Ozarks Obituary Collection

In the early 1980s, the Ozarks Genealogical Society, Inc. began collecting obituaries from southwest Missouri newspapers. They were originally affixed to index cards that were alphabetized and made available to researchers onsite at the Ozarks Genealogical Society Library. As online obituaries became more common, the society also began collecting obituaries from websites. This collection of obituaries primarily focuses on the communities surrounding Springfield, as Springfield obituaries are available through another collection at the Springfield-Greene County Library District. Over the years, Ozarks Genealogical Society, Inc. collected more than 115,000 obituaries.

To make this collection more accessible, a dedicated team of Ozarks Genealogical Society volunteers scanned all of the printed obituaries. These digitized copies were available on the Ozarks Genealogical Society Library computers. In 2018, Ozarks Genealogical Society, Inc. partnered with the Springfield-Greene County Library District to place this collection online for researchers.

Click here to access this special collection.

Special thanks for their contributions to this project are due to Bettie Hickman, Hazel Voris, Irene Redfearn, Bess Scott, Frances Daniel, Inabell Williams, Imogene Bennett, Connie Daughtrey and many other OGS volunteers.