Your Step-by-Step Guide to Writing an Effective Obituary

If you’ve ever spent any time browsing through a newspaper, you’ve no doubt come across your fair share of obituaries. Most people are familiar with how obituaries are written and what kind of information they contain. But when you’re sitting in a Lithia Springs, GA funeral home following the death of a loved one, it can be difficult trying to figure out what to put in their obituary.  

How do you sum up a person’s entire life in just a few paragraphs? It’s a lot harder than it looks when you see the final product on an obituary page. Here is a step-by-step guide to writing an effective obituary for a close friend or family member.  

Step 1: Announce your loved one’s death at the beginning. 

At the start of an obituary, you should list the name of the deceased, their age, the place they were living when they died, and the date of their death. If you so choose, you can also mention the cause of their death. It’s not required but is often included by many families.  

Step 2: Provide people with biographical information for your loved one. 

Once you’re done announcing the death of your loved one, it’ll be time for you to give an oversight of what they accomplished throughout their life. This portion of the obituary should shine a light on their major life accomplishments. You should talk about where they went to school, where they worked, whether or not they were ever married, and more. Most families choose to list accomplishments in chronological order.  

Step 3: Mention immediate family members and those who were close with the deceased. 

After talking about a person’s life, you should move on and talk about their close family members and friends. It’s almost impossible to list all family members in an obituary, so stick with parents, spouses, children, grandchildren, siblings, and best friends, if possible.  

Step 4: Reveal when funeral services will be held. 

Now that you’re getting close to the end of your loved one’s obituary, you need to let everyone know when the funeral services in Lithia Springs, GA for a person are going to be held. You should include the date and time of the viewing and funeral as well as the location for the services. If, for whatever reason, you’re going to be holding private services, note that, too, so that people don’t show up at them unexpectedly.  

Step 5: Include any special messages or requests at the end. 

Before closing your loved one’s obituary, you may want to include a few special messages or requests. Some families send their thanks to the hospital staff who helped their loved one in their final days. Other families use this space to ask people to send donations to a charity in lieu of flowers. You’ll usually have one or two lines to write whatever you want to end the obituary.  

Do you need help writing an obituary? Davis-Struempf Funeral Home & Crematory would be more than happy to assist you with it. In addition to helping families arrange cremations in Lithia Springs, GA as well as burials, we can also help them write obituaries. Reach out to us at (770) 944-2900 or pay us a visit at 1975 E West Connector, Austell, GA 30106 to learn how to assemble an effective obituary.