Obituary Writing Guide

Writing an obituary can be challenging. We hope to make the experience a little easier and have provided links to information provided by Legacy.com, our partner for online obituaries, to help guide you through the process.

 

For a step-by-step guide and information on writing obituaries, please click the following: https://www.legacy.com/advice/guide-to-writing-an-obituary/

 

Writing an obituary for someone you love is an important way to honor and celebrate their life. The obituary acknowledges your loss, informs the community of the death, and invites those who knew your loved one (as well as people who care about you) to attend the funeral and offer sympathy and support.

 

An obituary is where we record a loved one’s life story to live on forever. More than a simple death announcement, an obituary pays tribute to someone by saying something about who they were as a person. This can be done in many ways: sharing a story from their life, writing about their hopes and dreams, listing their accomplishments, telling about their loves and favorites, reflecting on what they meant to you. The most memorable obituaries often touch on all these aspects of a person’s life and legacy.

 

Every obituary is unique, but most include the following elements:

1.     Announce the death: The introduction should include the individual's full name (first, middle, and last names, maiden name, nickname, and suffixes like Jr. or Sr.), where they lived, age, date and place of death, and how they died.

 

2.     Share their life story: The body of the obituary should tell the story of your loved one’s life. Most often, this includes the following:

·             Date and place of birth, marriage, and death

·             Hometown, places lived

·             Schools attended, degrees earned

·             Places of employment and positions held

·             Military service and rank

·             Memberships and affiliations

·             Place of worship

·             Hobbies or special interests

 

3.     List family members: Provide the name and location (if desired) for all key relatives and friends. Most obituaries name surviving family members of the person passing as well as those who died previously.

 

4.     Include funeral / memorial information: Provide service times and locations. Include the dates, times, and locations of the visitation, funeral, burial, and/or memorial service. Also include the name of the funeral home so that others can contact them with any questions about the services or sympathy flowers. Be sure to indicate if services are private.

 

5.     Add charity information: Obituaries often request donations to a specific charity. For any donation request, be sure to include the name of the charity or fund as well as an address or website where people can send donations.  If the family prefers charitable donations or monetary contributions rather than flowers, include a phrase such as “In lieu of flowers,” followed by “please consider a donation to the American Heart Association,” “contributions suggested to the family,” or “the family is requesting financial assistance for the services.”

 

6.     Select a photo: A photo helps bring the obituary to life, so choose a photo that shows your loved one’s personality.

·        A portrait or close-up of your loved one’s face typically works best. The photo can be recent or from their youth, or both.

·        If you have a favorite photo that includes multiple people and pets, the photo should be cropped to display the deceased clearly.

·        The best quality photo is a digital original, a .jpg file downloaded directly from a camera, smartphone or online gallery.

·        Scans or digital originals must be at least 200 dpi resolution