How to Send a Death Notice Online
A death notice, also known as a funeral announcement, a death announcement, or a funeral invitation, is commonly sent to friends and family to announce the death of a loved one. Historically, making a death notice has required that a payment be made to a newspaper or publication of choice, somewhat akin to a classified advertisement. But today, with the proliferation of the internet and internet-connected devices, many individuals are turning to sharing a death notice online, whether it be on social media sites like Facebook, via text, or simply via email. Publishing an obituary online also gives the community of the deceased the chance to reconnect and learn more about their loved one's life, through the lens of others.
What is the difference between an obituary and a death notice?
An obituary and a death notice are both announcements of someone's passing, but they differ in their content and purpose.
An obituary is a longer, more detailed article that provides a comprehensive overview of the deceased person's life. It typically includes information such as the person's name, age, place of birth, education, career, family members, hobbies, and accomplishments. Obituaries are usually written by family members or close friends and are published in newspapers or online news sources. They often serve as a tribute to the person's life and are meant to celebrate their achievements and impact on others.
Unlike the average obituary, death notices are a shorter, more concise announcement that provides basic information about the person's passing. It typically includes the person's name, age, date of death, and information about any memorial services or funeral arrangements. Death notices are usually written by funeral homes or family members and are published in newspapers or on funeral home websites. They are meant to inform people of the person's passing and provide information about upcoming services.
However, this distinction is less noticeable for death notices and obituaries for today, since you have the ability to post an obituary online which oftentimes lifts the limits that previously forced some families to only be able to post death notices instead of a full obituary.
How to find death notices today
When someone passes away, it's important to notify their family, friends, and acquaintances about their death. One way to do this is to perform a death notice search both online and offline. Here are some steps to find new death notices in your area:
- Check local newspapers: Start by checking the obituary section of your local newspaper. Many newspapers publish death notices online as well as in print. You can also check the websites of national newspapers that have a local section.
- Search online: There are many websites that specialize in publishing death notices, such as Ever Loved, Legacy, and Tributes. You can search for notices by name, location, or date. You can also simply perform a search for "today's death notices"
- Check social media: Sometimes family members will post a death notice on social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter. You can search for the name of the deceased or their family members to see if any notices have been posted.
- Contact funeral homes: Funeral homes often publish death notices on their websites or in local newspapers. You can contact a funeral home in your area and ask if they have any notices for the deceased.
- Contact the local government: In some cases, the local government may publish death notices for residents who have passed away. You can contact the local government office to inquire about this.
- Check your local library: Certain states (like California)] and areas have a database dedicated to obituaries and death notices that you can easily search through. If you know the state or city that the person lived in, you can find local death notices by searching local library's databases.
Once you have found a death notice, you can use the information to send condolences or attend any memorial services that may be planned.
What if I can't find a death notice for someone?
Posting an obituary or a notice of death isn't a requirement when someone passes away, so there's the possibility that you'll run into a situation where you're unable to find an obituary or a death notice. If this is the case, there are several steps you can take, including:
- Contact the family: If you know the deceased's family members, you can contact them to ask if a death notice has been published or if they are planning a memorial service. They may be able to provide you with more information or let you know about any upcoming events.
- Contact local law enforcement: You can inquire about recent deaths in the area and see if a report was made for the person you are searching for.
- Publish your own death notice online: Using sites like Ever Loved, you can create a loving obituary or post a notice of death for anyone who has passed away. Once your obituary has been posted, it'll be listed on major search engines and is easily located on Ever Loved's website. This makes it simple for folks who are in the area to browse latest death notices and to find ones that are relevant to them and makes it easy for you to reach folks who you may have missed out on directly contacting.
You can send a death notice or funeral announcement via email to an entire community on Ever Loved. To start, simply create a memorial website for a loved one, with information such as the loved one’s profile image, name, date of birth, date of death, and funeral event details. From there, visit the tab in the header called “Send email,” add the emails of the people you’d like to announce a death to, and click the Send button.
Your email recipients will then receive a simple yet elegant notice via email. The email looks great when viewed either on a computer or a mobile phone, especially important since many people today check their emails on their smartphones.
If you prefer to share the link directly, you can copy your sharing URL in your Management dashboard. The public URL to your website can be shared easily and is accessible by everyone. Anyone with the URL can visit your memorial website, read the obituary, learn about event details, engage with the community, and much more.
Additionally, you can share your memorial website to Facebook by clicking the Share to Facebook button. Sharing your memorial website to Facebook is an easy and quick way to enable your friends and family to also share the post on their own timelines. This is an efficient way to alert many members of your community to a death, quickly. It also acts as an online alternative to publishing an obituary or death notice in the newspaper. Friends and family who see your post will be able to read the obituary, learn about upcoming events, and share their condolences all in one place.
When someone decides to click the button that says “RSVP,” they will be directed to your loved one’s memorial website where they can learn more about the funeral events and even RSVP.
Once you start to receive RSVPs, you can track who is attending and who isn’t by visiting your “RSVPs” page. It’s useful to know who is coming and who isn’t because it allows you to be more prepared for any upcoming funeral events by knowing the guest list and count for each event. Guests can update or edit their RSVP at any time. If you're not interested in collecting RSVPs, you have the option of disabling that on your memorial website.
If you're hosting an online or virtual event, you can leave the information for the event in the additional details section of the event. You can also leave a link to the livestream so that anyone visiting the page can easily view the video at the time of service.
Interested in sending a funeral announcement online on Ever Loved? Simply create a free memorial website for your loved one to get started. Use the “Send email” tool to help you make the death announcement with ease via email and use the “RSVPs” tool to help you better manage your guest list.
