How to Work With Richfield Reaper Obituaries Honoring Legacies Remembering Stories In Utahs Sevier County
The Richfield Reaper runs obituary notices for Sevier County every Friday and occasionally Wednesday. If you need to place one or find one that was already published, here is how the process actually works. To place an obituary, you contact the Reaper directly. Their office is on South Main Street in Richfield. The standard rate runs about $50 for a basic notice up to 100 words, then roughly $3 per additional inch for longer pieces. A full-length column with a photo can run $150 to $250 depending on layout. They accept cash, check, or card. You need the full name, age, date of death, survivors, service details, and a brief biographical sketch. Send a recent photo if you want one included. It has to be a printable image - they do not do digital file uploads at the desk, though they will accept a USB drive or email printout. The paper publishes obituaries on Fridays for the weekend release. If someone dies Thursday evening, that Friday's edition is your fastest option. Anything after the Monday noon deadline goes to the following Friday unless you pay the expedited fee, which is usually another $30 to $40 for a Wednesday run.
For someone looking up a past obituary, the Reaper keeps physical archives in the back room and has a limited digital scan collection going back to about 2010. Older issues are on microfilm. There is no public database you can search online. I have pulled records going back to the 1980s by phone request, and it took about two weeks for them to locate and photocopy the page. The charge was $2 per page plus postage. One thing nobody warns you about: the Reaper does not offer an online submission portal. You cannot fill out a form on their website and walk away. If you are out of state and trying to place an obituary for a relative who died in Richfield, you either call them during business hours or mail the text and payment together. Email submissions are accepted but only as a courtesy - they still ask you to confirm by phone. I learned this the hard way when I emailed an obituary for my grandfather and never heard back for four days. The text sat in an unread folder. Called the next morning and got it placed for that Friday, but I had lost two days I could have used to collect family stories. Another practical detail is that the typesetter will edit wording without asking if it does not fit the space. I once submitted an obituary that listed twelve grandchildren by name and the editor cut it down to six because it exceeded the column width. They did not call to ask which ones to keep. If specific names matter, write a smaller, more complete notice or explicitly mark which sections are non-negotiable.
If you need something more permanent or searchable, you might also consider the Sevier County genealogical society. They maintain a separate index that overlaps with newspaper records but includes cuttings from local churches and funeral homes that never made it into the Reaper. That resource is free but unindexed online - you have to go to their reading room in Richfield or request copies by mail.
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