Obituary Format & Directions
Writing a meaningful obituary can be difficult for even the most accomplished writer when you are trying to include people, situations, memories, and respect relationships, but it need not be. This guide will provide you with the guidance you need to gather the information you will need for a meaningful obituary that is accurate and inclusive. Once you have the information together, you may write the obituary or provide it to our office and we are more than happy to put it together for you.
Once, you gather information about the deceased from family and friends, information about their childhood, education, career, hobbies and interests, we invite you to use the outline below to make the process easier. This will ensure that you write a properly structured obituary or provide the sections of information needed for us to write the obituary. This obituary format is only a guide, and those things that are not appropriate for your particular obituary may be deleted. If you wish to have a photo published with the obituary, send it uncropped, as an attachment to the email, in a jpg format. Please include in your email where the obituary is to be placed. If there is a service or visitation, include the name and address of the location, the start time of the service, and the start and end time of the visitation or luncheon.
Instructions: Areas with a blank are where you would include your specific information. Once you have gathered all of your information, type the information in the BODY OF AN EMAIL, and email to us.
Once you have the draft of the obituary completed, place that information in the body of an email & to send us. Email that obituary to our Obituary Only email address: Please be sure to provide us a contact name and phone number in case we have any questions about the obituary.
Please note, the blank areas are for those pieces of information you wish to be included in your obituary draft.
Last name, First name “nickname”
Town, State
(formerly of ___________)
<First name>, age ___, passed away <Date of Death>. He/She was born <date>, to the late <deceased parents names> in <town of birth>.
He/She was a member of < >.
He/She enjoyed < >.
He/She was active with < >.
Surviving are, <list those survivors such as spouse, children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, siblings, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, & special friends>. [Please place the name of the survivor and their spouse who is still living in parentheses with the name of the survivor, for example: surviving is her cousin, Mary (Mark) Sayles]…Mary is the survivor and Mark is the spouse.
He/She was predeceased by, <list those who have died and their relationship to the deceased>.
A <Funeral Service, Memorial Service, Mass, Celebration of Life, Gathering> will be held on < date, location, and address, with Pastor/Reverend _____________ officiating>. The family will receive friends on <date, location and time>.
In lieu of flowers, those planning an expression of sympathy are asked to consider Memorial Contributions to <name of charity, charity of the donor’s choice, Wishes of the Family>.
