Write and submit obituary

For many people, an obituary will be the only time their name appears in a newspaper and the only chance others will have to learn a little bit about them and their life. Keeping that in mind, writing an obituary can be a quick or lengthy job, depending on the style preferred.

Obituary Basics

In many cases,  the obituary will be short and include just the basics, such as name, age, date of birth, city of residence at time of death, name of significant other (alive or deceased) and date, time, and place of any services. Others might prefer a longer, more detailed write-up, which can include place of birth; other places the deceased lived; nicknames; cause of death; names of parents, children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, etc.; date of marriage; personality traits and anecdotes; special pets; vocation and workplaces; degrees and schools attended; military service; hobbies and activities; and details about memorial contributions, if desired. Nowadays, with concerns about identity theft and privacy, some choose to not include birthdate, age, and other information. Either way is perfectly fine and you should feel free to include only the information you and the deceased’s family find appropriate to share.

Safety Watch Outs

It is recommended that you don’t put a home address in an obituary and refrain from including anything like the deceased was a collector of guns, coins, antiques, etc., as this can be an invitation for thieves. Keep in mind that even mentioning a club or organization membership, such as to the National Rifle Association or a local coin collecting club, could make thieves assume the deceased has valuables in the home.

What to Include in the Obituary

If you are uncertain about what to include beyond the basics, it can be helpful to consider what the deceased would like to have shared about themselves. What was most important to them? Did they love their occupation? Did they cheer on and support their alma mater? Was their dog their favorite companion? Were they proud of certain accomplishments? Thinking about these things can help you determine what is most important to include in the obituary. You also should consider that when it comes to listing family members, if you don’t know the names of all, it might be wise to not include any specifically. Simply writing “is survived by many cousins” or “numerous nieces and nephews,” can spare hurting the feelings of forgotten family members.

Cost Considerations

It is important to keep in mind before writing that newspapers usually charge to print obituaries and base the cost on length. So if the budget is limited, brevity is the best route. Another consideration is that newspapers have a uniform style for basic obituaries, so they might convert the one you write into their own template. In cases where you pay a higher fee to have a longer obituary published, the newspaper will typically print it as submitted, only correcting any grammatical errors they notice.  It is wise to check out a newspaper’s style before completing an obituary so you can match it to the best of your ability. Don’t worry about it being perfect, they have editors to correct grammar and punctuation. It also is a good idea to have someone else read what you’ve written in order to check for errors. Typing up an obituary versus handwriting it also can prevent errors stemming from newspaper personnel not being able to read your handwriting.

Other Considerations

When deciding whether to write a basic or more lengthy obituary, keep in mind the same obituary does not have to be used everywhere. You might choose to pay for a longer obituary to appear in the newspaper with the largest circulation in the area and opt for a basic obituary to appear in other newspapers. Or you might only submit a basic obituary for all newspapers but write a longer one to include in memorial pamphlets that will be given out at the funeral home, or included in the funeral guest register book. There are many options and your funeral director can often assist you in this matter, too. In fact, typically newspapers will require obituaries to be submitted directly from a funeral director due to concerns about fraudulent notices. Your funeral director also should be able to submit the basic information to newspapers if you want to have an obituary, but not it write it yourself.  Because the funeral director needs to make sure that funeral services run smoothly and on schedule, make sure he or she reviews the obituary before it goes to the newspaper.

Running the Obituary in Multiple Cities

Aside from local newspapers, you also might consider having the obituary printed in locations where the deceased previously lived, if applicable. They might have established roots in other towns, like the town they grew up in, where people would appreciate having the opportunity to send a card or plan to attend services.

Managing Deadlines

Regardless of which newspapers you choose, keep in mind they operate on strict deadlines. If you need the obituary to run on a certain day, you should contact the newspaper to find out the deadline. If you miss the deadline, it could eliminate friends’ ability to attend the service at the funeral home and they might be very disappointed, so do your best to get the obituary written as quickly as possible and meet the earliest deadline you can. Also, once the obituary is printed, you should review it for any errors. If an error is found, notify the newspaper and request a correction be printed so that the proper information is shared with the public. To assist you in this process, we have included several sample obituaries below.