Search Obituary, Death and Burial Records by Name
Enter the person’s first name, last name and last known state to prepare an obituary, death, burial, cemetery, memorial and related public-record search.
Find Valley News Dispatch Obituaries, Funeral Details & Pennsylvania Death Records
Looking for a Valley News Dispatch obituary? Use the current Tribune-Review – Valley News Dispatch Edition obituary feed for recent notices, then confirm funeral details with the handling funeral home. If you need legal proof of death, use Pennsylvania Vital Records instead of an obituary copy.
What Are You Trying to Find?
Today’s notices
Open the current Valley News Dispatch obituary feed and check the publication date.
One person
Search by first and last name, then narrow by town, funeral home, school or date.
Older obituary
Use local Valley News Dispatch microfilm, Pennsylvania State Archives and newspaper history sources.
Legal record
Order a Pennsylvania death certificate when a bank, insurer, estate or government office needs certified proof.
Why the Obituary Page Says “Tribune-Review – Valley News Dispatch Edition”
The historic Valley News Dispatch was published in New Kensington and served Allegheny Valley and Kiskiminetas Valley communities. The Library of Congress records the Valley News Dispatch title from 1971 through 2015.
The Library of Congress also records that the title was absorbed by the Tribune-Review and continued as a Tribune-Review Valley News Dispatch edition.
Where to Find Current Valley News Dispatch Obituaries
The current Legacy feed is labeled Tribune-Review – Valley News Dispatch Edition Obituaries. It provides recent notices plus filters for locations, funeral homes, high schools, colleges and publication date.
Today page
Use this when you want the newest published Valley News Dispatch notices.
Recent and older notices
Use filters for publication date, location, funeral home, school and other local clues.
First-name / last-name search
Useful when you already know the person’s name but do not know the publication date.
How to Find One Person Without Missing the Obituary
For more name-search techniques, see our obituary search guide.
Local Alle-Kiski Search Clues
The Valley News Dispatch historically serves communities spread across several Western Pennsylvania counties. A person can live in one town, die in another, use a funeral home in a third community and be buried somewhere else.
Lower Allegheny Valley
Tarentum, Natrona Heights, Brackenridge, Harrison Township, Springdale, Cheswick and nearby Pittsburgh-area communities.
New Kensington area
New Kensington, Arnold, Lower Burrell, Vandergrift and nearby communities may appear in the same regional obituary searches.
Upper valley communities
Leechburg, Freeport, Apollo, Sarver and nearby communities may connect to the same funeral homes, schools, cemeteries or family networks.
Confirm the Correct Person Before Sharing the Notice
| Check | Why it matters | Reason to stop and recheck |
|---|---|---|
| Age / birth year | Separates people with similar names. | Age is substantially different. |
| Town | Confirms the Alle-Kiski connection. | No known local connection appears. |
| Relatives | Spouse, parents, children and siblings are strong clues. | Family names do not match. |
| Funeral home | Provides a first-party memorial route. | Provider serves an unrelated area. |
| School / church | Useful for common surnames in long-established local families. | Biography conflicts with what you know. |
| Publish date | Prevents confusing an old obituary with a current death. | Result belongs to another year. |
See our obituary verification methodology for the source hierarchy used on this website.
Before You Attend a Visitation, Funeral or Burial
Recheck the time
Visitation, funeral, memorial and graveside services may be scheduled separately or changed after publication.
Check every address
The funeral home, church, cemetery and reception may be in different Alle-Kiski communities.
Public or private?
Do not assume every service is open to the public. Look for the exact wording on the family memorial.
Parking and accessibility
If the memorial does not explain parking, entrances or wheelchair access, call the provider before travelling.
Livestream
Open livestream links only from the funeral home, church or family-authorized memorial page.
Flowers or donations
Use the memorial’s named charity or flower route. Do not pay through copied social-media comments.
How to Submit a Valley News Dispatch Obituary
The current Valley News Dispatch obituary feed provides a Submit an Obituary route. A funeral home may also help a family prepare and submit the notice.
How to Find Older Valley News Dispatch Obituaries
For older Alle-Kiski deaths, a modern web search may not be enough. Local microfilm, historical newspaper titles and Pennsylvania death records can be much more useful.
Valley News Dispatch newspaper history
The Library of Congress records Valley News Dispatch (New Kensington, Pa.) from 1971–2015 and identifies earlier related Allegheny/Kiskiminetas Valley newspaper titles.
Older predecessor newspapers
The Library of Congress records the Daily Dispatch, the Valley Daily News for 1968–1971 and notes that it served the Allegheny Valley and Kiskiminetas Valley.
Use these search terms on old newspapers
Older newspapers may not use an obituary heading.
Useful when the death notice is short but service information was printed.
Useful when OCR misread the deceased person’s first name.
Especially useful for women in older family records.
Search New Kensington, Tarentum, Leechburg or another local community.
Service or burial reports may provide the missing connection.
Community Library of Allegheny Valley: Newspaper Microfilm & Obituary Research
The Community Library of Allegheny Valley has unusually useful local-history holdings for this topic. Its collection emphasizes the Allegheny-Kiskiminetas River Valley in Allegheny, Armstrong, Butler and Westmoreland counties.
Valley newspaper microfilm
The library lists Valley Daily News / Valley News Dispatch microfilm from July 1904 to current, along with other local newspapers.
- New Kensington Dispatch
- Tarentum Telegram
- Evening Telegram
- Freeport Journal
- Natrona Daily Press
- Valley Daily News / Valley News Dispatch
Library obituary research service
The library says staff can conduct obituary searches within its holdings when time permits.
- $15 for a one-name research request.
- Each additional name is currently listed at $5.
- Provide the deceased person’s name and exact death date when possible.
- If the exact date is unknown, available obituary indexes may be checked.
- Research is limited to library holdings.
1522 Broadview Blvd
Natrona Heights, PA 15065
Phone: 724-226-3491
Call before travelling to use microfilm because access, staffing and hours can change.
How to Get a Pennsylvania Death Certificate
A Valley News Dispatch obituary is not legal proof of death. Pennsylvania Department of Health issues certified death certificates for deaths registered in Pennsylvania since 1906.
Current certificate choices
| Type | What it contains | Common use |
|---|---|---|
| With medical information | Includes cause and manner of death. | May be requested for life insurance, pension claims or family medical history. |
| Without medical information | Excludes medical details. | Often used for bank accounts, utilities and property matters. Pennsylvania currently limits this version to deaths after 2019. |
Current Pennsylvania fees
| Order item | Current fee | Important detail |
|---|---|---|
| Certified death certificate | $20 each | The fee applies to each certificate ordered. |
| Online service fee | $10 | Added when ordering online through Pennsylvania’s authorized vendor. |
| Mail order | $20 each | Pay by check or money order to “VITAL RECORDS.” Do not mail cash. |
Who can request a certified Pennsylvania death certificate?
Eligible applicants must generally be age 18 or older. Pennsylvania lists spouses, parents, siblings, children, grandparents, grandchildren and certain other relatives, estate representatives, attorneys and people with a documented direct financial interest, depending on supporting documentation.
Western Pennsylvania in-person option
For readers in the Alle-Kiski area, Pennsylvania maintains a Vital Records public office in downtown Pittsburgh:
411 Seventh Avenue, Room 360
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
Monday–Friday: 8:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.
Closed state holidays
Pennsylvania also operates public offices in Erie, Harrisburg, New Castle, Philadelphia and Scranton. Check the official office page immediately before travelling.
Death certificate ordering steps
For general death-record planning, see our death certificate and vital records guide.
Free or Lower-Cost Record Help You May Qualify For
Armed Forces certificate fee waiver
Pennsylvania provides a death-certificate fee waiver in qualifying U.S. Armed Forces situations.
The waiver can cover up to 10 certificate copies per applicant per calendar year when current eligibility rules are met.
Free Ancestry Pennsylvania access
Pennsylvania residents can access selected Pennsylvania State Archives collections on Ancestry Pennsylvania without paying for a regular Ancestry subscription.
$5 archival death-certificate copy
For death certificates already transferred to the Pennsylvania State Archives, an uncertified archival copy currently costs $5 per record.
Armed Forces fee-waiver details
Pennsylvania says the military-related waiver can apply when the qualifying service member or spouse meets the current service/discharge requirements. Eligible applicants can include the decedent’s legal spouse, an applicant acting for a dependent child, a representative of the estate and certain funeral-home requests.
Older Pennsylvania Death Records: Use the Right Office
| Death period | Best starting source | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Recent / under 50 years | PA Division of Vital Records | Restricted certified-record rules apply. |
| 50+ years old | Pennsylvania State Archives | Older death certificates become public and are transferred to the Archives. |
| 1906–1975 | Pennsylvania State Archives | The Archives currently reports holding original certificates in this range. |
| 1906–1972 digitized | Ancestry Pennsylvania / Ancestry | Selected digitized Pennsylvania death certificates are available online. |
| 1893–1905 | County records | Death registers were generally kept locally; availability varies. |
| Before 1893 | Churches, newspapers, cemeteries, county archives | Coverage is uneven. Use several record types. |
Veteran Burial Benefits Around the Alle-Kiski Valley
Do not stop with federal VA benefits. County Veterans Affairs offices in Western Pennsylvania may also provide burial, headstone, marker or survivor assistance.
County burial assistance
Allegheny County currently lists:
- $100 toward funeral expense for an eligible honorably discharged wartime veteran who was an Allegheny County resident.
- A $100 burial benefit for an eligible widowed spouse under county rules.
- Up to $100 toward foundation/installation of a qualifying federal veteran headstone or marker.
- Free burial plots for qualifying indigent wartime veterans at Restland Memorial Park.
Veteran survivor help
Armstrong County Veterans Affairs lists help with:
- Burial allowance
- Grave markers and flags
- Government headstone installation
- Federal burial benefits
- Death pension and DIC questions
Phone: 724-548-3441
Burial and headstone forms
Westmoreland County Veterans Affairs currently publishes county forms for burial applications, surviving-spouse burial applications and headstones.
Phone: 724-830-3530
National Cemetery of the Alleghenies
1158 Morgan Road
Bridgeville, PA 15017
Phone: 724-746-4363
Office: Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m., except federal holidays
VA currently lists the cemetery as open for both casketed and cremated remains. Eligible veterans, spouses and certain dependents may qualify for burial.
See our veterans burial and memorial benefits guide for the broader federal process.
Check a Pennsylvania Funeral Provider Before Paying
The Pennsylvania State Board of Funeral Directors regulates funeral directors and funeral businesses in the Commonwealth.
Verify the license
Use Pennsylvania’s PALS license database to check a funeral professional’s license status and disciplinary history.
File a professional complaint
Pennsylvania accepts complaints about licensed professionals and suspected unlicensed practice through the Department of State.
Complaint hotline in Pennsylvania: 800-822-2113
Federal Funeral Rule rights
- You can ask a funeral provider for price information by telephone.
- Ask what services are included and what additional charges may apply.
- Ask for itemized prices instead of assuming a package is required.
- When arranging services in person, ask for the General Price List.
- Ask about obituary-placement, transportation, permit and death-certificate charges separately.
- A funeral home generally cannot charge a handling fee simply because you bought a casket elsewhere.
Our funeral costs and consumer rights guide explains the price questions to ask before approving services.
Wrong Obituary Detail or Wrong Death Certificate? Use Different Correction Routes
Contact the publisher or funeral home
For a wrong name, date, service time, cemetery, family detail or other obituary error:
- Save the exact obituary URL.
- Write the incorrect text.
- Prepare the corrected text.
- Provide a reliable supporting source.
- Contact the funeral home or obituary publisher that controls the notice.
Use Pennsylvania’s amendment process
An obituary correction does not change a state death record. Pennsylvania provides a separate process to amend a death record.
The original informant or a person with an appropriate court order may use the state process for eligible demographic corrections.
If the error is on RecentObituaries.info itself, use our corrections and family privacy request page.
What If No Valley News Dispatch Obituary Appears?
After a Recent Death: Useful Next Steps
Social Security
SSA says funeral homes usually report deaths, so families often do not need to report the death themselves.
If the funeral home does not report it, contact Social Security.
Survivor benefits
A spouse, divorced spouse, child or dependent parent may qualify for monthly Social Security survivor benefits depending on the deceased worker’s record.
One-time payment
SSA currently provides a possible $255 lump-sum death payment to an eligible spouse or, in some circumstances, eligible children.
Eligibility is not automatic.
For banks, insurance, mail, Social Security, identity protection and other tasks, use our after-death notification checklist.
Payment, Donation and Guestbook Safety
Memorial donations
Use the charity named on the funeral-home memorial. Then open the charity’s own website before entering card information.
Funeral payments
Confirm that you are speaking with the actual funeral provider and ask for itemized charges before paying.
Guestbook comments
Assume a condolence message is public. Do not post home addresses, phone numbers, medical details, Social Security numbers, account information or family disputes.
Copied obituary pages
Use copied or scraped pages only as leads. Return to the funeral home, newspaper, government office or cemetery before acting.
Official and Primary Sources for This Guide
Tribune-Review – Valley News Dispatch Edition Obituaries Current obituary feed, filters, funeral-home links and submission route. Library of Congress — Valley News Dispatch Publication history and library holdings for the 1971–2015 newspaper title. Community Library of Allegheny Valley — Local History Holdings Alle-Kiski newspapers, microfilm, obituary indexes, cemetery records and genealogy material. Pennsylvania Department of Health — Death Certificates Eligibility, certificate type, fees, military fee waiver and ordering methods. Pennsylvania State Archives — Death Records Historical death certificates, indices and public-access rules. Pennsylvania Department of State — License Verification Verify Pennsylvania funeral professionals and disciplinary history. Allegheny County Veterans Services Local burial allowance, veteran grave, headstone and emergency-assistance information. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs — National Cemetery of the Alleghenies Eligibility, address, burial availability, scheduling and cemetery contact information.Related RecentObituaries.info Guides
Name, location, funeral home, cemetery and publication search techniques.
Know when an obituary is not enough and certified government proof is required.
VA cemetery, burial, marker and service-record starting points.
Price-list rights and questions to ask before agreeing to funeral services.
Report factual errors, broken sources or unnecessary sensitive information on this website.
Valley News Dispatch Obituary FAQs
Where can I find today’s Valley News Dispatch obituaries?
Use the current Legacy page for Tribune-Review – Valley News Dispatch Edition obituaries. Check the publication date on each notice and verify funeral details with the handling funeral home.
Why does the obituary page say Tribune-Review – Valley News Dispatch Edition?
The historic Valley News Dispatch title was absorbed into the Tribune-Review. Current obituary listings can therefore appear under the Tribune-Review – Valley News Dispatch Edition name.
How do I search Valley News Dispatch obituaries by name?
Start with the first and last name. If needed, add a local town, funeral home or publication date. Try nicknames, initials, maiden names and former surnames when the first search fails.
Which towns should I search for Alle-Kiski obituaries?
Useful local clues include New Kensington, Tarentum, Lower Burrell, Natrona Heights, Arnold, Springdale, Leechburg, Vandergrift, Apollo, Freeport and Sarver, plus nearby Allegheny, Westmoreland, Armstrong and Butler County communities.
Where can I find old Valley News Dispatch obituaries?
The Community Library of Allegheny Valley lists Valley Daily News and Valley News Dispatch microfilm from July 1904 to current. The Library of Congress and Pennsylvania State Archives are also useful for older newspaper and death-record research.
Can the Community Library of Allegheny Valley search an obituary for me?
The library currently offers obituary research within its holdings when staff time permits. It lists a $15 request for one name and $5 for each additional name. Check the library’s current instructions before submitting a request.
How much is a Pennsylvania death certificate?
Pennsylvania currently charges $20 for each death certificate. Online orders also carry a $10 service fee through the state’s authorized online vendor.
Where is the closest Pennsylvania Vital Records office for the Pittsburgh area?
Pennsylvania currently lists a Pittsburgh Vital Records office at 411 Seventh Avenue, Room 360, Pittsburgh, PA 15219. The listed office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., except state holidays.
Can military families get Pennsylvania death certificates without the certificate fee?
Pennsylvania has an Armed Forces fee waiver for qualifying applicants and currently limits the waiver to ten certificate copies per applicant per calendar year. Eligibility documentation is required, and the separate online service fee is not waived.
Are old Pennsylvania death certificates public?
Pennsylvania death certificates become public after the required age threshold and are transferred to the State Archives. The Archives currently states that death certificates 50 years old and older are public.
Can Pennsylvania residents search historical death records for free online?
Yes. Pennsylvania residents can use Ancestry Pennsylvania to access selected digitized Pennsylvania State Archives collections without paying for a standard Ancestry subscription.
How do I verify a Pennsylvania funeral director?
Use the Pennsylvania Licensing System through the Department of State to check the funeral professional’s license status and available disciplinary history.
What local burial benefits may be available for veterans?
Benefits vary by county. Allegheny County currently lists burial and headstone assistance for qualifying veterans, Armstrong County lists burial and marker assistance, and Westmoreland County provides veteran burial and headstone application routes. Federal VA benefits may also apply.
Is the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies open for burials?
VA currently lists the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies as open for eligible casketed and cremated remains. Eligibility should be confirmed through VA before arrangements are finalized.
What should I do if an obituary or death certificate is wrong?
For an obituary error, contact the funeral home or publisher controlling the notice. A Pennsylvania death-certificate error uses a separate state amendment process; correcting the obituary does not change the government death record.
Before You Share, Travel, Submit or Pay
- Confirm the correct person instead of relying on a matching name.
- Check the funeral home for current service information.
- Verify every service and cemetery address separately.
- Use Pennsylvania Vital Records for certified legal documents.
- Use local microfilm and State Archives resources for historical searches.
- Check county and VA programs before assuming veteran burial costs must be paid privately.
- Verify a funeral professional through Pennsylvania’s licensing system when needed.
- Do not publish private medical, financial, home-address or family-conflict information.
RecentObituaries.info is an independent source-navigation guide. It is not Valley News Dispatch, Tribune-Review, Legacy, a funeral home, Pennsylvania Vital Records, a county veterans office, a cemetery or the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Verify final information with the organization responsible for the notice, service, record or benefit.