Maui County Obituary Lookup
A Maui County obituary covers deaths on Maui, Molokai, and Lanai. The Maui News prints daily obituaries in Wailuku, and Maui Now runs an obituary portal for the Valley Isle. The Maui District Health Office on South High Street assists families with death record requests, while Nakamura Mortuary and Ballard Family Mortuary handle most services. This page shows you how to search an obituary in Maui County, which county offices to contact, and the historical archives and funeral homes that maintain Maui obituary information.
Maui County Overview
Maui County Obituary and Vital Records Office
The Maui District Health Office is at 54 South High Street, Room 301, Wailuku, HI 96793. The office handles vital record guidance for all of Maui County, which includes the islands of Maui, Molokai, and Lanai. Staff can help with birth, death, and marriage forms plus Voluntary Establishment of Paternity and home birth registration. Call (808) 553-7870 for Molokai and the general Maui district line.
No pick-up service is available on Maui, so every certified death certificate must be mailed from the Oahu office or ordered online.
Online ordering runs through vitrec.ehawaii.gov. The fee is $10 for the first copy and $4 for each extra copy of the same death record, plus a $2.50 admin fee. Access is restricted to people with a direct and tangible interest under HRS §338-18. Letters of verification cost $5 under HRS §338-14.3 and confirm the record without issuing a full certificate.
The Office of Health Status Monitoring on Oahu is the only office that can issue a Maui County death certificate. The Maui office registers the local event through the Electronic Death Registration System, but the paper copy comes from Honolulu.
Maui County Government Records and Obituary Context
The Maui County government headquarters sit in Wailuku, the county seat. The County Clerk and other offices handle property and civil records that often follow a death. The Maui Police Department is also based in Wailuku.
Property records run through the Maui County Real Property Tax Division, which updates ownership after a probate order is recorded.
Probate cases for the Second Circuit Court handle Maui County estates. Ulukau hosts a Deaths-Probates Index for the Second Circuit, which covers historical Maui estate files. Deeds and recorded probate orders also file with the statewide Hawaii Bureau of Conveyances in Honolulu, since Hawaii has a single statewide recording system.
Note: Maui obituaries often name Hale Makua Kahului as a long-term care site. The state Department of Health handles any death certificate tied to that facility.
Maui County Newspaper Obituaries
The Maui News is the paper of record for Maui County obituaries. Notices run daily online and in print. A typical Maui News obituary names the full name, age, date of death, date of birth, survivors, service details, and the mortuary handling arrangements. Recent examples include Patrick William Tavares of Kihei and longtime Maui residents served by Nakamura Mortuary and Ballard Family Mortuary.
Historical indexes to The Maui News from 1900 to 1950 and 1951 to 1973 are available through the Hawaii State Public Library System.
Maui Now Obituaries runs a second portal with search by last name, date range, and alphabetical browsing. Integration with Ballard Family Mortuary and Norman's Mortuary means current services show up fast on the site.
The Maui Now portal includes a guestbook and life story section for each posted obituary.
Other Maui County papers indexed in FamilySearch include The Lahaina News, Molokai Times, The Lanaian, Friendly Isle News, Molokai Reporter, Ka Leo o Molokai, and the Hana Bulletin. Each covers obituaries and community notices for its part of the county.
Maui County Historical Obituary Records
Historical Maui death records from 1909 to 1919 are on the Digital Archives of Hawaii Maui Death Records collection. The collection holds 1,008 entries, each with an image file name, unique ID, and island designation. A sample entry reads "Kiko Kiko, Death Record, 1909 Nov 21, Unique ID 58845."
You can open the original document link to see the scanned record as a PDF.
The Maui Historical Society at Hale Hoikeike in the Bailey House Museum, 2375A Main Street, Wailuku, keeps archival collections that include the County of Maui Jail Record Book, Wailuku Sugar Company land records, and the Wailuku Female Seminary student list.
The Society has over 10,000 historic photos, maps, manuscripts, and genealogy records covering Maui County.
Research fees at the Maui Historical Society are $25 for non-members, $5 for kupuna and haumana, and free for members. Staff research runs $75 per hour. Appointments are required.
The Kaupo Maui Historical Obituaries Archive pulls records from The Maui News and Hawaiian language newspapers like Ka Nupepa Kuokoa and Ke Alakai o Hawaii. The collection covers 1861 to 1939 in the Kaupo area. Many entries are in Hawaiian with English translations.
Maui County Funeral Homes and Cemeteries
Central Maui is served by several longtime funeral homes. Nakamura Mortuary and Crematory has served Wailuku since 1933. The office is at 1218 Lower Main Street, Wailuku, HI 96793. Call (808) 495-4308 any time, since staff answer the phone 24/7. Nakamura offers funeral, cremation, and cemetery services, plus pre-planning tools online.
The website lists recent obituaries with a name search feature.
Ballard Family Mortuary serves Kahului and Central Maui. Obituaries from Ballard show up on Maui Now and The Maui News. Norman's Mortuary in Wailuku runs traditional services and cremations. Valley Isle Memorial Park and Doorway Into Light in Haiku round out the county list.
Upcountry Maui families use Makawao Cemetery at maui-cemetery.com. The 150-year-old nonprofit park on more than seven acres is near Makawao town. The cemetery is nondenominational and welcomes families of every background. Veterans' posts are listed alphabetically and include Civil War, Hawaiian Rebellion, Indian Wars, Spanish American War, World War I, and World War II service members.
Molokai services often work with Maui Memorial Park in Kualapuu. Lanai services usually pass through Maui-based mortuaries for final arrangements.
Maui County Hospitals and Medical Records
Maui Memorial Medical Center in Wailuku is the only acute care hospital on Maui. The 219-bed facility serves all of Maui County. Death certificates for deaths at Maui Memorial are filed with the Hawaii State Department of Health through the local Maui District Health Office.
The Health Information Management department keeps medical records after discharge and handles requests from personal representatives.
Hale Makua Kahului is a long-term care facility that appears in many Kihei and Central Maui obituaries. Molokai General Hospital serves Molokai residents. Lanai Community Hospital serves Lanai. Each facility files the Maui County death certificate through the state portal.
The Maui County paper of record notes service venues like Wailuku Hongwanji Mission, Christ the King Catholic Church, and the Lahaina Jodo Mission when a religious service is held alongside the mortuary arrangements.
Maui County Cities for Obituary Searches
Maui County includes several major population centers. Choose a city for local obituary leads, funeral home contacts, and library resources.