, here is what you should do right now:
- Check Legacy.com first: They aggregate most of the Lafayette funeral home data and the J&C notices into one searchable database. It's the fastest way to find people like Pamela Sue Howenstine or William "Bill" Parr.
- Visit the Funeral Home site directly: If you need the specific "Celebration of Life" or visitation hours, the funeral home website (like Soller-Baker or Hippensteel) will always have the most accurate, up-to-the-minute info compared to a third-party site.
- Contact the TCHA: For deep historical research, the Tippecanoe County Historical Association is your best friend. They have specialized files that go beyond just newspaper clippings.
- Verify the date: Remember that the publication date is almost never the death date. Usually, an obit appears 2–4 days after the passing.
Finding obits in Lafayette Indiana doesn't have to be a chore if you know that the "big three" funeral homes and the downtown library hold the keys to most of the records in town.