Losing someone is heavy. It's a weight that doesn't really have a name, but in the Quad Cities, when that weight hits, a lot of people turn toward Jersey Ridge Road. Specifically, they look for weerts funeral home davenport iowa obituaries.
Honestly, searching for an obituary isn't just about finding a date or a time for a service. It’s about a last look. It’s about making sure the story was told right. But there’s a lot of confusion about how these records work, where they go, and why some show up in the Quad-City Times while others seem to vanish into the digital ether.
If you're looking for someone right now, or if you're trying to figure out how to write one of these things without losing your mind, let’s get into the weeds of how it actually works in Davenport.
The Reality of Searching Weerts Funeral Home Davenport Iowa Obituaries
Most people think an obituary is just a "thing" the funeral home does automatically. Kinda, but not exactly. At Weerts, which sits at that big intersection of Kimberly and Jersey Ridge, the process is a bit more collaborative than you'd expect.
When you’re looking for a recent passing, your first stop shouldn’t necessarily be Google—it should be the Weerts "Obituaries" page directly on the Dignity Memorial website. Why? Because newspapers charge by the inch.
I’ve seen families cut out entire chunks of a person’s life—their love for the Cubs, their 40 years at the Arsenal, their secret recipe for potato salad—just to save $200 on the print ad. But on the Weerts digital site, that space is usually "unlimited." You’ll find the full, unedited story there.
Recent Names in the Quad Cities
As of mid-January 2026, the community has said goodbye to several familiar faces. You might be looking for details on:
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- Jack E. Greenlee, a Davenport native who passed on January 13.
- Daniel Paul McMahon, whose services involve a Celebration of Life following his passing on January 12.
- Sharon R. Reuter, who fought a long battle with cancer before passing on January 14.
These names represent the heartbeat of Davenport. When you search for them, you aren't just looking for a "death notice." You’re looking for the connection.
Why Some Obituaries Aren't Where You Think
Here is a weird thing about the funeral industry in Iowa: an obituary is a private advertisement. It isn't a public record.
If a family decides not to pay for a listing in the Quad-City Times, it won't be there. If they decide they only want a private service, they might not post an obituary at all. This happens more than you’d think. People get frustrated when they can't find weerts funeral home davenport iowa obituaries for a specific person, but often, it’s because the family chose "privacy" over "publicity."
The "Dignity" Factor
Weerts is part of the Dignity Memorial network. This matters for your search. Instead of a local, mom-and-pop website, you’re often redirected to a large, national database.
It’s efficient, sure. You can send flowers directly from the page or "join" a livestream of the service. But it can also feel a bit corporate if you aren't expecting it. The benefit is the "Book of Memories" feature. Unlike a newspaper clipping that yellows in a drawer, these digital pages stay up. You can upload photos of Grandpa from 1955 that weren't in the original print version.
The Cary Grant Connection (A Bit of Trivia)
You can't talk about Weerts without mentioning the most famous "obituary" they ever handled. Back in 1986, the legendary Cary Grant was in Davenport for a show at the Adler Theatre. He suffered a stroke at the Blackhawk Hotel and died at St. Luke's Hospital.
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It was Bob Weerts—the former president of the funeral home—who handled the arrangements and signed the death certificate for one of the biggest stars in Hollywood history.
It’s a reminder that this specific funeral home has been the gatekeeper of Davenport's history for over a century. They aren't just a business; they are the people who document the end of our local stories.
How to Actually Find an Old Obituary
If you’re doing genealogy or looking for someone who passed years ago, the Weerts website might not be enough. Digital records usually only go back 15 to 20 years with any real consistency.
For the "deep" stuff, you have to go to the Richardson-Sloane Special Collections Center at the Davenport Public Library. They have the microfilm. They have the stuff that hasn't been indexed by a search engine yet.
- Start with the Name: Obviously.
- Approximate Date: If you don't know the death date, look for the "burial index" for Scott County.
- Check the "Legacy" database: Many weerts funeral home davenport iowa obituaries are mirrored on Legacy.com, which sometimes has better search filters than the funeral home's own site.
Writing the Obituary: Don't Make It Boring
If you’re the one tasked with writing for a loved one at Weerts, please, I’m begging you: skip the clichés.
"He was a hardworking man who loved his family."
"She will be missed by all who knew her."
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Everyone says that. It doesn't tell us who they were. Did they cheat at cards? Did they make the world's worst coffee but drank it every morning anyway? Did they once get a speeding ticket in a tractor?
The staff at Weerts, like Renalda Samolitis or Carey Sodawasser, are used to helping families find these "hooks." Use them. An obituary is the last time a person's name appears in the community record. Make it count.
Practical Steps for Families
If you are currently coordinating with Weerts:
- Draft it in a Word Doc first. Don't type it directly into a web form. You’ll lose your work if the page refreshes.
- Double-check the spellings of grandkids. Nothing starts a family feud faster than misspelling a "favorite" niece's name in the paper.
- Ask about the "Tribute Movie." Weerts does a lot of video production. If you have the photos, they can sync them to music, which is often more powerful than the written word anyway.
What You Need to Know Right Now
Searching for weerts funeral home davenport iowa obituaries is basically a way of checking in on the community. Whether you're looking for the service time for a friend or trying to track down a piece of family history, remember that these records are maintained by real people in a building on Jersey Ridge Road.
They’ve been doing this since O.C. Hill started it in a storefront on West 4th Street back in 1909. Things have changed—we use smartphones instead of telegrams—but the core is the same. It’s about a name, a date, and a story.
Actionable Next Steps:
- If looking for a recent service: Go directly to the Weerts/Dignity Memorial "Obituaries" page and use the search bar. Do not rely on the newspaper's search, as it often has a 24-hour delay.
- If searching for history: Contact the Davenport Public Library's Special Collections. They can help you access the Daily Times or Democrat and Leader archives from the early 1900s.
- If writing an obituary: Focus on one specific "character trait" rather than a chronological list of jobs. It makes for a much better read and a more lasting tribute.