They may wish to share anecdotes or stories that you are not aware of. This is a chance for the family to tell the public about their loved one’s life and achievements. There may be things that they wish the public to be made aware of, such as any notable achievements – they also may or may not want the details of the funeral and wake to be announced in the obituary. Before you begin, it is advisable to speak to family members and close friends of the person who has passed away. Make sure that you confirm when your obituary or death notice has to be submitted by.įiguring out how to write an obituary and where to start can feel daunting. It is also important to remember that newspapers have deadlines. Funeral Guide’s online obituaries do not have a word limit, so you can write in as much detail as you see fit.

For example, local newspapers will often charge by the word, so you need to set yourself a word limit. When writing an obituary, it is useful to first have an idea of how long it will be, which often depends on which platform it will be published on. More recently, online obituaries have proved increasingly popular as a new generation of people leave comments, post photos and light candles for their loved ones. However, with many local papers now shifting from daily to weekly, demand has fallen. Obituary notices have also been traditionally popular in local newspapers. National newspapers also publish obituary notices, or death notices, for members of the public, which feature a couple of lines about the person who has passed away, along with practical details such as the time and location of the funeral. These are mini-biographies of the person’s life. Obituaries are similar in content to eulogies, speeches given at funerals, except they appear in print and often adhere to a certain style of writing.īroadsheet newspapers such as The Times, The Telegraph and The Guardian publish full-page obituaries for celebrities or important figures.

Sample of an obituary