Step1
When writing any one’s obituary there should be several things that are included. There are also some other things that you may or may not choose to put in the obituary.
When writing an obituary for your mother you may want to start out something like this:
“Jane Black, beloved mother of Mark Black (Trisha), and Susie White (Ted)”
Note: The names in parenthesis are the spouses of her children.
“Jane Black (72) of Ticktock Illinois passed away at her home on Monday, April 8, 2008. Mrs. Black died of natural causes. She is survived by her loving husband Charlie, daughter Susie White (Ted), and her son Mark Black (Trisha), and three grand children: Martha, Brad and Ted Jr.
You could also head the obituary with Mother or Loving Mother. Then proceed with a paragraph such as the one directly above.
Step2
What you put in an obituary is optional you can put as little or as much as you want in to it. However there are certain things that definitely should be included:
Date of death
Last known location, and/or place of origin
Survived by
Time, date, and location of any memorials or services
There are other things that are optional but are things that most obituaries contain this would be in addition to what I wrote above:
Date of Birth
Cause of death
Succeeded in death by
In addition to the above many people like to share details of their loved ones such as:
Jobs (Employment History – Mostly just longest or last or career path)
Accomplishments
Military service
Place of birth
Things they loved or cared for
Causes they believed in
Personal details (example: loved to travel, wrote many poems to loved ones, loved to watch birds from the kitchen window)
Pride (description of how they were a loving mother, aunt, friend, etc.)
Romantic Story (example: Jane met her husband Charlie when she was 20 years old. They were introduced to one another by friends. They fell in love almost instantly and were married 1 year later. They have enjoyed a loving and happy marriage ever since.)
In Lew of Flowers: Some people may feel that the diseased would rather have money donated to a worthy cause rather than to the purchase of flowers. This may include something that the diseased personally supported or perhaps to a charity that is working to provide a cure for their particular illness.
Step3
An obituary can be long or it can be short. It can be strictly business or highly personal. You can give as much or as little detail as you would like to provide. An obituary can be a short detailing of ones life story or it can simply serve to provide information about the death and of the services that are being held.
Remember the obituary for most people will be the last printed remembrance of that person’s life. Friends and family will likely cut this from the paper and keep it forever as a remembrance of that person.
Consider how you yourself would like your obituary to read, you would very likely want to have your accomplishments printed in this final detailing of your life. You would also of course want the people you loved most mentioned. It would also be nice if something kind were to be said about you.
Comments
LouRhi said
on 4/13/2008 Great article, very well written, thanks for sharing it with us