Call Us Now
(561) 989-9190
When a loved one dies, many people are dealing with their grief, as well as the sadness among the rest of their family. But one task that needs to be done is to write an obituary that announces the person’s death, so that everyone knows, alerting friends and family whom you might not even know about.
An obituary serves many purposes, the foremost being that it notifies the public of a loved one’s death. However, one of the many reasons one must know how to write an obituary for a deceased family member or loved one is that many states have regulations that might require it for probate proceedings. Public notice of death, like writing an obituary for a newspaper, is often used to notify unknown creditors, so that they can make claims against the estate.
Knowing how to write an obituary is just the first step, as you then need to fill in all the appropriate answers that an obituary asks. We’ll list out the several most important points that every obituary must have, then you can add in other information afterward.
Many times, state law will just require a death certificate to be filed with the state. Of course, the attending physician or any health care facility that cared for your loved one would prepare the death certificate. An estate-planning attorney will help you understand the laws and requirements in your state. Likewise, here are five tips on how to write your loved one’s obituary.
It’s important to understand that, first and foremost, you need the necessary facts about the deceased, or else everything else you write is inconsequential. Here are the things you have to have in your obituary. The length of the obituary is likely measured by price, so find out how much information you can put in for the budget you have in mind.
This is all of the obvious stuff, but many times, these are the important things we forget when we write an obituary. Make sure to include the person’s full name, age, date of birth, and their city/state of most recent residence. Be prepared to make some phone calls to get the answers to some of these questions.
After the important information, it’s integral to add the widow’s name, so that people can send their condolences directly to them.
After the facts are covered, this is the most important piece, as they’ll be the ones grieving the most, and they’ll most certainly be reading the obituary you write. Double-check the names and spelling of the family, as many will want to clip out the obituary and keep it as a memory, but they’ll get mad if they see their names are spelled incorrectly.
Obviously, you need to have this in your obituary if you want this death announcement to do its job. Where is the funeral or wake going to be, and what are the hours for viewing or memorial services? It’s quite possible that you don’t know this information yet, but you can mention the funeral home’s name so that anyone who might be interested can contact them for the time of services.
Finally, if you have room, you’ll want to add some other details about the deceased, like:
At the end, it might be smart to add a note about where people can make a contribution for a memorial fund, or if they’d like to donate to a specific charity in lieu of sending flowers. Just make sure you add the website or street address for the charity to make it easy.
Rarely will we ever have to write an obituary, but when we are tasked with this exercise, we want to know how to do it correctly, to pay our utmost respects.
Grab a local edition of your newspaper, or go online to their website, to check out their obituary section. This will help give you a template of what you should write, and you’ll find out how much it costs to submit an obituary. They usually cost a set amount, with additional charges for each additional inch of copy. Also, your funeral home might submit the obituary for you, but you’ll still need to know a word count and if there are any length restrictions. You’ll need to know the deadline in order to submit the obituary in time as well.
You’re most likely going to have to make some phone calls in order to get all of the information you need, so make notes ahead of time on who to call for what, so that you don’t waste time and you don’t forget anything.
The basic template for an obituary means you should include:
For that final line, if you’re not sure when the funeral will be just yet, you can direct people to the funeral home for when arrangements will be made.
Outside of the things you really must include, which are mentioned above, there are some optional items you can add to fill the obituary and give readers a better idea of the lost life of your loved one or family member.
With all of the included information, you should be able to follow any provided online template on how to write an obituary or follow the template already created by previous obituaries in your local newspaper.
Remember that an obituary helps to acknowledge the loss of a loved one, expresses the sorrow felt by family and friends, and shares a glimpse into the joy that their lives brought to everyone.
When someone passes, it’s customary for the family to publish a notice of their loved one’s death in what we know as obituaries. Initially, families published obituaries in local newspapers to publicly announce a death. If you want to find an old obituary, it can sometimes become challenging to do so. Locating old newspapers might seem like an impossible task, and requesting death certificates or records can become costly.
Obituaries are more than an immediate announcement of a person’s death. Many people look at obituaries as a link to the past since they can help fill in the gaps in their family history. It’s also a significant way to express the legacy of a loved one. Regardless of your purpose in searching for an obituary, keep reading to find easy ways to locate an obituary.
Nowadays, there are many online resources for finding free obituaries. In most cases, what you need the most is time and the willingness to sign up for some websites under a free trial version. From newspapers to new DNA and ancestry websites, there is a high chance you will find someone’s archived obituary online.
Most local newspapers nowadays have digital versions of all printed editions, as well as online obituaries on their websites. However, this will most likely work for recent deaths only, as most newspapers only save such records for about six months. A quick search of the local newspapers will most likely give you the obituary you’re looking for.
With digital advances, obituaries started moving away from local newspapers and finding their way into websites dedicated to hosting databases of dozens of historical documents, including obituaries. If you’re trying to find an old obituary, try one of these websites:
A quick online search can help you pin down an obituary as well. If you don’t want to use an obituary website or are not sure where to start looking, you can always use a search engine to help you kick-start your search. Type “(Full name) obituary” into the search engine, and most likely, you’ll get a sea of helpful results to begin your quest.
If your online search takes you nowhere, you can use the old-fashioned way of looking for documents and reports. If you live in the same area as the person whose obituary you’re searching for, you can stop by the local library. Most libraries subscribe to local and regional newspapers and tend to keep hard copies.
Ask the librarian to help you search through back issues of newspapers. Some libraries might have the issues archived on microfilm. However, remember that these records cannot be removed from the library, so make sure to bring a pen and paper to record your findings.
It’s important to have as much information as possible about the deceased to help you narrow your search. Ideally, you should be able to have their:
This information is particularly helpful when searching for an obituary of familiar names. For example, can you imagine how many John Smiths have died in the past decade alone? Searching for the obituary of John Smith, born in Florida and who died in 1998, is easier than a broader search.
At The Gardens of Boca Raton, we offer various digital services to announce a loved one’s passing. Family members and friends can quickly find funeral and burial announcements in our events calendar.
In addition, we’ve just launched our Legacy Books as a key element of our digital funeral services. Through Legacy Books, family members and friends will be able to write their loved ones’ obituaries, share photos, and keep their loved ones’ memories alive in a beautiful online funeral book that will live on for generations.
If you need help searching for an obituary, reach out to one of our funeral specialists. We’re here to answer all your questions and guide you in the process of finding the information you’re looking for to the best of our capabilities.
Do you need help with a funeral in the South Florida area? Call The Gardens of Boca Raton Cemetery & Funeral Services at (561) 989-9190, and they can help you with writing and posting an obituary. Call them or visit their offices in Boca Raton on North Military Trail
Planning a memorial service is an emotional yet meaningful way to celebrate a life well-lived.…
Planning a funeral in South Florida involves several unique considerations due to local climate, geography,…
Families considering cremation have several meaningful memorial options. Whether choosing direct cremation, cremation with a…
Discover how cultures and faiths around the world transform grief into remembrance. From religious rites…
The Gardens of Boca Raton offers an assortment of above-ground internment options to accommodate different…
The loss of a loved one is an incredibly challenging and emotional experience. Building emotional…