Finding a specific life story in a rural slice of Pennsylvania shouldn't feel like a high-stakes scavenger hunt. Yet, if you’re looking for Wyoming County PA obituaries, you’ve probably realized that the digital trail is a bit... messy. It's not just about clicking a single link and calling it a day.
Honestly, the way we track our history in places like Tunkhannock or Meshoppen has changed so fast that the "old ways" and the "new ways" are currently colliding. You have some records sitting in dusty microfilm drawers at the Wyoming County Historical Society, while others are being uploaded to the cloud before the funeral service even starts.
If you are trying to find a recent passing or digging into a family tree that stretches back to the 1800s, there is a specific way to play this.
The Local Gatekeepers: Where the Stories Actually Live
Most people start with a giant search engine, and that’s fine. But in Wyoming County, the local newspapers are still the kings of the record. The Wyoming County Press Examiner is the heavy hitter here. For decades, it has been the primary place where families in Tunkhannock and the surrounding townships share their goodbyes.
But here is the kicker: not everything makes it online for free.
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Legacy and the Digital Shift
If the passing happened in the last decade or so, you're likely going to find it on Legacy.com or through the funeral home's direct website. For example, Marcho, Sheldon, and Kukuchka Funeral Home in Tunkhannock keeps a very active digital archive. Just this month, in January 2026, they’ve handled services for local residents like Barbara Kreglewicz and Tammy Jenkins.
These digital memorials are great because they often include things the newspaper doesn't:
- Full-color photo galleries.
- "Tribute walls" where friends leave comments that are basically mini-obituaries themselves.
- Direct links to donate to local charities, which is a big tradition in the Endless Mountains.
The "Press Examiner" Archive
If you’re looking for something from 1995 or 1970, the search changes. You’ll want to look into GenealogyBank or NewsLibrary. They’ve digitized large chunks of the Press Examiner archives. It’s a paid service, sure, but it beats driving to the courthouse if you live three states away.
Why Names Often Get "Lost" in Wyoming County
One thing that trips people up is the geography. Wyoming County is tucked right next to Luzerne and Lackawanna. If someone lived in Falls but died in a hospital in Scranton, their obituary might actually show up in the Scranton Times-Tribune instead of a local Wyoming County paper.
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Pro tip: Always check the Scranton and Wilkes-Barre papers if the local search comes up empty. The Geisinger Community Medical Center and Allied Hospice in Scranton are where many residents spend their final days, and the paper of record often follows the location of the hospital or the family's original hometown.
Historical Deep Dives: Beyond the 1900s
For the real history buffs—the ones trying to find a 19th-century ancestor who farmed in Mehoopany—you have to go to the source. The Wyoming County Historical Society (located right in Tunkhannock) is the gold mine.
They have microfilm. They have physical files.
They also have volunteers who actually know the family names.
If you're searching for Wyoming County PA obituaries from the 1840s to the 1930s, you might actually be looking for "Estate Records" or "Wills" rather than a formal obituary. Back then, a 10-line mention in the paper was a luxury. Often, the only formal record was the settlement of the estate at the courthouse.
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Common Misconceptions
- "Everything is on Find A Grave." Not even close. While it’s a great site, many smaller family plots in the PA wilds haven't been fully cataloged yet.
- "The County Courthouse keeps obituaries." Nope. They keep death certificates (which are legal documents), but the "story" of the person is a private matter handled by the family and the newspapers.
- "Spelling is consistent." In old Wyoming County records, "Kukuchka" might be spelled three different ways. Search by initials or the first few letters of a last name if you hit a wall.
Finding Recent 2026 Notices
As of mid-January 2026, we’ve seen several notable local names in the records. People like Steven Craig Antosh of Mehoopany and Daphne Leeds of Tunkhannock were recently remembered in the local papers.
If you are looking for someone who passed away within the last 48 hours, skip the big search engines. Go straight to the websites of the three main funeral providers in the area:
- Sheldon-Kukuchka Funeral Home (Tunkhannock)
- Harding-Litwin Funeral Home (Tunkhannock)
- Metcalfe-Shaver-Kopcza (which often handles the West Wyoming and Exeter border areas)
These sites update much faster than Google can index them.
Actionable Steps for Your Search
If you are stuck, here is your roadmap. Don't try to do it all at once; start narrow and go wide.
- Check the Funeral Home First: If the death was recent (last 5 years), the funeral home website is the most accurate and detailed source.
- Use the "Scranton Loophole": Search the Scranton Times-Tribune archives. Many Wyoming County residents are listed there because of the proximity to regional hospitals.
- Contact the Tunkhannock Public Library: They have access to local databases that might be behind a paywall for you at home.
- Verify via the SSDI: If you have a full name and birth date, the Social Security Death Index can confirm the death date, which makes finding the actual obituary ten times easier.
- Visit the Historical Society: For anything pre-1950, send an email to the Wyoming County Historical Society. They charge a small fee for research, but it’s worth it to have an expert look through the microfilm for you.
Finding these records is about more than just dates. It's about connecting with the community of the Endless Mountains. Whether it's a farmer from Lemon Township or a business owner from the borough, their stories are there—you just have to know which door to knock on.