### Using the Star-Advertiser Website The official *Honolulu Star-Advertiser* website features a dedicated obituaries section. Visitors can browse recent listings or use the on-site search tool to find specific individuals. * **Search by Name:** Enter the first and last name of the deceased. If you are unsure of the spelling, try entering just the last name. * **Browse by Date:** If you know the approximate date of death or publication, you can filter the listings by month and year to narrow down the results. * **Alphabetical Indexing:** The site allows users to filter records by the first letter of the deceased person's last name, which is helpful when dealing with common names. ### Utilizing Legacy.com The *Honolulu Star-Advertiser* partners with Legacy.com to host and archive its recent obituary listings. If you cannot find a record directly on the newspaper's website, searching the *Honolulu Star-Advertiser* portal on Legacy.com is a reliable alternative. This platform often includes guest books where family and friends leave condolences, photos, and shared memories. ## Searching for Historical Obituaries Because the *Honolulu Star-Advertiser* was formed in 2010 through the merger of two historic newspapers—the *Honolulu Advertiser* (founded in 1856) and the *Honolulu Star-Bulletin* (founded in 1912)—finding older records requires a different approach. Historical obituaries are generally not available on the newspaper's current website and must be accessed through specialized archives.
### The Hawaii State Public Library System (HSPLS) The Hawaii State Public Library System is one of the best resources for historical research. * **Microfilm Archives:** The main branch of the Hawaii State Library in Honolulu holds extensive microfilm archives of the *Honolulu Advertiser*, the *Honolulu Star-Bulletin*, and the post-merger *Star-Advertiser*. * **Online Databases:** Library cardholders can access premium databases such as Ancestry Library Edition and HeritageQuest. The library also provides access to the Hawaii Newspaper Index, which indexes local newspapers from the mid-20th century onward. ### Digital Newspaper Databases Several subscription-based and free historical databases digitize old issues of Hawaii newspapers: * **Newspapers.com:** This platform hosts digitized, searchable pages of both the *Honolulu Advertiser* and the *Honolulu Star-Bulletin* spanning more than a century. A subscription is required, but it allows you to search the actual printed pages for obituaries, death notices, and funeral announcements. * **GenealogyBank:** Similar to Newspapers.com, GenealogyBank features a large collection of historical Hawaii newspaper obituaries. * **Chronicling America:** Run by the Library of Congress, this free database contains digitized historic newspapers, including some early Hawaiian publications, though coverage of the major 20th-century Honolulu papers may be limited due to copyright restrictions. ## Tips for a Successful Obituary Search Locating historical records in Hawaii can sometimes present unique challenges due to naming conventions and spelling variations. Keep these tips in mind to improve your search results:
### Account for Name Variations Hawaii’s diverse population means names may be recorded in various ways. Search for: * Maiden names and married names. * Anglicized versions of traditional Hawaiian, Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, or Portuguese names. * Middle names used as first names, which was a common practice in historical records. ### Expand Your Search Window Obituaries do not always run immediately after a person passes away. If you cannot find a record on the exact date of death, expand your search to look at newspaper issues published up to two weeks later. In some cases, memorial notices or "In Memoriam" tributes are published on the anniversary of the death months or years later. ### Use Keywords Beyond the Name If a name search yields too many results, add keywords to narrow the search. Try searching for the name of a surviving relative, the name of the funeral home, the town or neighborhood where the person lived (such as Manoa, Kailua, or Waipahu), or the cemetery where they were interred.
