Losing someone in the Illinois Valley is a heavy thing. It’s a tight-knit stretch of river towns—LaSalle, Peru, Oglesby—where everyone basically knows everyone else’s business, or at least their cousin’s. When a familiar face goes missing from the morning coffee rotation at the local diner, people head straight to the obituaries News Tribune LaSalle IL to see what happened.
But honestly? Finding those records has become a bit of a scavenger hunt lately.
The way we consume local news in LaSalle County has shifted. If you’re looking for a name from last week, you’re looking in a different spot than if you’re hunting for a Great-Aunt from 1954. People get frustrated. They hit paywalls or end up on generic national sites that don't have the local flavor.
Where the News Tribune Records Actually Live Now
The News-Tribune—historically the heartbeat of LaSalle-Peru—is now part of the Shaw Local News Network. That’s the first thing you’ve got to realize. If you go to an old URL, you’re likely getting redirected.
For current listings, most residents head to the Shaw Local Illinois Valley portal. It’s the digital home for the News-Tribune. You’ll find names like Raymond L. Bartolt or Loretta A. Phelps there—real people from our community who recently passed. The interface is pretty straightforward, but it’s heavily tied to Legacy.com for the actual hosting of the digital guestbooks.
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Short version? You’re browsing a local paper’s feed, but the tech is handled by a global giant.
The Breakdown of Search Options
- The Modern Feed: Shaw Local's "Obituaries" tab. This is where you see the "Featured" posts that families often pay extra for.
- The Funeral Home Shortcut: Honestly, sometimes it’s faster to skip the paper. In LaSalle, the Hurst Funeral Home or Mueller-Pagani often post the full text on their own sites before the ink is even dry on the print edition.
- The Physical Paper: Yes, people still buy the physical News-Tribune. There’s something about seeing the photo in newsprint that feels more "official" to the older generation in the 815.
Hunting for History: The Archive Problem
If you’re doing genealogy, the "current" website is basically useless. Most news sites only keep a rolling window of a few years. If you need an obituary from the 1990s or earlier, you have to change tactics.
The Peru Public Library is a goldmine for this. They have microfilm—yeah, those clunky reels—of the Daily Post-Tribune and the News-Tribune dating back decades. They even have a "Year in Memoriam" index they’ve been compiling since 2004. It’s a labor of love by local librarians who know how much these records matter to families.
There is also the LaSalle County Genealogy Guild over in Ottawa. They don't always have the full clipping, but they have probate files and indices that can point you to the exact date of death. Once you have the date, finding the actual text in the obituaries News Tribune LaSalle IL archives becomes ten times easier.
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How Much Does It Actually Cost to Post?
This is the part nobody likes to talk about. Death is expensive.
I’ve seen people shocked by the bill for a "full" obituary. While some papers offer a "Death Notice" (basically just the name, date, and service time) for a lower flat fee—sometimes around $70—a full-length story with a photo can easily climb into the hundreds.
- Basic Notice: Name, age, town, and when the service is. Minimalist.
- Full Obituary: The "Life Story." This is where you mention the 12 grandkids and the fact that he was the best bowler in the Illinois Valley in 1978.
- The Extras: Adding a photo or a "service emblem" (like a flag for veterans) usually adds to the line count.
Pro tip: Check if the funeral home includes the publication cost in their package. Some do, some don't. Always ask for a "proof" before it goes to print so you aren't paying for typos.
Why the "Digital" Version Matters More Than You Think
In the old days, you clipped the paper and put it in a scrapbook. Now? The digital version is where the "Guestbook" lives.
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For many families in LaSalle, the online obituary becomes a temporary social network. You’ll see comments from people who moved away to Chicago or Florida thirty years ago. They see the obituaries News Tribune LaSalle IL online and leave a note.
These guestbooks usually stay open for a set period—maybe 30 or 90 days—unless the family pays for "permanent" hosting. If you see a name you recognize, don't wait. Leave the note now.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Searching with the wrong name: Women in LaSalle County records are often listed by maiden names in older archives, or strictly as "Mrs. [Husband's Name]." If you can't find her, try searching for the husband.
- Ignoring the small towns: The News-Tribune covers a wide area. If the person lived in Utic or Tonica, they might be listed under a "County" heading rather than a "LaSalle" heading.
- Trusting "Find A Grave" entirely: It’s a great site, but it’s user-generated. Always verify a date you find there by looking up the actual newspaper record.
Actionable Steps for Your Search
If you are looking for a specific person right now, here is exactly what you should do:
- Check Shaw Local first. Use their search bar but keep the name simple. Just "Smith" or "Bartolt"—don't over-complicate it with middle initials yet.
- Call the LaSalle or Peru Public Library. If it’s an older record, these librarians are your best friends. They can often do a quick lookup if you have a specific date.
- Look at the Funeral Home site. Search for the name + "Hurst Funeral Home" or "Burgess Funeral Home." These are often free to access and include high-resolution photos.
- Use GenealogyBank or Newspapers.com. If you have a subscription, these sites have digitized many back issues of the News-Tribune, making it easier to search from your couch instead of traveling to Illinois.
The obituaries News Tribune LaSalle IL are more than just a list of names. They are a map of our community's history. Whether you're settling an estate or just trying to remember a friend, knowing where to look saves a lot of heartache in an already difficult time.