Finding van wert ohio obits shouldn't feel like a part-time job. Honestly, when you’re looking for information about a neighbor, a family member, or even just doing a bit of deep-dive genealogy, you want the facts fast. But in a small town like Van Wert, the digital trail is often split between legacy newspapers, three or four different funeral home sites, and those massive national databases that sometimes get the details wrong.
It’s frustrating. You search a name, and instead of a clear obituary, you get hit with ten different "people search" sites asking for a credit card.
Here is the thing: the most accurate information is usually sitting right under your nose, provided you know which local corner to look in. Van Wert is a tight-knit community. Because of that, the way we record passing is still very traditional, even if the medium has moved from the morning paper to a smartphone screen.
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Where the Real Data Lives
If you are looking for van wert ohio obits from the last few days, your first stop shouldn't be a generic search engine. You’ve got to go to the source. In Van Wert, three main funeral homes handle the vast majority of services.
Alspach-Gearhart Funeral Home & Crematory on South Washington Street is one of the big ones. They tend to keep a very updated "Current Obituaries" section. Just this week, they’ve posted notices for folks like Robert "Danny" McPhail and Gary "Harry" Spridgeon. If the person lived in Middle Point or Convoy, they might appear under the Gearhart-Sauer branch, so keep that in mind.
Then there is Cowan & Son Funeral Home. They’ve been around forever. Their website is pretty straightforward—no flashy distractions, just the names and the service times. Recently, they handled services for Raymond L. Foster and Nathan A. Beavers.
Don't overlook Brickner Funeral Home either. They are another staple in the community. If you can't find a name on one site, check the others. It’s not that the records are missing; they’re just localized.
The Van Wert Times Bulletin is the other heavy hitter. They’ve been the paper of record since the mid-1800s (though the current iteration came from a merger back in 1936). They partner with Legacy.com, which is helpful for searching, but be warned: sometimes the "official" newspaper obituary has more personal flourishes than the bare-bones version you find elsewhere.
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The Genealogy Gap: Finding Older Records
If you’re looking for someone who passed away in, say, 1985, clicking through funeral home websites won't help you. Those digital archives usually only go back 10 or 15 years.
For the old stuff, you need the Brumback Library. It’s an architectural gem, sure, but their microfilm collection is the real treasure. They have archives of the Van Wert Times, the Daily Bulletin, and the Times-Bulletin.
Why the "Scrapbooks" Matter
There’s this researcher, Phyllis Manken Gehres, who did an incredible amount of heavy lifting for the Ohio Genealogical Society. She compiled scrapbooks of Van Wert County death notices and obituaries dating all the way back to 1881.
If you are a member of the Ohio Genealogical Society (OGS), you can access these digitized scrapbooks online. It’s much easier than scrolling through blurry microfilm if you’re looking for records from the late 19th century.
- 1881–1885: Primarily death notices (short and sweet).
- 1896–1910: This is when obituaries started getting more "story-like."
- 1920s-1970s: Ancestry.com has a searchable index for the Times Bulletin for specific years (like 1953-55 and 1967-74), but it’s spotty.
The "Middle Point" and "Convoy" Factor
One thing people get wrong about van wert ohio obits is forgetting the surrounding villages. Van Wert is the hub, but if someone lived in Ohio City, Wren, or Willshire, their obituary might be listed under a Van Wert funeral home but tagged with their specific village.
For example, a recent notice for Carolyn S. Priddy was filed through Cowan & Son, but her life was deeply rooted in the broader county area. When searching, try using just the last name and "Van Wert County" rather than just the city limits. It opens up the results significantly.
Common Mistakes in Your Search
People often type a name into a search bar and give up after the first page. Don't do that.
Spelling is a massive hurdle. Older records, especially those digitized via Optical Character Recognition (OCR), are riddled with typos. If you’re looking for "Schoenauer," try "Schonauer" or even "Shenower." Back in the day, the person at the newspaper desk just wrote down what they heard over the phone.
Also, look for the husband's name. It sounds outdated, but for a long time, women were often listed as "Mrs. John Smith" in the headline. You might find the information you need by searching for the spouse instead of the individual.
Digital Tributes vs. Legal Notices
There is a difference between a death notice and a full obituary.
A death notice is basically a "just the facts" legal statement.
An obituary is the story.
In Van Wert, families often pay extra to have the full story published in the Times Bulletin. If they don't, you might only find a short paragraph on the funeral home site. If you're looking for details like where they worked (maybe the old Continental Can company or Borden’s), you really want that full obituary text.
Actionable Steps for Your Search
If you need to find a record right now, follow this sequence:
- Check the Big Three: Visit the websites for Alspach-Gearhart, Cowan & Son, and Brickner directly. This is the fastest way to find services happening this week.
- Use the Times Bulletin / Legacy Portal: This catches anyone who might have used an out-of-town funeral home (like someone who passed away in Lima or Fort Wayne but was from Van Wert).
- Brumback Library for 20th Century Records: If the person passed away before 2005, call or visit the library. They have the local knowledge to point you to the right microfilm reel.
- Ohio Genealogical Society for 19th Century Records: Use the Gehres scrapbooks. They are the gold standard for Van Wert history.
- Social Media: Believe it or not, the "Van Wert County Genealogy" groups on Facebook are surprisingly active. Local historians there often have clippings that haven't been digitized elsewhere.
Van Wert is a place where history stays put. The records are there—you just have to look in the local spots rather than the global ones.