How to Write an Obituary

Grieco Funeral Home & Crematory, Inc. • July 3, 2023

If you are the person in charge of writing the obituary of a loved one and have never done so before, there are some things to know. Here are the tips that can help you do this. 

After the death of a loved one, you may be thinking of writing their obituary instead of leaving it to the funeral home to do so. If that is something that you want to do but have never written an obituary before, it is important to learn a few things about the process. Here are the tips that directors of funeral homes Kennett Square, PA providers want you to know. 


Read examples of obituaries before you start to write one. Each obituary is unique, but you can still get a good sense of how long it should be, what you can add to it, the tone it should have, and much more. This is important to consider since it can allow you to put together an outline. There are lots of resources online where you can find examples, so do take some time to do this. 


Providers of cremation services and funeral home directors also want you to remember not to add too many details to the biographical section of the obituary. People tend to make this mistake and it can end up confusing the readers, which is not something you want to do. Instead, think about the milestones of your loved one’s life and add those to the obituary. 


Another thing you want to remember is that you want to include a bit about what your loved one loved doing and what their passions were. Instead of just listing these things, why not give examples of things they enjoyed? If they loved a particular sports team, you can mention whether they had memorabilia or if they ever went to live games. These kinds of examples can paint a more vivid picture of who your loved one was. 


Ask someone you trust to read through the obituary so that they can catch any mistakes or issues. You want to ask someone who knows your family so that they can also catch misspelling of names and similar issues. The last thing you want is to realize you made a mistake once the obituary is already out there. 


At the end of the obituary, you want to remember to include all of the information you want related to the services you are planning on having. Include the date, time, and location, and also add any special request you may have. If you are planning on having a celebration of life, mention this here, as well. 


When getting ready to write the obituary for a loved one, you need to be sure that you consider all of these things. Read examples and add things that can show who your loved one was. If you would like to know more about writing an obituary, you can reach out to a funeral homes Kennett Square, PA provider like us at Grieco Funeral Home & Crematory, Inc. Our team is here to help you with any funerary needs you have so do contact us. Give us a call or visit us today to learn more. 

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