Writing A Special Obituary

Writing an obituary is a big responsibility. There is much standard information in the typical obituary and sometimes the author has space and money restrictions. That often leaves little room for personal emotions or observations about the departed.

The goal is to include all the information and shape that information with meaningful examples into a story that is the departed one's life story. This can be wordy so be prepared to re-work the material several times before arriving at the final obituary.

Today, most obituaries include a photograph at the top. The material that should be included in every obituary is:

• Full name
• Age at death
• List communities for all residences
• Day and date and location of death
• Cause of death

This information should be included in a short paragraph just below the picture. While the author must use all this material, it should have a flow to the beginning.

After the opening paragraph, the author should include the following information in the second paragraph:

• Date and place of birth
• Names of parents
• Names of siblings by order of birth
• Name of spouse and name of any previous spouses if appropriate
• Educational information
• Career and career achievements
• Community activities or projects
• Children and names of spouses
• Number of grandchildren, great grandchildren and great-great grandchildren

The author should also include the day, date and location of the wake and funeral services. The name of the funeral service provider should also be included.

The conclusion of the obituary should include the name and address of any memorial funds. The obituary could end with a brief quotation that may have had special meaning to the departed or a quotation that describes the departed.

Every now and then an obituary stand out from the rest. That is not a reflection on an individual's life but on the author's ability to convey the life story. If there are space and money limitations, the author must adjust the obituary and convey as much information as possible.

This is unfortunate and also unnecessary. At Imorial.com, members can post the full obituary or life story. This gives a certain permanence to the obituary and the departed's life story.

Imorial.com has been used by more than 15,000 members who have created more than 6,500 online memorials and posted more than 37,000 tributes. Family members and friends may have more to say than the traditional funeral service permits. Imorial.com allows individuals to post their tributes, write full obituaries and share the memorial with others. Imorial.com provides a special service for those who want the departed's life to be celebrated permanently.