Writing An Obituary

If you are asked to write an obituary, you must have been close to the departed friend or family member. To accomplish this task, you must be organized and thorough. In truth, by the time you complete the work you are likely to know more about your loved one than before the passing.

According to Wikipedia, "an obituary is a news story that reports the recent death of a person, typically along with an account of the person's life and information about the upcoming funeral." An obituary is an important and factual report of a life lived. An obituary should not be confused with a eulogy, which is a more personal look at the individual's life.

In some cases, the departed friend or family member may have written their own obitaury. That document should always be respected. Usually, a self-created obitaury should be edited for clarity and the cause of death and funeral notice added to the document.

There is now a wonderful webiste called imorial.com. At this site there are currently 6,000 memorials that have been created by firedns or family. Friends or family members can always add their own tributes just after the death or in the future. At this time, there are about 39,000 tribiutes posted on various memorials on the site.

In writing the obituary, the author must be a bit of an investigator. The most important elements of an obituary are accuracy and completeness. Every obitaury should state the date of birth and the date of death. This information is usually delivered at the very beginning of the obituary.

When describing realtives, the author must make sure the names are correctly spelled and the relationship to the departed is accurately conveyed. When there are large families, this can be challenging. However, the author should err on the side of caution rather than make a mistake.

The facts of an obituary can weigh the notice. However, an obituary should not diminish the value of one's life. Be accurate, be thorough and be humorous when appropriate. The author should connect the facts of this life lived with the personality of the departed.

Usually, the accurate life's story may reveal things that even family members did not know about their loved one. There should never be anything negative in an obituary. The best obitauries are upbeat and have energy.

The author may want to read some obituaries to figure out how to improve the report. Try to maintain a balance between the life fully lived and death. Remember that the author may be writing this obituary but the story belongs to the departed.