Writing an effective obituary

Writing an Effective Obituary

 For a lot of people, writing any sort of text can be a difficult endeavor. But writing an obituary, apart from the action of actually writing a piece of text, can be especially heartbreaking as you try to capture the true essence of your loved one in just a few words.

If you’ve recently lost a loved one, and now are faced with the task of writing their obituary, the following tips may help.

What Makes an Effective Obituary?

• Write in the present tense, and change it later – it can be difficult to write about someone you love in the past tense. To ensure you can write this text, write in the present tense at first to allow you to move through the different sections with ease. Then, you can change the verbs in the past tense while editing;
• Start by announcing the death – obituaries usually start with the announcement that the person has died. Provide their name and general biographical information, such as what they did for a living, where they grew up/lived, etc.
• Give a bit more insights into who the person was – in the second paragraph, try to go more in-depth into who the person was, outside of the biographical information. You can even add some personal stories that could reflect your loved one’s spirit and way of being;
• Mention the surviving family and those who’ve also passed away – close family members are usually listed by name, while more distant ones are described in more vague terms, so don’t stress too much about naming all family members in the obituary;
• End with funeral information – in the final paragraph, add all the funeral information people should know, such as time and place, location of the wake, etc.

DisciplePress Can Help

If you need some assistance with your obituary program, we at DisciplePress can help make the entire process simpler.

We offer affordable custom obituary announcements in as little as 24 hours, so you can turn to us even when in a rush. Click here to view our 4 page funeral programs, click here to view our 8 page programs or Click here to take a look at our obituary prayer cards.

Final thoughts

At DisciplePress, we understand this is a very difficult time for you, and the last thing you may want to do is worry about logistics. Our services are designed to assist you, and send off your loved ones the way they deserve.

Contact us now to find out more about our services.