How can I find pictures of my father's birth mother?

Question:

How can I find pictures of my father's birth mother?

My father was adopted and never saw his birth family. Through quite a bit of research, I have found out who she is. I know her name and her family members names. I know she was deaf and died in 1979. I really would like to find a photo of her. Also, do you think it wise for my father to make connections with his birth family. Still don't know who his father is, but we know that his mother had a brother who is still alive and in his 80's. If you have thoughts on how to find out who is father could have been, since she was never married, help there would be appreciated. Any thoughts on the photos or contacting the family, let me know. Thanks.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I was thinking that school yearbook pictures may be a good source, but the tricky bit may be if she was deaf her whole life, she may not have gone to a regular high school. If you know her date of death and name, you should be able to order a copy of her death certificate, which will give you a lot of information, if you don't already have that. By obtaining her birth year, you can get a better clue about when she would have been in high school, and then you can contact the public library in her hometown (assuming you know this) and asking about yearbooks from those years. If you don't know her hometown, and assuming she was alive in the 1920's/1930's, you can search census records to find out where the family was living, since you have names.

As for your father meeting with his uncle, that man may be the only person alive who knows who your father's father was. I wouldn't hesitate to get in touch. (Well, I may actually contact another family member to see if they would sit down and talk to the man first before I just barged in! He may not be capable of a visit with your father.) They are also, obviously, going to be your best source of photos and stories about your late grandmother.

Good luck!