When I need a death record for someone, I do a search for funeral homes in that area, (infospace or bigyellow, etc. ) then I call them to see if they were the ones to have the services for that person. In this day of computers, they can usually tell you in less than 3 minutes whether they did or not. With all the 10-10 phone numbers available now, I have never had a call that costs more than 30 cents. This is cheaper and much faster than a letter! If they handled the person you are searching for, they will send you a funeral record, free. (I like to send a SASE for their convenience.) It has much more info than a death certificate, and even more than an obit, in that some of them have the addresses of the survivors. Jack is right in that when you send away for a death certificate, you do not get your money back if they are unsuccessful. But this has far better results. I have only had one person say she was too busy to help me, and that was a funeral home in Bakersfield, CA. The ones in OK and AR have always been very helpful. Penny Gardner