How to Write an Obituary

If you have recently lost a loved one, the last thing you want to worry about is the difficult chore of writing an obituary. You may be asking yourself, "I've never written an obituary before. How do I write an obituary?"

Step-by-Step Guide for Writing an Obituary

Writing an obituary may seem like an overwhelming task, but if you follow these steps to writing an obituary, it will lighten the load and the newspaper staff will be more than willing to work with you when they know that you know what you are doing.

Check in with your local newspaper.

Before you even start writing your loved one's obituary, look at the obituaries in your local newspaper. Do all the obituaries seem to follow a similar theme or format? If so, then try to emulate that style when writing the obituary.

Also, make sure to contact your newspaper to find out their deadlines, and then follow them. If a newspaper has to rush to get your loved one's obituary printed, mistakes are more likely to occur.

Find out the newspaper's preferred method of submission. Most newspapers do not like handwritten obituaries, since handwriting can leave some words up for interpretation, especially when it comes to names. (Does that say 'Dan' or 'Don'?) Newspapers do not want to have to guess when it comes to typing obituaries. The last thing newspapers want to do is to upset the customer during their time of loss.

Set a budget.

Some newspapers will charge you a static amount for obituaries. Others will base it on the length of the obituary. Some newspapers will print obituaries free as long as they follow the newspaper's format.

Newspapers that do charge for obituaries will charge by the column inch. Find out what your newspaper's column width is (for example, my newspaper's column width is 12 picas, or approximately two inches) and the dollar amount per column inch. This will give you an idea of how much the obituary will cost to print.

Custom obituaries will often run into the hundreds of dollars, so keep that in mind as you are writing the obituary.

Decide what information to include, and write your loved one's obituary.

Now that you know what the newspaper requires and how much money you want to spend, it's time to actually write the obituary. Use this checklist to help you as you decide what information you wish to include:

Person's full name, age, and residence

When and where your loved one died and funeral / burial information

Birth date, birth place, and parents' names

School, job, and residence information

Spouse's name, marriage date and location

Church, clubs, special honors and hobbies

Survivors

Preceded in death by - check with your newspaper to see if they print this information

Funeral home

A sample obituary may read like this:

Mary Smith, 63, Minot, died Sunday, Feb. 1, 2009, in her home. The funeral will be Wednesday, Feb. 4 at First Baptist Church with burial at the Minot Cemetery.

She was born Jan. 1, 1946, to Steven and Diane Jones in Surrey. She attended high school and graduated from Minot State University in 1968. She moved to Fargo and worked at MeritCare Hospital as a registered nurse. She married David Smith on Oct. 15, 1971, in Fargo. Together they moved back to Minot in 1972 where she worked at Trinity Health Center until she retired in 2006.

She was a member of the First Baptist Church, Minot, and a member of the Happy Homemakers Club.

She is survived by her husband; sons John, Bismarck, and Steven Jr., Minot; daughters Cynthia (Toby) Johnson and Jennifer (Tim) Nelson, both Minot; three grandchildren; and sister JoAnne (Larry) Donaldson, Arizona. She was preceded in death by her parents.

Funeral arrangements by Davids Funeral Home, Minot.

Proofread and submit your loved one's obituary.

Have a third party proofread the obituary, as you are less likely to see your own mistakes. Submit the obituary to the newspaper and request to see a proof before it is printed.

Ask about special obituary services the newspaper offers.

When my father died, the local newspaper offered free, laminated copies of the actual newspaper clipping, but you had to request them. Sometimes the newspaper will submit your loved one's obituary to other newspapers for you, saving you the time and effort in your time of loss.