What Is An Obituary?
After the demise of a loved one, you may be tasked to write a meaningful and heartfelt obituary for a newspaper, magazine, or even on a social media post. As such, when you are writing an obituary, you try to reminisce all the legacies and memories you have shared with that special person.
There are many ways to write an obituary. At its core, an obituary is the collection of a person’s life and legacy that are brought to life by kindred words and tributes. Career accomplishments, for those that have them, are always an interesting point. Achievements and Hobbies like golfing prowess, fishing, or coaching the under 15s football team to its first grand final are all interesting to friends.
Oftentimes, an obituary is not a necessity when a person dies. But this is an important way to inform the community about the death of a person, and more than this, it aims to celebrate a well-lived life someone had experienced in this beautiful world. It goes to say that an obituary is more than just announcing a person’s death. It is a remembrance of someone’s life journey in this ever-changing world.
What Goes In An Obituary?
Writing an obituary takes into consideration a lot of basic facts and funeral details about a deceased person. But most importantly, putting all the shared memories that person had lived through in words is a difficult task to even think about. And even making a start is just too hard to bear. But, if you’re not sure what to include in an obituary, there is some essential information that goes into writing an obituary.
Let us start with the basic facts about the deceased person. Collecting the information that you might use in writing an obituary is one of the first steps that you might need to start with. For starters, you need to know the full name of the deceased, his or her age, date and place of birth, date, and place of death, the address of the deceased, and the reason or cause of that person’s death. If you’re finding it hard to put words into what you are feeling, just start first with the basic facts about that deceased person.
Also, another part that goes into an obituary is the summary of that person’s life. In this one, you should provide a summary of the deceased person’s life, starting from his or her birth up to the recent days of his or her existence. It’s like you are walking down memory lane again. And I know that it is painful to summarize that person’s life into paragraphs, but you should take this one slowly. Just start telling the person’s life and story. Think of yourself as a storyteller. Just to assure you, there is no one-size-fits-all structure of writing an obituary. As you go along in writing one, you’ll be able to make a meaningful obituary fitted for that person.
Listing all the friends, relatives, and circle of people that played a role in that deceased person’s life also goes into writing an obituary. As such, you might also want to include their full names as well as the names of their spouse/partner and children. Just make a detailed list of their names as these people all played a part in the deceased person’s journey. And this makes the obituary even more special and heartfelt befitting the life of that deceased person.
Sample list of what to include in a obituary
- Name of deceased
- Age at time of death
- Birth and death dates
- Education
- Hobbies or interest
- Parents, Brothers, Sisters, Children
- Time , Date and location of funeral services
Should I Pay Funeral Homes To Write An Obituary?
This is a crucial part of the funeral service because you have the choice of whether to let the funeral homes write the obituary or you might want to do it by yourself. And this could be a tough decision to make. For sure, you are torn in choosing to write it because you’d like that this obituary is special and heartfelt from the deepest core of your emotions. But, at the same time, you find it painful and difficult to bear to accept that person’s death. No one is as ready to accept and even write an obituary of a special person’s death.
Yes, funeral homes offer the service of writing an obituary. Now, if you choose to let the funeral homes write the obituary, then some of them will require you to pay a fee. Here, you can help them supply some biographical information and fond memories that you might share with them. This time, the funeral homes can write and edit the obit, and then they’ll let you read it first for any changes that you might want to add or omit. Remember, this is not a necessity but an option in the funeral service. If you and your family decided to write the obituary by yourselves, then you have the choice and will to do it.
Tips In Writing A Meaningful Obituary
Having written eulogies or obituaries for your loved ones is truly difficult because it is hard to think clearly when you are grieving their loss and death. And, if you’re not used to writing an obituary or just writing in general, creating an obituary can be a daunting task.
One of the tips in writing a meaningful obituary is to get to know the deceased person’s life true and deep at his or her core. An obituary or eulogy that vividly details that person’s humor, personality, attitude, and just the beauty of telling his or her truth to a lot of people make a meaningful obituary. It’s like you are unafraid to tell the world about the person’s life and let that person’s beautiful existence shine through.
Another tip to remember is to use your own judgment about what is the appropriate style or way of writing the obituary. If a persons’ death is too tragic, then a jocular obituary should not be appropriate for the scenario. Now, if you knew the person well and you can reminisce some of his or her life’s nuances, then you should be able to assess the tone and style that would suit the obit you are writing.
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