Anchorage Obituary Records

Anchorage obituary records come from several distinct sources, each covering different time periods and population groups. If you are trying to find a death notice or obituary for someone who lived in Anchorage, Alaska's largest city, you can search through the Anchorage Daily News online archive, historical newspaper indexes held at the Anchorage Public Library, compiled obituary collections at the Anchorage Genealogical Society, and official death certificates through the State of Alaska vital records office. This page explains what is available, where to look, and how to get copies of records you need.

Current Anchorage Obituaries

The Anchorage Daily News is the main source for current death notices in Anchorage. Families submit obituaries directly to the paper, and they are published both in print and online. The ADN obituary portal lets you search by name and browse recent postings. This is the first place to check for anyone who died in the last few decades.

A recent example from the ADN archive shows what you can find. Glenn Hagberg, known as "DJ Tunemaster," was born September 27, 1961, and died on February 13, 2026, after a 2.5-year battle with cancer. He had Inupiaq heritage on his father's side, grew up in Fairbanks, and moved to Anchorage at age 9. He graduated from Service High School, earned a journalism degree from UAA, and worked in public relations for Northrim Bank. From 1979 to 1987 he worked as a radio announcer, and he later served as Events Manager at Bayshore Clubhouse for 12 years. That level of biographical detail is typical of ADN obituaries. They often include family names, employment history, and memorial service details.

The ADN has published Anchorage obituaries going back many decades. For older records, the paper's print archives are also available through the Anchorage Public Library.

The Alaska State Library maintains a statewide newspaper index that covers Anchorage-area papers. This is a good starting point when you know roughly when someone died but don't have the exact date.

Anchorage Public Library Obituary Indexes

The Anchorage Public Library holds one of the most useful local obituary resources in the state. Staff have compiled and maintained indexes to Anchorage newspaper obituaries going back more than a century. These indexes cover the Anchorage Times and the Anchorage Daily News across distinct time ranges.

The library's holdings include the Anchorage Times Index from 1915 to 1965, a second volume covering 1966 to 1980, and a third covering 1981 to 1990. The Anchorage Obituary Index then picks up from 1991 to 1995 and from 1996 to 2000. The Anchorage Daily News Index covers 2001 through 2007. Taken together, these indexes span nearly the full history of the city. For anyone who died in Anchorage during those years, the library index can tell you which issue of the paper carried the obituary, making it much faster to find the full text.

The Anchorage Obituary Index Online covers January 1, 1981 through October 1, 2001. This searchable version is available through the library's digital resources. If the person died in that window, the online index is the fastest way to find what you need. For records outside that range, a librarian at the main branch can help you work through the print index volumes.

Note: Library hours and access policies can change. Call the Anchorage Public Library before visiting to confirm current access to these special collections.

Anchorage Genealogical Society Collections

The Anchorage Genealogical Society maintains a significant set of compiled obituary and cemetery records. These go beyond what the library holds and are particularly useful for genealogy research.

The society holds the Index of Alaska Obituaries 1899 to 1995, a compilation by Patricia Roppel that draws from a wide range of sources across the state, not just Anchorage newspapers. If the person lived anywhere in Alaska during that period, this index may have an entry. They also hold The Cemetery Book, a reference guide focused on Anchorage cemeteries, as well as an index to Alaska Magazine obituaries from 1970 to the present. These are physical holdings at the society's library and are accessible to members and visiting researchers.

If you are doing deep genealogical work on an Anchorage family, the society is worth contacting directly. They can often point you toward sources that are not indexed online anywhere.

Alaska Vital Records and Death Certificates

Official death certificates for Anchorage residents are held by the State of Alaska Bureau of Vital Statistics. The walk-in office is located at 825 L Street in Anchorage, which makes Anchorage residents convenient compared to those in rural areas who must request records by mail or through an online service. The state also accepts orders through VitalChek, which is available around the clock.

Death certificates cost $30 for the first certified copy and $25 for each additional copy ordered at the same time. A death certificate includes the full legal name of the deceased, date and place of death, cause of death (on authorized copies), and the names of parents and spouse. Not everyone can get a copy with the full cause of death. Under AS 18.50, Alaska's vital statistics law, death records are generally restricted to immediate family members, legal representatives, and others with a direct interest. Records become available to the public after 50 years. Any death before 1975 is now fully public.

The CDC's Where to Write for Vital Records page also lists Alaska's vital records office with current contact information. This is useful if you are requesting records from out of state and need to confirm the correct mailing address.

Note: Processing times vary. Walk-in orders at the 825 L Street office are typically handled same day or next day. Mail-in requests can take several weeks.

Anchorage Cemetery Records

Anchorage Memorial Park Cemetery maintains a Master Burial List that is searchable by last name. This is one of the most direct ways to confirm a burial location in the city. The list includes the name of the deceased, the section and lot, and in many cases the date of burial. It is available through the Municipality of Anchorage's parks department.

For burials at other local cemeteries, Find A Grave and BillionGraves both have substantial Anchorage listings. Volunteers have photographed and indexed thousands of headstones in the area. These are free to search and often include photos of grave markers, which can confirm spelling of names and provide dates not found in other records. When searching for pre-1970 records, try alternate spellings and maiden names, particularly for women's records where indexing conventions varied.

The Anchorage Genealogical Society's Cemetery Book also covers local burial grounds and can help identify smaller or older cemeteries that may not be indexed online.

FamilySearch and Historical Anchorage Records

FamilySearch holds several digitized collections relevant to Anchorage death research. The Alaska Territory Anchorage Attestments of Births (1934 to 1942) touches on early vital records during the territorial period. The Alaska, Anchorage, Coroner's Records (approximately 1900 to 1959) is particularly valuable for pre-statehood deaths, especially those that involved an inquest. The Alaska, Tanana Precinct, Birth, Marriage and Death Records (1917 to 1971) covers a broader area but includes many Anchorage-area entries during the years before standardized state registration was fully in place.

The Social Security Death Index, searchable through Ancestry and FamilySearch, covers deaths from 1962 to the present for people who had Social Security numbers. This can confirm death dates and last known addresses even when no obituary is available. The Canadian Genealogy Index (1604 to 1980) has more than 2 million records and occasionally surfaces information on Alaska residents with Canadian ties, particularly those from border communities or who moved between the two countries.

The Anchorage High School Yearbook Index Online (1917 to 1978) can help place a person's approximate birth year and family connections, which is useful when you are trying to locate the right obituary among several people with similar names. The Alaska and Polar Periodical Index at UAF's Rasmuson Library holds more than 200,000 articles from the 1980s onward and sometimes includes memorial or tribute pieces that go beyond what a standard obituary contains.

Anchorage Newspaper Obituary Archive

The Anchorage Daily News is the primary paper of record for the city. Its obituary portal at obituaries.adn.com allows name searches across published death notices.

For records before the digital era, the Anchorage Times (which ceased publication in 1992) was the competing paper for much of the city's history. Both papers ran obituaries regularly, and both are indexed at the Anchorage Public Library. If you know that someone died in Anchorage but can't find a record in the ADN, the Anchorage Times index may have the entry. The library holds both series.

Third-party newspaper archive services also index Anchorage papers. Services like GenealogyBank and Newspapers.com have expanded their Alaska holdings in recent years. These require a subscription but can be useful if you have exhausted the free sources.

Alaska State Archives and Probate Records

The Alaska State Archives holds a wide range of records that can support obituary research. Their collection guides cover everything from territorial-era administrative files to court records. For Anchorage researchers, the probate records are particularly useful.

Probate records from the Alaska Superior Court are indexed through the state archives and through FamilySearch. A probate filing typically names the deceased, the date of death, surviving heirs, and the estate's assets. These records sometimes predate or supplement formal obituaries, especially for deaths in the early twentieth century when newspaper coverage was inconsistent. The archives' probate records guide walks through how to request and use these files.

The Alaska Department of Health also maintains a page on vital records orders with up-to-date instructions for ordering death certificates by mail, in person at the Anchorage office, or online through VitalChek.

Nearby Cities

These communities are near Anchorage. Each has its own page with obituary records resources.

See also: Anchorage Municipality obituary records.