What is an Obituary?
Have you been tasked with finding out how to write an obituary for a family member but don't know where to start? You've come to the right place. This article gives you information on what an obituary is, examples of an obituary you can post online, and can give you tools to get started with writing an obituary.
What is an obituary?
An obituary acts as a notice of death to friends and family of the deceased. It will typically include at least one photo, the loved one’s date and cause of death, a brief biography, funeral event details, surviving and predeceased family members, and special messages including instructions for charitable donations and gifts.
Historically, this announcement of a death would happen via newspaper, where a family member would pay a newspaper several hundred dollars to publish an obituary and obituaries would be listed on an obituary section of the paper. However, on Ever Loved, you can write, edit and publish an obituary online when you create a free online memorial website for a loved one. You can also easily write an obituary using Ever Loved's AI obituary writer.
Writing an obituary is an act of love that can accomplish many things. At its core, an obituary is a declaration of loss, an acknowledgement of grief, and an expression of joy all-in-one. It celebrates the life of a loved one in a way that few other ways can. It can be used to portray the arch of a loved ones life – from birth, through life, and arriving at death – and provide a symbolic closure to a person’s story. Beyond what an obituary can accomplish emotionally, an obituary also has logistic importance, as it acts as an official notice of death that lets the community know of a loss.
It’s important to get obituary writing help since an obituary can help express what’s at times hard to say, especially while grieving. An obituary can help acknowledge and announce the death so that a community may come together, commemorate a life well lived, and provide a community with ways that they can participate in celebrating the life of a loved one. The best obituaries aren’t ones that are the most expensive to publish in a newspaper, rather obituaries that are well-written and are written from the heart are ones that stand out and stay with people forever.
How do you write an obituary?
Writing an obituary can be a challenging task, especially during a time of grieving. If you are looking for information on writing an obituary, you may want to start by performing an obituary search for the latest local obituaries or by reviewing obituary templates and obituary examples to get an idea of what is expected. You can also look for obituary examples to get inspiration for writing your own. When writing an obituary, it is important to include details about the person's life, achievements, and contributions to their community. Additionally, you may want to include information about funeral arrangements and ways to honor the person's memory. If you're still feeling stuck and aren't sure how to write an obituary, but don't want to follow templates or examples, consider using Ever Loved's obituary writer to get started. The obituary writer is powered by AI and can write an obituary in just minutes.
How to find an obituary for a specific person
If you're looking for an obituary for a specific person, there are several ways to find it. One option is to search online for the person's name and the word "obituary" or "death notice." Many newspapers now publish their obituaries online, so you may be able to find what you're looking for on a newspaper's website. You can also check with funeral homes or the cemetery where the person was buried, as they may have information about the obituary. Additionally, you can try contacting the local library or historical society in the area where the person lived, as they may have archives of past newspapers.
If you're publishing an obituary in the paper, it's important to remember that the length of the obituary will be significantly restricted by the paper you're working with and the price they charge per line. Newspapers charge for printed obituaries by the line, which usually comes out to about $200 for an obituary that's two sentences in length. Writing much more than that will increase the price by a lot and will often times be unrealistic for most families. In general, an obituary you submit to the paper should contain vital information as well as any service information you wish to make public. It's good to keep in mind that you can always publish a fuller, more in-depth obituary online with a memorial website, even if you post an obituary in the newspaper as well. Additionally, any photo submitted to a newspaper alongside the obituary will more than likely be printed in black and white.
Interested in publishing an obituary for free? Create a memorial website for a loved one on Ever Loved to get started and add an obituary, funeral events, track RSVPs, add photos, and more.
