Step Three: Writing an obituary

Obituaries tend to use a basic, straightforward writing style, simply presenting the facts. Have some samples next to you as a guide -- most newspapers suggest you use recent ones they've published.

Most obits present information in roughly this order, linked together in a few sentences:

• Name
• Age
• Place (town name) of death
• Optional: cause of death, usually in a brief description such as "died of cancer" or "died after a long illness"
• Optional: exact place of death, such as "in the hospital" or "at home"

Examples:

"Maggie Maples died Saturday at age 98 in her home in Madison, Wisconsin, surrounded by family."

"Our loving dad, Stuart Green, passed away in his sleep on July 17 after a heroic fight with cancer. He was 76."

"Jeremy Brown died August 28 at age 82 at the Gentle Creek Nursing Home in City, State, where he'd lived for the past six years."

• Biographical information, including such facts as schools attended, degrees earned, jobs, volunteer experiences, military service, passions, interests, hobbies.

Examples:

"Greta, a 1942 graduate of Our State University, spent most of her professional life as a social worker involved with foster children, a job she loved. After retiring, she volunteered with foster care agencies whenever she wasn't traveling or gardening."

"Frank served in the Vietnam War and was a proud U.S. Marine. In his civilian life, he was an electrical engineer and an avid poker player and soccer coach."

"Jenny was an active member of her church and a loving wife, mother, and grandmother."

• Survivors: spouse (if spouse has already died, you can write, "was preceded in death by her loving husband, Jerry"), children; optional survivors include grandchildren, siblings, nieces, nephews, pets
• Information about the memorial, funeral, burial services, or wake** -- upcoming or previously held -- including date, time, and place if the service is public

Examples:

"A memorial service will be held on July 1 at 2 p.m. at the Final Rest Funeral Home in XYZ town."

"Private services."

"Private services were held last month."

• Memorial tributes

Examples:

"In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to XYZ hospice or XYZ nonprofit organization."

"Memorial tributes may be made to XYZ hospice or XYZ nonprofit organization."

• Add a small personal touch to the basic list of facts if it feels natural, such as:

Terms of affection or endearment

Examples:

Our beloved mom and grandmom, Glydia Henderson, died in her sleep June 30 at the age of 67."

"It is with great sorrow that we report the passing of our amazing grandfather…"

Unique, humorous, or unusual information

"Anyone who knew Filbert knew how much he loved playing practical jokes. We will miss his silly sense of humor."

Step Four: Completing the process

• Run it by other family members or dear friends to double-check facts.
• Submit it to the newspaper, but always keep a copy.
The newspaper will copyedit for spelling, style, and grammar (but make sure you've also proofed it to the best of your abilities).
• Ask the newspaper to let you check it before it's printed.
• If you see a mistake after it's printed, call the paper and ask for a correction.