

: You may consider including the deceased’s marriage details. You may also include information about your loved one’s brief time in military service in this section of the obituary. : To help identify the person who died, you may consider including the name of the educational institutions they attended. : You may consider including details of your loved one’s early life in the obituary, including place of birth, parents’ names, and siblings. Many obituaries include the deceased’s full name, maiden name, nicknames, age, and city of residence, like this: Gabriella “Gabby” Michelle (Ruiz) Smith, 83, of Omaha, died in her home on Monday, December 14, 2020. Give as many details as possible to identify the person so that readers won’t confuse your loved one’s death with someone who has a similar name. Read our simple outline of this type of obituary. Many obituaries tell the chronological story of the person who died. » MORE: Everyone's life is worth celebrating.

Read through our three sample outlines for a short obituary. You may want to publish the longer one on the funeral home’s website or share it in the funeral program. They print a shorter version in the newspaper to inform community members about the death and let interested parties learn the service details. For this reason, some families choose to have two different versions. They may also charge more if you choose to have a photograph printed with the obituary.

Most newspapers charge a per-word fee to print an obituary. Consider how you can personalize your loved one’s obituary to tell others that someone special has died.
