Writing an Obituary
1
Announce the death. The opening is one sentence that gives basic information
about who the person was and when he died. You can decide whether you want to
mention where specifically the person died, and if his family was there. If you do choose
to mention the cause of death, then you can do that at the end of this first sentence.
Here's what it should look like:[2]

(Name),(age), of (residence) died (passed away, or a word with a similar meaning),
(date).

Example: "Sandra Smith, 70, of Santa Monica, died Mar. 12, 2013, with her family by
her side."
2
Provide biographical information. This paragraph should provide some basic
biographical information about the person, such as where he was born, his educational
background, and information about his marital life (if there is any). Here's what it should
look like:

(He/she) was born (place, date of birth, parents). (Name) graduated from (high school
name) and received (name of degree) from (name of college). (He/she) was married to
(spouse's name) (time of marriage optional).

Example: "She was born to the late Samuel and Sally Jones, Apr. 12, 1943, in
Springfield, Illinois. Sandra graduated from John Adams High School in 1961 and
received a BA in in History from the University of Illinois in 1965. She married the late
Jackson Smith in 1966, and they lived together in Springfield for twenty years before
relocating to Santa Monica."
3
Write additional information. If you'd like to expand your obituary to include more
information about the deceased, then you should do so in the next paragraph or two
mini-paragraphs. Try to think of three adjectives to describe the person, and make this
come through in your description of the person's life. Rather than saying the person was
generous, show how the person demonstrated charitable behavior.

[3]
The format for these parts is less rigid, since it all depends on what you want to include.

Example: "Sandra was a librarian until she retired in 2008. She was passionate about
helping the students in the library, and about spreading her love for reading throughout
her community. She was honored with the Santa Monica Librarian of the Year award in
1995."

Example: "She was an avid golfer, and spent most of her Saturday and Sunday
mornings at the course with her friends. She loved hiking, biking, and running, and ran
ten marathons in her lifetime."
4
Provide survivor information. You should list the names of the person's children,
grandchildren, and other important family members. You should include the residence
of these family members and separate the names of each person with a semi-colon.
Remember that if there are many grandchildren instead of just one or two, that listing
the number is more appropriate.

Example: "Sandra is survived by three children: Jenny Gray, of Springfield; Mark Smith,
of Philadelphia; and Jessie Adams, of Chicago. She is also survived by ten
grandchildren and three great-grandchildren."
5
Provide information about the funeral arrangements. In the last part of the
obituary, you should write the time, date, and place where the service will be held, and
let people know if your family would prefer guests to make a donation to a charity that
the deceased supported instead of sending flowers. Here's how to write it:

Example: "Instead of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the
Brunswick Homeless Shelter."

Example: "A viewing will be held at 6. p.m. Saturday at the Santa Clara Funeral Home.
The burial will take place at 1 p.m. at the Santa Monica cemetery."