Find Obituaries in East Honolulu
An East Honolulu obituary covers a death in the string of neighborhoods that run from Kahala out to Hawaii Kai, including Aina Haina, Niu Valley, and the Diamond Head side of the island. The area shares funeral homes, cemeteries, and library resources with downtown Honolulu, but it also has its own branch library and its own historic cemetery. This page shows where to look up an East Honolulu obituary, how to ask for a death certificate from the state, and which local cemeteries and online archives hold burial data for this part of Oahu.
East Honolulu Overview
East Honolulu Death Certificates
The state issues all certified death records for East Honolulu from one office. The Hawaii State Department of Health, Office of Health Status Monitoring is at 1250 Punchbowl Street, Room 103, in downtown Honolulu. It is a short drive from East Honolulu on the H-1. Hours run Monday through Friday, 7:45 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. You can mail a request to P.O. Box 3378, Honolulu, HI 96801, or drop one off in person.
The fee is $10 for the first copy of the death record. Each extra copy of the same record costs $4. A letter of verification under HRS §338-14.3 is $5. Access to a full death certificate is limited under HRS §338-18 to people with a direct and tangible interest, like a spouse, parent, adult child, sibling, or named legal rep. Anyone else must show proof of need.
Most routine requests come back within six to eight weeks. In-person visits are faster for same-week pickups. The form is short. You will need a valid photo ID, the name of the decedent, the date of death, and the relationship to the decedent.
Note: Online orders for an East Honolulu death certificate go through the state VitRec portal and are billed to the requester at the same price.
East Honolulu Newspaper Obituaries
Daily obituaries for East Honolulu run in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. You can read them online at obits.staradvertiser.com. Each notice lists the full name, age, community, date of death, place of birth, list of survivors, service time, and the mortuary in charge. The paper covers most services on Oahu, and notices in East Honolulu often pair with a graveside service at Diamond Head Memorial Park.
For older obituaries, the BYU-Hawaii Joseph F. Smith Library hosts a free archive from the Honolulu Advertiser and the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. The archive is a key source for mid-20th-century deaths in Hawaii Kai, Aina Haina, and Niu Valley. Names in all caps came from the Advertiser. Mixed case came from the Star-Bulletin.
Hawaii Kai Library Obituary Research
The Hawaii Kai Public Library is the main library branch for East Honolulu. It offers free public computer use, free WiFi, and free access to Ancestry Library Edition inside the building. Ancestry holds millions of death records, obituary clippings, and cemetery lists that you can search by name and location. The branch also keeps local Hawaii reference books and a small collection of microfilm for older papers.
Hawaii Kai branch patrons use the library's genealogy tools often, as shown at the Hawaii Kai Public Library.
A free library card opens access to all state library tools, both in branch and from home on the Oahu wifi network.
For deeper research, the Digital Archives of Hawaii offers a state-run online search of old government records, photos, and papers. It is free to use. You can search by name, date, or place.
The Digital Archives of Hawaii hosts a growing set of death-related files, as shown at the Digital Archives of Hawaii.
The site is a good second stop after a search of the main State Archives Obituary Index, which covers deaths from 1836 to 1950.
Diamond Head Memorial Park
Diamond Head Memorial Park is the main cemetery in East Honolulu. The park covers 25 acres at 529 18th Avenue, just off Kapiolani Boulevard. The park was founded in 1936. It now holds about 30,500 burials. The site is a short drive from Kahala and Kaimuki, and many East Honolulu families have long family ties to plots at the park.
The park's office can help a family trace a burial by name. The staff keeps a card index, a grave map, and a digital record. Photos of markers are also on file for many burials. A small fee may apply for copies and searches. Hours run Monday through Saturday.
The park also offers a pre-need program for residents of Hawaii Kai and nearby areas. Records of pre-need plans are held on site and tie back to the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, which licenses all cemetery operators in Hawaii.
Other cemeteries serving East Honolulu include Oahu Cemetery in Nuuanu and the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl for veterans.
East Honolulu Hospitals and Death Reports
Most deaths in East Honolulu are first reported by a hospital or a hospice. The Kaiser Permanente Moanalua Medical Center is a 222-bed hospital. It serves Kaiser members in East Honolulu, including Hawaii Kai, Aina Haina, and Niu Valley. Straub Medical Center and The Queen's Medical Center in downtown Honolulu also serve East Honolulu patients in full and part time care.
When a person dies in a hospital, the attending physician files the death record with the state. The hospital sends the paperwork to the mortuary the family picks. The mortuary files the record with the Hawaii Department of Health. Deaths that are sudden or unexpected are referred to the Honolulu County Medical Examiner for review under the Honolulu County charter.
Hospice agencies work the same way. Home deaths under hospice are signed by the hospice medical director. The family can then ask the mortuary to order copies of the East Honolulu death certificate for estate tasks and insurance claims.
Note: Hospital records and the formal obituary are two separate files, so a family may need both for estate work and for the funeral program.
Mortuaries Serving East Honolulu
Many East Honolulu families use mortuaries based in downtown Honolulu. Hosoi Garden Mortuary, Borthwick Mortuary, and Nuuanu Memorial Park all serve East Honolulu. Diamond Head Memorial Park also offers on-site services. Each firm keeps an online obituary list that updates with each new service.
A few online directories link together funeral home obituaries from across Oahu:
- Hosoi Garden Mortuary obituary page
- Diamond Head Memorial Park listings
- Borthwick Mortuary notices
- Valley of the Temples Memorial Park
Most mortuaries post the service details for at least a few months. Paid notices in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser stay up longer in the paper's online archive. A family can ask the mortuary to keep a copy of the East Honolulu obituary on file, and the firm can print a small program on request.
Other Oahu Cities for Obituary Searches
East Honolulu shares many sources with other Oahu communities. Try these nearby city pages for more local obituary leads.