Searching for recent obituaries Decatur Indiana can feel like a maze. Honestly, most people just type a name into a search bar and hope for the best, but that’s where the trouble starts. You end up on national scraper sites with outdated info or, worse, those weird AI-generated video tributes that get the dates wrong.
If you're looking for someone right now, you've gotta go straight to the source. In a town like Decatur, that means looking at the local mainstays: Haggard-Hirschy & Zelt and Zwick & Jahn. They handle the vast majority of services here.
Who We've Said Goodbye to Recently in Decatur
The last few weeks of January 2026 have been heavy for our community. We’ve lost some truly remarkable neighbors. Just this past Saturday, January 17, Suzanne L. "Sue" Vore passed away at 77. She was a fixture here, married to Kenneth Vore back in '99, and if you knew her, you knew she lived for BINGO and her pets.
Then there’s the loss of Lillian R. Glendening, who reached the incredible age of 101. She passed on January 15 at Swiss Village. Her life was like something out of a movie—born in Estonia, fluent in three languages, and eventually finding her way to Decatur after meeting her husband, Captain James Keith Glendening, in Germany.
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We also lost Betty A. Blume on January 14. She was 84 and a massive Indiana Pacers fan. If you ever spent time at the Silver Sneakers in Fort Wayne, you probably saw her staying active and social.
Other recent notices include:
- Heath Mendez (January 16, 2026)
- T. Janice Lengerich (January 13, 2026)
- Samuel M. Girod (January 13, 2026), a lifelong farmer and member of the Old Order Amish community.
- Margaret A. Rehill (January 12, 2026)
- James L. Baumgartner (January 9, 2026)
- Nolan Free (January 6, 2026)
Why Local Funeral Homes Matter More Than Google
Basically, the "big sites" like Legacy or Tribute Archive are fine for a quick glance, but they often lag behind by 24 to 48 hours. When you need service times or where to send memorials today, you need the funeral home’s direct feed.
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Zwick & Jahn Funeral Homes They’ve been a cornerstone in Decatur for ages. They currently have services scheduled for Betty Blume on January 23, with a visitation starting at 4:30 p.m. at their North 2nd Street location. They also handled the arrangements for Lillian Glendening, with her memorial set for the Swiss Village Auditorium.
Haggard-Hirschy & Zelt Funeral Home
Located right on West Adams Street, they are the other primary source for recent obituaries Decatur Indiana. They recently posted the notice for Margaret A. Rehill, with her Mass of Christian Burial scheduled for Monday, January 19.
The Amish Community Notices
Decatur and the surrounding Berne area have a significant Amish population. Obituaries for members of the Old Order Amish, like John E. Schwartz (who passed Jan 7) or Samuel M. Girod, often include details for services held at private residences rather than a funeral home chapel. For Samuel Girod, the service was held at the Enos J. Schwartz residence in Berne. This is a nuance many outside search engines miss—they’ll list the funeral home but not the actual location of the wake or service.
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How to Get Notified Without Checking Daily
It’s kind of a pain to keep refreshing a webpage when you’re waiting for news. Most of the local funeral homes now have email subscription lists. You just pop your email in on their "All Obituaries" page, and they’ll send you an alert the second a new notice is published. It’s way more reliable than waiting for the Decatur Daily Democrat to hit the porch or the website to update.
Actionable Steps for Finding Information Now
If you are searching for a specific record or trying to plan your week around a service, follow this order:
- Check the Zwick & Jahn "Recent Obituaries" page first. They tend to upload full life stories and high-resolution photos quickly.
- Visit the Haggard-Hirschy & Zelt website. Look specifically for their "Tribute Wall" where you can see the very latest service times which sometimes change last minute due to weather.
- Use the Decatur County INGenWeb project if you are looking for older records (pre-2017). The Greensburg-Decatur County Public Library has an incredible free database, though it won't have the "just happened" notices from this week.
- Confirm the location. In our area, "Decatur" can sometimes refer to Decatur County (Greensburg) or the city of Decatur (Adams County). Always double-check that you aren't looking at a Bass & Gasper listing if you actually need someone from Adams County.
Finding recent obituaries Decatur Indiana doesn't have to be a scavenger hunt. Stick to the local funeral home sites for the most accurate, human-verified details regarding our neighbors and loved ones.