Obituary Template

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Obituary Template

After you lose a loved one, it is always difficult to collect yourself and answer numerous personal questions about the deceased. The upcoming difficulties and procedures are stressful and time-consuming. Fortunately, there exists a quick way to notify your relatives and friends about the death of your loved one and upcoming funeral details — writing an obituary.

An obituary is a small article that informs people about someone’s death, their personal life, contribution to society, and other details family members wish to include. It is a good way for you to save time and energy. The written announcement is normally brief and does not contain any negative statements about the deceased.

Obituary Publishing

With the widespread of Internet sources, obituaries are often published on memorial or social network webpages. If a family has their own website, they are likely to make the announcement on their online webpage. However, the traditional way to publish the notice is to send it to a newspaper agency. If the deceased was not a famous person, their family members have to pay a local newspaper for publishing.

Creating an obituary notice is optional — you may not need to write one at all. Although it is your own choice whether to make a written announcement or not, there are several situations in which the notice may come in handy:

  • You want a large number of people to know the details and circumstances of the person’s death. A person who passed away normally had a certain number of friends and colleagues who might want to be informed. Sometimes you will not have time or enough contact details to get in touch with all of them.
  • You wish to make funeral and visitation details clear to everyone. In the notice, you can provide the correct spelling of the place where the upcoming funeral will take place, specify the time, and other important information. It is easier to make one notice for everyone than to reach every guest you have to deal with. It can help to avoid confusing moments and repeating the information several times.
  • You intend to share the deceased’s achievements and contributions with other people who can find the information insightful.

If you choose to publish it in a local newspaper, before you create an obituary, check the requirements for creating it. The length and cost of the obituary may vary from newspaper to newspaper. In addition, you need to know what sections are recommended to write to make your obituary suitable for a particular newspaper. If you want to attach a photo, be ready to pay for it. The amount of the fee also depends on the size of the photo you provide.

If you post it online on your personal social media page or website, you are not limited in words when it comes to the length of your announcement. Publishing online is considered a better way to inform many people as, apart from being free, it makes the process much faster. Today we tend to read the news on the Internet rather than in newspapers.

What to Include in an Obituary

Although there is no universal obituary template, usually it contains the following information:

  • Basic Details of the Deceased

Apart from personal details (name, age), you may need to explain the reason the person passed away and include the date and place of death. Sometimes family members do not want to reveal the cause of death to alleviate rumors and discussions. However, it is advisable to include it in your obituary as you may get tired when explaining it over and over again to every person who is curious about the reason the person died.

  • Summary of the Deceased’s Life

You don’t need to write every single event and detail. Select the most significant facts and achievements from the deceased’s life and let people know about them. Show how your loved one impacted your life and the world around them.

  • Family Details

It is a great idea to mention the living and deceased relatives and family members and their connection to the person: from the closest relations to the most distant relatives. You can include as many relatives as you want. Make sure that you have not left out anyone who is important and close to the deceased.

  • Funeral Arrangements

If you expect a lot of guests to come, make your instructions as clear as possible. Indicate when and where they need to come. Include other details concerning the burial process.

  • Memorial Information

After you have written the essential parts, you can provide the list of charities to make donations.

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How to Fill Out an Obituary Template

When creating an obituary, you can use flowery vocabulary if you find it necessary and if it helps express your thoughts and emotions more effectively. It is not a legal document, so you have more freedom when it comes to wording.

You are welcome to make use of our form-building software to find the template and fill it out. It can assist you in making your obituary notice logical and comprehensible. Read the guide below and learn how to make your announcement meaningful and unique.

  • Make an Announcement

Your obituary should start with the details about the person to whom you want to pay tribute. People need to know from the first lines to whom the notice is devoted to. Write the name of the deceased person and specify the age. Add their former residential address.

If you are comfortable explaining why your loved one died, you can write it in your obituary. Along with the cause, add the date of death and the place where the person passed away (residence, hospital, senior home, other).

step 1 make an announcement filling out an obituary template

  • Provide Life Records

List essential facts from the individual’s life. Try to put them in chronological order. Begin with the place and date of birth. Provide the full names of the parents, including the mother’s maiden name. Then proceed to educational background and working experience. If the person served in the army, it is worth mentioning, too. State if the deceased had a spouse and when they got married. Add every significant contribution to the family and society in general. Include the deceased’s favorite things (books, music genres, poems), hobbies. State if the person was a member of some club or organization. Make the biography sketch unique; do not use generalized phrases. If some connections influenced their life, write the names of these people. It is important to think about what to write in this section as you need to squeeze the person’s entire life just into a few words.

step 2 provide life records filling out an obituary template

  • Describe the Deceased

Write a few words to describe your loved one. Include personal characteristics you appreciate most in them. Express your positive personal attitude to the person. If the deceased’s life experience seems fascinating to you, describe it in your obituary.

step 3 describe the deceased filling out an obituary template

  • List Family Member and Relatives

After you have provided enough information about the deceased, you can proceed to

the next two sections devoted to the surviving and predeceased relatives. Enumerate the closest ones and end with the most distant relatives. You can write only the most important family members if the length of the obituary does not allow you to make an extensive list. It is recommended to mention the spouse, children, grandchildren, siblings, parents, step-parents first.

step 4 list family member and relatives filling out an obituary template

  • Add Funeral Service Details

Here is the essential information you need to provide: when and where the visitation will take place, the date, time, place of the funeral, the name of the officiant, the same details about the burial process, when and where the reception will be. List the names of the pallbearers as well.

step 5 add funeral service details filling out an obituary template

  • Add Memorial Information

Write the address at which you want people to send flowers and donations. Sometimes the family of the deceased does not want to receive flowers at all. In this case, they provide a list of charities or memorial funds. This is the last section of your obituary. After you have written it, check all the information you have provided, correct all the spelling mistakes you have made.

step 6 add memorial information filling out an obituary template