9.4 Obituary Writing
Essential Elements of Obituaries
- Announce the death.
- Provide a short biography that illuminates who the deceased person was.
- Identify the bereaved family members.
- Provide details for events to honour the deceased and support the family members.
- Include “special messages” (e.g., donations, thank/recognition, message to the deceased, a lyric from a song, a stanza from a poem, a short prayer, etc.).
- A photograph of the deceased.
- Choose where to publish (e.g., newspaper, funeral home memorial program, funeral home website, dedicated memorial website).
(How to write, June 23, 2022; Lastly, n.d.-a; Writing an Obituary, December 12, 2019).
Click the following links to learn more about the essential elements of obituaries, and how to write an engaging and meaningful one:
How to write the perfect obituary, according to professional writers
VIDEO: How do I write an obituary?
In the following video, Eric from “The Obituary App”, explains how to write an obituary, elaborating on and covering some important material in the two previous readings.
