Obituary

About Obituary

The obituary serves as a death notice to friends and family of the deceased. Usually, it includes at least one picture, the date and cause of death of the loved one, a brief biography, specifics of the funeral event living and pre-deceased family members, and special notes including recommendations for charitable donations and gifts.

Obituaries are typically published in newspapers and online memorial sites. Famous people tend to be given obituaries in major newspapers as a matter of course. For standard folks, it is much more common for a family member or a friend to pay for a local newspaper to publish the obituary they have written, or to publish it themselves online and share it on social media.

Why publish an obituary?

If you’re planning a funeral for someone close to you, it’s important to remember that you don’t have to write one at all. However, the obituary may be useful if you need to:

Let the broader local community know of the death

The person who died might have friends and old colleagues with whom you don’t have contact details. You may not be able to easily reach them in another way.

Make the funeral arrangements clear to all

If there are a lot of guests to get in touch, and you have different people to take care of, the wires can get crossed. The digital or paper obituary can be the official source to which they can return.

Create a public record of the life and personality of an individual

Unfortunately, most of us are going to spend our entire lives without going into the news. The obituary can be a way of sharing and remembering the best of someone with the wider community.

How is an obituary like?

A typical obituary can have any structure you like, but the basics that are usually covered in are:

• An introduction explaining that the person has died, and when
• An overview of their life and achievements
• A brief mention of their surviving family members
• The time, place and details of the funeral arrangements”