Adams County Obituary Records

Adams County obituary and death records can be searched through several local and state sources, covering deaths from the county's earliest recorded history to the present day. Whether you are tracing a family line, settling an estate, or simply looking for a death notice from decades past, Adams County has records you can access through the local health office, the Washington State Digital Archives, and a range of historical genealogy collections. This guide walks you through each source and explains how to get what you need.

Adams County Vital Records Office

Adams County Integrated Health Care Services is the local office where you can get death certificates for deaths that occurred in Adams County. The office issues death certificates from 1910 to the present for events that took place in Washington State. Staff can help you complete your request, and Spanish language service is available. If you need to apply in person, you can download forms online or fill them out at the office.

The local office issues birth certificates from 1954 forward and death certificates from 1910 forward for events in Washington. For older death records that predate state registration, you will need to look at county auditor records and cemetery collections. The wa211 agency profile for Adams County Health has more details on the services this office provides.

The page shown here is the wa211 service listing for Adams County Integrated Health Care Services, which covers vital records access for the county.

This resource helps connect residents with the right office for death certificates and other vital records in Adams County.

Washington State Digital Archives Death Index

The Washington State Digital Archives Death Certificate Index is one of the best free tools for researching Adams County obituary and death records. It covers deaths across the entire state from 1907 through 1960 and again from 1965 through 2017. The full index contains more than 2.3 million records. Searches are free and open to anyone.

The 1907 to 1960 entries are more detailed. Volunteers transcribed those records from original certificates, and they often include cause of death, names of surviving relatives, and place of burial. The 1965 to 2017 portion was supplied directly by the Department of Health and has somewhat less detail but still shows key facts like the name, date of death, and county. For Adams County residents who died in the mid-20th century, this index is often the fastest place to start.

Images of the actual death certificates are available for deaths up to 25 years ago. If you find a record and need a certified copy, you can contact the Washington Department of Health, Center for Health Statistics, at (360) 236-4313 or (360) 236-4312. That office handles certified copies from July 1, 1907, through three months before the present date.

Note: The death index for the years 1961 through 1964 is available on microfilm at the State Archives in Olympia rather than online.

Adams County Historical Death Records

Adams County was formed in 1883, and the County Auditor kept birth and death records starting in 1891. Those early records, covering deaths from 1891 through 1907, are now held at the Washington State Digital Archives and can be searched online. If you are tracing a family that lived in Adams County before state-level death registration began in 1907, the county auditor records and census data are your best sources.

The Adams County Historical Society has also published the Adams County History Book in two volumes, containing more than 300 family histories. These volumes can help you place individuals in the county and identify which family lines were present. The Danekas Funeral Home and Crematory in Ritzville has been the primary funeral provider in the county for many decades, and funeral home records may contain obituary clippings, death notices, and supporting documents not found elsewhere.

For the county's most complete genealogy collection, the Washington State Archives holds the Adams County Auditor Death Records from 1893 through 1907 as both an index and images. FamilySearch also has Washington County Death Registers covering 1881 through 1979 and Washington Death Certificates from 1907 through 1960 as a searchable index.

Lind Cemetery and Obituary Collection

The Lind Cemetery Database at the Washington State Digital Archives is a specialized collection covering one of Adams County's most important burial sites. The database lists 1,640 names from the cemetery in Lind, Washington. It is now owned by Adams County Cemetery District No. 3 and sits on land originally purchased by the town for $50 in October 1901. C.N. Morrison was appointed Sexton in 1909 to manage the grounds and oversee all interments.

The database uses source abbreviations to show where each entry came from: "O" stands for Obituary, "N" for Newspaper Entry, "DC" for Death Record, "F" for Funeral Home Card, "WDI" for Washington Death Index, and "SSDI" for Social Security Death Index. Information in bold text is what appears on the gravestone itself. The compiler cross-checked this database against a 1975 transcription done by the Adams County Historical Society and the Lind Tredecim Club, and also used church records, death records, and newspaper articles to fill gaps.

The Lind Cemetery database is a solid starting point for anyone researching a family buried in or near Lind. Many entries include full birth and death dates, names of spouses and children, church membership, and the funeral home that handled services. Danekas Funeral Home of Ritzville handled many of these funerals and is mentioned throughout the records.

The wagenweb.org collection also holds Adams County obituaries extracted from local newspapers such as the Odessa Record and the Spokesman Review. The Lind Cemetery obituaries page covers surnames M through Z and was submitted by genealogist Marge Womach. Each entry can include survivor lists, burial details, church affiliation, and funeral home information.

The wagenweb.org Lind Cemetery obituary page shown here covers entries extracted from Adams County newspapers for burials at Lind Cemetery.

This resource is a free online collection of Adams County death notices and burial records drawn from local newspapers and other primary sources.

Ordering Adams County Death Certificates

You have three ways to order a certified death certificate for an Adams County death: in person at the local health office, by mail through the Washington State Department of Health, or online through VitalChek. The fee at the local office is $25 per certificate. The Washington State Department of Health vital records ordering page explains all three methods.

Online and phone orders placed through VitalChek start at $40.50 per certificate. There is also an optional $3.00 identity authentication fee that can raise the total to $43.50. VitalChek is the only state-contracted third-party vendor. Any other company offering to process your order will charge extra fees on top of the state cost. By mail, the fee starts at $25 and processing takes 8 to 10 weeks after the office receives your payment. Mail orders should go to the Washington Department of Health, Center for Health Statistics, P.O. Box 9709, Olympia, WA 98507-9709.

For questions about your order, the Consumer Resource Center is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM. You can call 206-464-6684 or 800-551-4636 (Washington State only). Local health departments, including the Adams County office, provide in-person service and most orders are ready the same day, though an extra fee may apply.

Washington vital records law under RCW 70.58A governs who can order certified copies of death certificates. Starting January 1, 2021, new rules went into effect that restrict certified copies to people with a qualifying relationship to the deceased. Informational copies, which are not certified and cannot be used for legal purposes, are available more broadly and are useful for genealogy research.

Genealogy Resources for Adams County Deaths

Researchers tracing family history in Adams County have access to several useful tools beyond the state archives. The Washington State Library maintains a statewide death index on microfiche and microfilm from July 1, 1907 through 2004. The Washington State Library vital records LibGuide explains how to search the collection and submit lookup requests through the Ask-A-Librarian service.

Death records prior to July 1907 are held at county level. The Adams County Auditor recorded deaths from 1891 through 1907, and those records are now digitized and searchable through the Washington State Digital Archives. If you cannot find a record in the online index, the Northwest Regional Archives in Bellingham also holds physical copies.

FamilySearch holds Washington County Death Registers from 1881 through 1979 as an indexed and image collection. Washington Death Certificates from 1907 through 1960 are also available as an index on FamilySearch. The Register of Deaths in Adams County covering 1891 to 1907 and 1929 is available as images in the FamilySearch catalog. These are free to access with a FamilySearch account.

Local newspapers, including the Odessa Record and the Ritzville Adams County Journal, published obituaries and death notices for county residents going back to the late 1800s. Many of those notices have been extracted and placed into online collections. The wagenweb.org site accepts submissions for Adams County ancestors who died before 1920 and adds them to its growing index.

Cities in Adams County

Adams County communities include Ritzville, Othello, Lind, and several small towns. No cities in Adams County currently meet the population threshold for a dedicated city page on this site.

Nearby Counties

Adams County borders several other eastern Washington counties. Each has its own court and vital records system.