Writing an obituary for a newspaper or online memorial.
There are 2 basic styles of obituary, a short obituary, and a longer more detailed obituary.
For a short obituary, the most common layout of information is as follows.
-Paragraph One- Name/Announcement
This paragraph should contain the following information: Full name of deceased, date of passing, place of passing, age of passing. A common opening would be "It is with great sadness that we announce the peaceful passing of...."
Example: It is with great sadness that we announce the peaceful passing of John Phillip Doe, on Sunday, February 3rd, 2010 at the Cooperstown General Hospital at the age of 76.
-Paragraph Two- Predeceased
The second paragraph is usually where the predeceased are listed. Commonly ordered Spouse, Parents, Children, Grandchildren, Siblings, Grandparents, Others: Cousins, Neices, Nephews, In-laws, Best Friends.
Example: John was predeceased by his beloved wife Jane, Parents Jack and Martha, Grandparents Mark and Betty....
-Paragraph Three - Survived by
The third paragraph contains the surviving family members using the same order as listed above. Common openers are "Left to cherish his/her memory", "____ is survived by" ,"Left to mourn"
Example: John is survived by his beloved wife Jane, Parents Jack and Martha, Daughter Rebecca, son James, and numerous grandchildren, nieces, nephews and friends.
-Paragraph Four - Funeral Service Information
The fourth paragraph should contain information about the funeral, visitations/wakes/viewings, and interment. The date, time, location and names of officiants of these events should be listed.
Example: Funeral Service to take place on Wednesday, February 6th, 2010 at The Cooperstown Catholic Church, at 1 pm with Father Bill Bishop officiating. Interment to follow in the Cooperstown Cemetery.
-Paragraph Five - Closing Paragraph
The closing paragraph can contain information about charities that people may donate to in lieu of flowers as well as any acknowledgements from the family.
Example: In lieu of flowers, if friends so desire, donations can be made in John's Memory to the Canadian Cancer Society, 10 Alcorn Ave., Suite 200, Toronto, ON, M4V 3B1. The family would like to thank the staff at the Cooperstown Hospital for their care of Dad and to the Members of Cooperstown for all their support.
The layout for a Longer Obituary would contain all of the Above PLUS a paragraph reserved for a life story of the deceased. Usually placed after the Survived By paragraph and before the Funeral Service Information.
-Life Story Paragraph-
Can contain the following information: Date and place of birth. Parents names. Childhood life: Friends/School info/Siblings. Marriage info-When, Where. Employment history. Hobbies. Achievements. Funny Stories.
Example: John was born in Allansdale, April 28th, 1924 to Jack and Martha Doe. He grew up in Allansdale and attended school at Allansdale High. After graduating John moved to Cooperstown where he worked worked doing heavy construction. It was here that he met his future wife Jane. After 2 years of dating John finally popped the question and they were married 10 months later. John loved fishing and hunting, everyone will always remember the time John and his fishing buddies were so excited to go fishing that they left to go to the cabin only to find out when they got there that they had left all their fishing rods at home! Later in life John loved visits from his grandchildren whom he adored.
Although this is a basic layout for an obituary, they can be made and ordered in any way that you choose, this is only a guideline, if you require any assistance in writing an obituary you can contact us at the funeral home and we can help.
