How to Write an Obituary, With a Template

To write an obituary, start with the announcement (name, age, town, date of death), add a short life story, list the close survivors, and finish with the service details and any request for donations. Most obituaries follow that order because it is the order readers look for information in, and a fill-in template below lets you draft one in under an hour.

Knowing how to write an obituary also means knowing what to leave out. A few details that families traditionally include are exactly what identity thieves look for, and a paid print notice is priced by the newspaper, which is a reason to keep the print version short. Both points are covered here.

Obituary or death notice: which are you writing?

The two terms are often used interchangeably, but they are different jobs.

• Death notice: a short, paid announcement, usually just the name, age, date of death and service details. Its job is to tell people when and where to show up.
• Obituary: a longer account of the person’s life, usually written by the family. A newspaper sometimes writes its own news obituary about a well-known person, which the family does not write or pay for.

Many families write one full obituary for the funeral home’s website and social media, then cut it down to a short death notice for print. That keeps the life story intact without paying to print every paragraph.

How to write an obituary, section by section

1. The announcement

Lead with the facts a reader needs to be sure they have the right person: the full name, including a nickname people actually used, the age, and the town. “Margaret ‘Peggy’ Alvarez, 82, of Dayton, died peacefully on March 3 at home” does the job in one line.

Whether to mention the cause of death is entirely the family’s choice. Some families name an illness to raise awareness or explain a charity request; others say nothing. Both are normal.

2. The life story

This is the part people read twice. Pick three or four things that made this person who they were, rather than listing every job and club. A specific detail carries more than a general one: “She kept every birthday card she ever received” says more than “she was a devoted mother”.

Useful prompts: where they grew up, how they met their partner, the work they did and were proud of, military service, what they did on a Saturday, a phrase they always used, and what they were known for among neighbors.

3. Survivors

The usual order is spouse or partner first, then children (with their partners’ names in brackets if you wish), grandchildren and great-grandchildren, then parents and siblings. It is also common to name close family who died before them, introduced with “She was preceded in death by”.

Blended families and estrangements make this section the most sensitive one. There is no rule that every relative must be listed. Many families use a phrase such as “and many nieces, nephews and friends” to include people without naming them.

4. Service details

Give the type of gathering, the date, time and full address, and whether a reception follows. If the service is private, say so, and give a later date for a public memorial if there will be one. Your funeral planning checklist will tell you when these details are settled; publish online once they are, rather than holding the whole obituary back.

5. Memorial requests and thanks

If you would rather people donate than send flowers, name the charity clearly. A short thank-you to a hospice team or care home is common and appreciated.

Fill-in obituary template

Copy this, fill in the brackets, and delete any line that does not fit. Brackets with “optional” can be dropped without the obituary reading as incomplete.

[Full name], [age], of [town], died [peacefully / unexpectedly / after a long illness (optional)] on [month and day], [year], [at home / in hospital / surrounded by family (optional)].

[First name] grew up in [town or region], the [eldest / youngest / only] child of [parents’ first names]. [He / She / They] [graduated from / served in / trained as] [school, branch of service or trade] and went on to [career or main work] for [number] years.

In [year], [first name] married [spouse’s name], and together they [raised a family in / moved to / built] [place or thing]. [One or two sentences about what they loved: a hobby, a place, a team, a habit people will remember.]

[First name] will be remembered for [a specific quality, told through one example].

[He / She / They] is survived by [spouse or partner]; [children, with partners in brackets]; [number] grandchildren, [names optional]; and [siblings]. [First name] was preceded in death by [names and relationships].

A [funeral / memorial service / celebration of life] will be held at [time] on [day, date] at [venue name and full address], with [visitation / a reception] [before / after]. [Burial / Interment] will follow at [cemetery] (optional). [Or: A private service will be held for family.]

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to [charity name]. The family thanks [caregivers, hospice or staff] for [their care].

What to leave out: identity theft risk

Obituaries are public, permanent and easy to search, and scammers use them. The New York Department of State’s Division of Consumer Protection advised in a June 2026 consumer alert to keep obituaries brief and to avoid sharing addresses, birth dates, maiden names, or family members’ full names.

In practice, that means:

• Give the age, not the full date of birth.
• Leave out the mother’s maiden name, a common security question.
• Do not print the home address. Readers only need the venue address.
• Consider first names only for grandchildren and other minors.

The same alert recommends notifying the credit bureaus, banks and government agencies after a death and watching for unexpected bills. The California Attorney General’s guide to identity theft and the deceased says the surviving spouse or executor should notify the three national credit bureaus in writing, with a copy of the death certificate, and gives the Social Security Administration’s number, 1-800-772-1213, for reporting a death directly. Our guide on how to get a death certificate covers how many certified copies to order for this.

Publishing: online, print, and what the funeral home charges

Many funeral homes post obituaries on their own website; ask whether that is part of what you are already paying for. Print is different: a paid obituary or death notice is advertising, and each newspaper sets its own price. Ask the paper how it prices notices before you submit. If it charges by length or adds a fee for a photo, that is the reason to print a short notice and point readers to the full version online.

If the funeral home places the notice for you, the federal Funeral Rule treats the newspaper’s charge as a “cash advance item”. Under 16 CFR Part 453, if the funeral home adds its own charge on top of what the newspaper bills, or keeps a discount or rebate, your itemized statement must say “We charge you for our services in obtaining” and name the item. The same regulation lists placing obituary notices among the basic services a funeral director provides, so check whether the basic services fee already covers it.

You are also entitled to see those charges before you pay. The FTC’s consumer guide to the Funeral Rule says you must get a statement showing exactly what you are buying and the cost of each item. Our plain-English guide to the FTC Funeral Rule explains the rest of those rights.

A quick checklist before you submit

• Spell-check every name with a second family member, including people named in the survivors list.
• Confirm the date, time and address of the service with the venue.
• Remove the date of birth, home address and mother’s maiden name.
• Check the charity’s exact name so donations reach it.
• Ask the newspaper for its price and deadline, and whether it needs the notice to come from the funeral home.
• Choose one clear, recent photo and ask whether it costs extra in print.
• Save the final text; you will reuse it for the service program and online memorial pages.

If you are still working through the first days after a death, our guide to what to do when someone dies puts the obituary in context. It is rarely urgent, and once the service details are fixed, the online version can go up that same day, with the print notice following in the paper’s next available edition.

Sources

• New York Department of State, Division of Consumer Protection: Tips to Avoid Funeral Fraud and End-of-Life Identity Theft (June 2026)
• California Attorney General: Identity Theft and the Deceased
• Electronic Code of Federal Regulations: 16 CFR Part 453, Funeral Industry Practices
• Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Advice: The FTC Funeral Rule