What an Obituary Is and What It Includes

An obituary is a short public notice that announces a person's death and celebrates their life. It usually runs in a newspaper, on a funeral home's website, or on a digital memorial, and it serves two jobs at once: it tells the community that someone has died, and it gives readers the details they need to attend the service or pay respects.

A complete obituary generally includes the person's full name (and nickname), age, the date and sometimes place of death, a brief life story, a list of surviving and predeceased family members, the service or funeral arrangements, and any request for donations in lieu of flowers. You do not need every element—an obituary can be four sentences or four paragraphs. The right length is the one that feels true to the person and fits your budget.

Above all, an obituary is not a résumé. Job titles and dates matter, but the details people remember are smaller: the way she hummed while cooking, the fact that he never missed a grandchild's game, the garden she tended for forty years. Aim for the specific over the general.

Step-by-Step Structure

Most obituaries follow the same six-part skeleton. Work through it in order and you will have a complete draft, even on the hardest day.

1. Announcement of death. Open with the full name, age, city, and date of death. You may add a gentle phrase about how they died ("peacefully at home," "after a long illness") but you are never obligated to state a cause.

2. Biographical sketch. Cover the essentials of their life: birth date and place, parents, education, career, marriage, and the things they loved. This is where personality belongs—hobbies, faith, humor, the roles they were proudest of.

3. Survived by and preceded in death by. List close family who have died before them ("preceded in death by") and those still living ("survived by"). Move from closest relationships outward: spouse, children, grandchildren, siblings.

4. Service details. Give the date, time, and location of the funeral, visitation, or memorial. If services are private, say so.

5. Memorial or donation information. Note where flowers can be sent, or name a charity for donations "in lieu of flowers."

6. Closing line. End with one warm sentence—a value they lived by, a phrase they used, or a simple "She will be deeply missed."

Sample Obituary: A Mother

Use these as scaffolding, not scripts—swap in the real names and details.

Margaret Ellen Carter, 78, of Portland, Oregon, passed away peacefully at home on March 14, 2026, surrounded by her family. Born on June 2, 1947, in Boise, Idaho, to James and Ruth Delaney, Margaret spent thirty years teaching second grade, where she was famous for reading aloud in a different voice for every character.

She married her husband, Robert, in 1969, and together they raised three children and a garden that fed half the neighborhood. Margaret was preceded in death by her parents and her brother, Thomas. She is survived by her husband of 56 years, Robert; her children, Sarah, David, and Anne; and six grandchildren who called her "Gigi."

A memorial service will be held at St. Andrew's Church on March 22 at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the local library. Margaret believed every child deserved a good book and a warm meal. She gave out both, generously, until the very end.

Sample Obituary: A Father

Frank Anthony Russo, 82, of Cleveland, Ohio, died on January 9, 2026, after a brief illness. Born September 30, 1943, Frank served four years in the Navy before spending his career as a union electrician—a trade he was proud of and never stopped talking about.

Frank loved three things without reservation: his family, the Cleveland Browns, and a well-told story. He is preceded in death by his wife, Diane, and his parents. He is survived by his son, Michael (Karen); his daughter, Lisa; four grandchildren; and more friends than any obituary could name.

Visitation will be held Friday, January 16, from 4 to 7 p.m. at Riverside Funeral Home, with a service to follow Saturday at 10 a.m. Donations may be made to the local veterans' post in his memory. Frank fixed what was broken, showed up when it mattered, and made everyone in the room feel like family. Raise a glass to him.

Sample Obituary: A Brief Traditional Notice

When budget or time is tight, a short obituary still does the job with dignity.

Helen M. Porter, 91, of Austin, Texas, passed away on February 3, 2026. She was preceded in death by her husband, George. She is survived by her daughter, Claire; her son, Paul; and five grandchildren. A graveside service will be held February 8 at 2 p.m. at Oakwood Cemetery. The family thanks the staff of Cedar Ridge for their kind care.

Four sentences can carry a whole life. Length is never a measure of love—clarity and warmth matter far more than word count.

Tone, Length, and Cost

Match the tone to the person. A quiet, formal life invites a quiet, formal obituary; a person full of humor deserves a line that makes readers smile. Write it out loud—if a sentence sounds like something you would actually say at the kitchen table, keep it.

Newspapers usually charge by the line or the word, and costs add up quickly—a printed obituary in a metro daily can run into the hundreds of dollars, especially with a photo. If you are publishing in print, write a tight version for the paper and a fuller version for the funeral home or a digital memorial, where space is free. Ask the paper for its rate and character limit before you finalize the text.

There is no rule about length. Two hundred words is common; some families write far more. Decide what the person would have wanted, then trim anything that reads like filler. If you feel stuck, write everything down first without worrying about cost or length, then cut the print version back to what matters most and let the full draft live somewhere that does not charge by the line.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

A few errors show up again and again. First, leaving someone off the "survived by" list—double-check every name and relationship with another family member, because omissions are noticed and can cause real hurt. Second, relying on clichés ("he touched everyone he met") instead of one true detail. Third, publishing before you have confirmed the service date, time, and address.

Other slips: misspelling names, listing an incorrect age, forgetting to note whether services are private, and writing under pressure without a second reader. Always have at least one other person proofread before it goes to print—typos in an obituary are permanent and painful.

Finally, do not feel obligated to state a cause of death. It is entirely your family's choice, and "passed away peacefully" is enough.

Where the Full Story Lives

An obituary, by design, can only hold so much. It announces a death and sketches a life, but it cannot carry the voice, the photographs, the recipes, or the hundreds of small stories that made a person who they were. Those deserve a place too.

A free digital memorial page picks up where the obituary stops. Family and friends can add photos from every decade, upload video of a laugh or a voice message, and write the stories that never fit in the newspaper column. Years later, when memory softens, the memorial keeps the specifics—the way he signed his letters, the song she always sang. You can start with the obituary text you have already written and build outward from there. Some families link the memorial to a QR plaque at the grave, so anyone visiting can scan and read the full life story on the spot.