An obituary serves as one of the last written records of a person's life. It reflects their accomplishments, hobbies, interests and generally lists their family members and close friends. Sometimes written by newspaper professionals and other times written by a loved one, an obituary is a personal inflection about a deceased person that is shared with others who cared for him while he was living. Writing a traditional obituary simply requires knowledge of the standard format and personal information to fill in the gaps.
Instructions
1. Cite the place, day, cause of death directly after listing the name of the deceased. This is also the paragraph where you need to include the name of the funeral home as well as the time and date of any services being held in honor of the deceased. Some people opt not to include the cause of death if it was a violent one, instead just opting to say the person passed away.
Example: John Doe, 57, died Saturday in Anywhere, Tenn., after a long battle with cancer. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 15, at Anywhere Funeral Home.
2. Write a paragraph about his educational background and place of employment. This is a fairly straightforward paragraph just letting people know a little bit about what he did for a living and how he spent a portion of his life before his passing.
Example: John graduated from Anywhere College with a bachelor's degree in science in 1973. He was employed with Anytime Technologies for 15 years.
3. Write a paragraph about his hobbies and general interests. This provides a more personal look into the life of the deceased, with information only his inner circle might have known. If there is a large list of family to include in the obituary, many people opt to skip this paragraph.
Example: John loved to hunt and fish. He was a member of Anywhere Baptist Church and relished the time he spent with his wife and five children.
4. List family members, starting with his spouse--if he had one--and immediate children. Traditional obituaries only list a spouse, children, parents, grandparents, grandchildren, and close friends. However, this is generally a personal matter and if you are willing to pay more for space in the local newspaper, you can list as many people as you want.
Example: John is survived by his wife of 25 years, Jane; three daughters, Elizabeth Williams, Rachel Doe and Jennifer Jones; his parents, Elise and Ralph Doe; five grandchildren; and Robert Belford, a close friend of the family.
5. Reveal contact information for the funeral home or mortuary in charge of the services. This provides the reader with contact information, in case they need more information or want to contribute to the services in any way.
Example: For additional service information, please contact Anywhere Funeral Home at (000) 000-0000.
Tags: Example John, Anywhere Funeral, Anywhere Funeral Home, cause death, close friends, contact information