Even in death there’s a certain etiquette that needs to be followed. One of the things that etiquette requires when there is a death is that an obituary written and submitted, at the very least, to a local newspaper. In times of grief, knowing what to put it in obituary can be overwhelming. But if you follow these guidelines, it will make the difficult task of writing an obituary a little bit easier.
The first thing to consider how much information family would like to provide the public. If the person was particularly prominent, etiquette suggests more information be supplied but in the end what goes in an obituary is really family’s preference.
At a minimum, an obituary should include the name, city and state of residence, the name of any survivors, and any information about funeral or memorial services for the person who is passed away.
An obituary may also provide information about the cause of death, city of birth, where the person worked, military service, any significant awards received during her lifetime, contact information if someone desires to find out more information.
Including the age of the person was passed away is not mandatory in an obituary but it is a piece of information that many people who read obituaries are interested in. But whether or not to include the age of the deceased in the obituary is purely a family decision. The family should not feel obligated to provide this information if they do not want to.
Oftentimes tasteful photographs of the deceased are submitted with the obituary. These photographs should be a head shot portrait of the person that was taken recently but still at a stage that the family would like to have the person remembered at. For example if the person who is passed away died due to cancer, the family may wish to submit photo of the person either before they had cancer or before the effects of cancer are evident in picture.
If the family does not wish visitors to attend the burial at the cemetery, you simply leave the name and address of the cemetery out of the obituary. If the family wishes that only invited guests attend the viewing or memorial, the words “Funeral Private” should appear in the obituary. Otherwise, the address of where the funeral or memorial service will be held should be included in the text of the obituary.
In today’s modern times, many people wish for mourners to contribute to the deceased’s favorite cause rather than send flowers and cards. If this case, information about where people may send contributions and donations should be published in the obituary.
Once the obituary is written to the family’s satisfaction, it should be submitted to the Metropolitan desk of the local paper as well as any other publications that might be interested in passing of the person, such as trade papers, alumni papers or club publications. The obituary should be submitted to all of these places as soon as possible after the death of the person.
The passing of a loved one is never easy time. The obituary serves to inform the public of the persons passing so that anyone who is interested may also participate in the mourning of this person’s life. The obituary is an important part of the funeral process and should not be left out.