Drive south on the New Jersey Turnpike from greater New York City past the suburbs of Philadelphia toward the smaller, quieter, tree-lined byways of the southern Jersey Shore, and it's clear why so many of Bruce Springsteen's songs take place on the roads. The Garden State is a symphony of here-to-there contradictions: from the tomatoes, corn, and blueberries that give the state its nickname to the never-sleeping industrial plants that shape its common image—and from the world-class Indian cuisine of Edison to the old-world Italian restaurants that surround the casinos, beaches, boardwalks, and amusement piers of resort towns like Atlantic City, Ocean City, and Cape May.

In 2016, there were 53,187 obituaries reported in the state of New Jersey on Legacy.com. This is a 4% increase from 2015 when 51,169 obituaries were reported in New Jersey. You can browse through the full list of New Jersey obituaries to find life stories that may be of interest to you.