Finding a person's story after they’re gone can feel like a hunt. You’re looking for a name, a date, maybe just a piece of proof that they were here. If you’re searching for obituaries for virginia beach, you’ve probably noticed it’s not as simple as checking a single paper anymore.
Things have changed. Honestly, the way we remember people in the 757 area is a mix of old-school print, digital archives, and social media tributes that disappear if you don’t know where to click.
Whether you’re doing genealogy or just trying to find out when the service at H.D. Oliver is happening, here is the real deal on how this works in our corner of Virginia.
Where the Records Actually Live
Most people start with The Virginian-Pilot. It’s the heavyweight. It’s been around since before the cities of Norfolk and Princess Anne County merged to become the Virginia Beach we know today.
But here’s the thing: putting a notice in the paper is expensive. In 2026, a standard notice in the Pilot can run you anywhere from $135 for a tiny "mini" notice to over $500 for something with a photo and some room to breathe. Because of those costs, a lot of families are skipping the paper entirely.
They’re going straight to the funeral home websites.
👉 See also: Sport watch water resist explained: why 50 meters doesn't mean you can dive
The Digital Shift
If someone passed away recently—say in the last week—the most accurate source isn't a search engine. It’s the local funeral home's "current services" page.
- H.D. Oliver Funeral Apartments: They’ve been a staple on Laskin Road for generations.
- Hollomon-Brown: They have locations scattered all over the city, from Bayside to Kempsville.
- Beach Funeral & Cremation Services: Often handles more contemporary or simple arrangements.
If you don't find a name on the Legacy.com hub for Virginia Beach, check these individual sites. Often, a family will post a full life story there because it’s free, whereas the newspaper gets a shortened version.
Tracking Down History at the Library
What if you're looking for someone from the 1970s? Or maybe a "First Family" of Virginia descendant from the 1800s?
You need the Edgar T. Brown Local History Archive.
It’s located at the Virginia Beach Public Library (specifically the Central Library on Virginia Beach Blvd). Edgar Brown was a local legend who collected basically every piece of ephemera, newspaper clipping, and photo he could find. The library has since digitized a huge chunk of this.
✨ Don't miss: Pink White Nail Studio Secrets and Why Your Manicure Isn't Lasting
You can literally find funeral bulletins from the mid-20th century that aren't indexed anywhere else. They also have a tool called Heritage Hub (it used to be called America's Obituaries and Death Notices). You can’t use it from your couch, though. You have to actually go into a branch and use their Wi-Fi or a public computer to get past the paywall.
Why Some People Are Hard to Find
Kinda frustrating when you search for obituaries for virginia beach and come up empty, right?
There are a few reasons for this. First, Virginia law is specific about "Vital Records." While an obituary is public, the actual death certificate is private for 25 years. If a family chose not to publish an obit to save money or maintain privacy, you won't find a public record of their life story for a quarter-century.
Second, the military presence here is huge.
If a veteran passes away at the VA hospital or was a resident at the Lake Taylor Transitional Care Hospital but is being buried in Arlington or a home state like Ohio, their obituary might not be listed under Virginia Beach at all. It’ll be in their hometown paper.
Common Misconceptions
- "Everything is online." Nope. Thousands of people who died in the 80s and 90s in Hampton Roads have records that only exist on microfilm at the Library of Virginia in Richmond or our local central branch.
- "The date of death is the date of the obit." Usually, there’s a 3-to-5-day lag. If you’re searching archives, always search a week-long window.
Writing an Obituary That Ranks
If you’re the one writing the notice, you want people to find it.
🔗 Read more: Hairstyles for women over 50 with round faces: What your stylist isn't telling you
Basically, you need to include the city name. Don’t just say "passed away at home." Say "passed away at his home in the Shadowlawn area of Virginia Beach." This helps the search engines (and distant relatives) pin down the location.
Mention local landmarks. If they worked at the Oceana Naval Air Station or volunteered at the Virginia Aquarium, put it in there. It makes the piece more "human" and helps with what we call E-E-A-T—experience and authoritativeness. It proves this was a real person in a real community.
Practical Steps for Your Search
If you are currently looking for a record, follow this sequence. It works better than a random Google search.
- Check Legacy.com's Virginia Beach portal. It aggregates the Virginian-Pilot and several smaller local publications.
- Search the "Current Services" pages of the major local funeral homes like Altmeyer or Hollomon-Brown.
- Visit the VBPL Digital Archives. Use the Edgar T. Brown collection if you're looking for historical data.
- Contact the Office of Vital Records in Richmond. If you need a legal record and it’s been more than 25 years, you can request it for about $12.
- Use Social Media Search. Honestly, searching "RIP [Name]" on Facebook and filtering by Virginia Beach often turns up the "digital wake" where the most personal stories are shared.
Searching for a lost loved one or a piece of family history is an emotional task. By knowing where the data is actually stored—between the high-priced newspaper columns and the free library microfiche—you'll save yourself a lot of time and headache.
The best place to start right now is the Virginia Beach Public Library’s genealogy portal to see what they’ve recently moved from microfilm to digital.