How To Write A Funeral Obituary
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Writing a funeral obituary for a loved one is hard.
Your emotional well-being is drained after a death, whether expected or not, and you need to write the last public statement that honors your loved one's life. In many cases, it's often the first public acknowledgment in a newspaper for your loved one.
This essay will help you. Let's start with the fundamentals.
Back to basics
The basic idea behind an obituary is that it serves as a record of death, a life story, and funeral announcement.
The format of the information is usually based on the local newspaper's standards. Some newspapers let you publish any length obituary – as long as you are willing to pay for it – others may have a length limit and will edit the obituary.
In both cases, making the obituary as short as possible is ideal.
If you are working with a funeral director, he or she should know the local newspaper's style, pricing, and submission guidelines. If you are not working with a director, calling the newspaper's obituary desk or looking on their website to find this information should be your first step.
Let's get writing
Breaking the obituary into two types of information: Essential and Non-Essential.
The essential information gets the news out about the death and the funeral arrangements.
This is a bare-bones notice, which is usually cost-effective. It does not provide a portrait of the deceased.
Non-essential information
Although this information is optional, it does paint a broader picture of the deceased.
* Birth date and location
* Date and place of birth and the parents' names
* Education: school, college, other
* Marriage: Name of spouse, with date and location of marriage
* Employment: Where at and how long?
* Armed service: Veteran of which war and how long served
* Memberships: What organizations did he/she belong to
* Hobbies: What the deceased do in his/her spare time?
* Character traits: Loving, helpful, etc.
* Awards and accomplishments
* Surviving family: spouse, children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, parents, brothers, sisters, in-laws, nieces, nephews, cousins, friends, pets
* Predeceased
* Thank-yous
* Funeral arrangements: Time, date and place
* Visitation arrangements: Time, date and place
* Burial arrangements: Time, date and place
* Cremation/body donation
* Memorial donations: Who and where to send
The non-essential captures your loved one's essence. It will also make it easier for friends and acquaintances to identify the deceased.
Many people find a middle ground between adding essential and non-essential information.
The key is to keep the obituary short but paint a portrait of the deceased by picking and choosing information from the non-essential list.
Essential obituary information:
* First and last name and nickname, if one
* Age
* Hometown
* Date and place of death
* Time, date and place of funeral arrangements.
Spelling counts
Your loved one's obituary needs to be accurate.
Nobody wants to read his or her name in print spelled wrong. Spellings, though, are not the only spot where information gets botched. Times, dates, places and funeral information are common places where numbers get transposed. Use a calendar to verify dates; then, double-check your work.
After making sure the obituary is accurate, now is the time to fine tune it. Fine tuning involves removing redundancy, correcting grammatical errors and making sure the obituary flows well.
Once you or your family has proofread the obituary, you're ready to submit it to the funeral director or newspaper.
