How to Write an Obituary for a Family Member in 4 Steps (with Template and Example)

After losing a loved one, it’s completely natural to feel daunted by the task of writing an obituary. In this blog, we will give you tools for how to write an obituary for your loved one from scratch.

If it helps, look at this as a unique opportunity to celebrate the life of your loved one. Their obituary can highlight the things they enjoyed doing, their unique qualities, and how they chose to spend their precious time on earth.

Below, we’ll go over four steps to write a beautiful obituary to honor your loved ones life, and we’ll follow up with some common questions about writing obituaries that can be helpful to keep in mind.

Step #1: Make a list of important information that you will need to include.

Compile the details about your family member into a quick outline before you start writing. Remember there is nothing that is required for you to include. Depending on the type of obituary you choose to write here are some suggested details to mention in an obituary:

• Your family member’s full name
• Their age
• Their date of birth and place of birth
• Their date of death and place of death
• Their surviving family members 
• Any late family members
• The details for the wake, funeral, memorial, or celebration of life services

Optional extra details to mention in an obituary:

• Their career details and accomplishments 
• Any religious affiliation
• Their primary accomplishments
• things they loved, such as hobbies or sports teams
• Any charities you would like people to donate to in their honor
• A poem, prayer, lyric, or quote
• A goodbye message to your loved one

Allowing other family members to contribute to the obituary often allows them to feel included. Also having someone to check for accuracy is important.

With all these facts in one place, writing the obituary will be much easier.

Step #2: Choose a photo for the obituary.

Your funeral director will be able to provide you with the requirements for an image in both the newspaper and their website. Usually, the image will be a close photo of your loved one’s face. Try to choose an image where you can see them clearly, and one that they would be happy with. Some choose to include a younger photo that old friends would recognize while others go with something more recent. Note that including a photo or a colored photo can cost more depending on the newspaper.

Step #3: Fill in the following template.

Please feel free to use the below template to create an obituary that will represent your loved one in a positive and affectionate light.

Consider that many newspapers charge per word. That means that you may consider keeping the obituary brief and just mentioning the most important details depending on your budget. Your funeral home will allow you to place a longer, more detailed obituary on their website that can include multiple photos.

Meaningful Obituary Template for a Loved One

Step #4: Proofread

When you compiled the information above, you should have already ensured its accuracy. But once you’ve completed the first draft, send out your family member’s obituary to the rest of the family and friends and get their opinion.

This will be important to the other people who your family member loved, and you want to ensure that no details or misspellings go unnoticed.

Now that you’ve completed your family member’s obituary, you can send it to the newspaper or website that you hope to publish it on. Additionally (and Return Home’s suggestion) you might send the obituary to the funeral home so that they will take care of ensuring that it’s published in the proper mediums.

Obituary Example

How to Write an Obituary for a Family Member: Key Takeaways

After losing a loved one, taking care of everything from the funeral plans to the obituary becomes overwhelming, and it’s completely normal for you to feel a bit stuck during your time of grief. To break down the task a little bit more, when wondering how to write an obituary, first, just compile the information you want included, then put it into a template, mentioning personal details about your family member, then you yourself or another trusted source should proofread the document.

We hope this article helps you better understant how to write an obituary, here at Return Home, we are committed to gently turning human remains into soil in a process known as Terramation. We believe in the importance of transparency, which is why we are the only facility that allows you to visit your loved one through the whole Terramation process. Please reach out to us if you would like to learn more about green burial and Terramation.