Tips on Writing an Obituary

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=80 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" bgproperties="fixed" background="images/04000500dvldtc.gif"> <div>  <A HREF="index.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="_"><U><U>HOME</U></U></A><U>    /    </U><A HREF="id57.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="How to Write An Obituary"><U><U>Back to Previous Page</U></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFFFCC" TEXT="#080000" background="images/041d2c00ezwnvf.gif"> <div> <A HREF="id72.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Site Index"><U><B>Back to Site Index</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id71.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Registration Form"><U><B>Join the Society Now</B></U></A></div> <div> <B>SAMPLE OBIT BELOW</B></div> <div> <I>Please note that the items that are </I><I><B>bold</B></I><I> and enclosed are items that would be specific to the individual.  This is simply an example.  It should be modified to meet your needs.  The obituary should be typed and 1.5 or double spaced.  Do not try to format to newspaper column width.</I></div> <div> ++++++++++++++++</div> <div> <B>Norfolk, VA   </B><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><example of dateline></FONT></div> <div> <B>(Name of Deceased)</B>, 82, of the 1600 block of <B>(</B><B>Any)</B> Ave., died Friday, September<B>( </B><B>XX)</B>, 20<B>(</B><B>XX)</B><B>.</B>  Mrs. <B>(NAME)</B> was born in Portsmouth and was a retired secretary for the <B>(</B><B>Place of Employment)</B>.  She was a member of <B>(</B><B>Name of Specific Church)</B> in Norfolk.  Mrs. <B>(NAME)</B> was a past president of the <B>(</B><B>Organization or Group)</B>.  She also served as a national officer in the <B>(</B><B>Another Group or Organization)</B>.  Mrs. <B>(</B><B>NAME)</B><B> </B>was the daughter of the late <B>(</B><B>Father's Name)</B> and the late <B>(</B><B>Mother's Name (Maiden also))</B>.  She was the widow of <B>(</B><B>Name of Deceased Spouse)</B>, having been married for 50 years.</div> <bR> <div> Mrs. <B>(</B><B>Name)</B> is survived by her daughter,<B>( Name of Daughter), </B>and her husband<B> (First Name of Daughter's Husband</B><B>)</B> of Norfolk, VA; her son, <B>(</B><B>Name of Son)</B>, and his wife <B>(First </B><B>Name of Son's Wife)</B>, of <B>(</B><B>City of Residence)</B>; 2 sisters: <B>(</B><B>Name of Sister)</B> of Norfolk and <B>(</B><B>Name of Sister)</B> of Virginia Beach.  Mrs. <B>(</B><B>Name of Deceased)</B> is also survived by her 4 grandchildren:<B> (</B><B>Names of Grandchildren (optional))</B>. </div> <bR> <div> A memorial service will be held on Wednesday, <B>(</B><B>Month & Day)</B>, 20(XX) in the <B>(</B><B>Place of Service</B><B>, </B><B>Address of Place of Service)</B>, Norfolk, at 3:00 PM by <B>(</B><B>Title &</B><B> </B><B>Name of Person Officiating at Service)</B><B>.</B>  The family request that memorials may be made to the <B>(</B><B>Organization)</B>.  The Cremation Society of Virginia is in charge of arrangements.</div> <div> END OF FILE ==================</div> <div> <A HREF="id57.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="How to Write An Obituary"><U><B><U>How to Write An Obituary</U></B></U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=400 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> Tips on Writing an Obituary</div> <div> Writing an obituary is often helpful when someone close has died or may be dying.  Remembering the defining moments of an individual's life may bring comfort to the author of the obituary.  At the Cremation Society we not only encourage family members to write obituaries for other family members, but also to write one for themselves.  As a member of the Society, your obituary would be placed in your permanent file at our office.  This information would remain confidential and be shared with family members at your death.  We also have a booklet that we will be happy to send you on different styles and types of obituaries.  When we prepare an obituary for a family, we encourage the family to have input in the final product so that the obituary accurately reflects, not just the statistical information of the deceased, but actually gives a feel for who the person really was.  <B>Should you wish to receive the free booklet on writing a special types of obituaries, simply send a brief e-mail message to us at </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#00CC00" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="mailto: obitdoc@cremate.org" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto: obitdoc@cremate.org"><U><B>mail to: obitdoc@cremate.org</B></U></A><B>. </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#00FFFF" FACE="Arial" ><B> </B></FONT><B>Be sure to include your mailing address and state that you are requesting the obituary booklet.</B></div> <bR> <div> There are several parts to an obituary.  The first four items below are often found in the same paragraph.  The second paragraph begins with survivors.  The final paragraph is the service arrangements.</div> <div>  </div> <div> 1.     The first part is the "dateline".  This is usually the city/county of residence.  It is simply a heading at the top of the page. </div> <div>  </div> <div> 2.     This is followed by who the individual is (name, age, residence, and place of birth).  </div> <bR> <div> 3.     The next section is who the person really is and what they may have accomplished. (Occupation, memberships, military service, etc.  - This is the area that can readily be personalized by hobbies, favorite activities, and so forth).  </div> <bR> <div> 4.     Usually the names of the parents and deceased family members are listed next.  Often the surviving spouse is listed at this time also.  Again this area can be personalized by indicating a particularly long or happy childhood or marriage.  </div> <bR> <div> 5.     The next paragraph is where the survivors are listed.  Many times the names of the surviving children's' spouses are included in the obituary.  If the deceased is a child or young, do not forget the paternal and maternal grandparents & great grandparents.  </div> <bR> <div> 6.     The final section is the service arrangements section.  This is the who, what, where, and when of the services.  Wording similar to the following is often used:</div> <bR> <div> <I>"A memorial service will be held in the First Baptist Church, Hampton, VA on Monday, January 3, 2000, by the Rev. Bill Jones.  Interment will follow in the Hampton National Cemetery.  The family suggest that memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society or the charity of one's choice.  The Cremation Society of Virginia is in charge of arrangements."</I></div> <bR> <div> If there will not be any services or should the arrangements be incomplete, these items should still be addressed in the obituary.  This is particularly true if no services are planned.  By giving this information, it helps eliminate people  calling and asking when the funeral will be.  Sometimes this simple phone call will trigger a flood of emotions and lengthy explanations of why no services are planned can be avoided.  Wording similar to the following may be used:</div> <bR> <div> <I>"A private service will be held at a later date.  The family suggest that memorials may be made to the charity of one's choice.  The Cremation Society of Virginia is in charge of arrangements."</I></div> <bR> <div> Note that in both examples above, the name of the Cremation Society is included.  This is important in that it allows us to be able to direct friends and coworkers to express their love and concern in a manner prescribed by you.  Often people will contact our office and ask if the obituary is "really the Bill Wilson that I know".  By having our name in the obituary, we have found that people who would not call the family to ask such a question, will contact us.</div> <bR> <div> Before you write an obituary, follow the links on the preceding page to some of the newspapers contained herein.  Also, a sample obituary is included on the left frame of this page.  Read some of the obituaries in order to get a feeling for what you want to say.  Above all, make it personal.  Make it yours and try to reflect the "real" person.  After reading a well written obituary, one should feel that he or she may have known, or would like to have known, the deceased.  Remember, that the obituary can be placed on file in your membership folder at our office.  Should death occur much later, the obituary will be used as a guide to write one similar to the one you constructed.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Arial" ><U>Back to</U></FONT><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#00FFFF" FACE="Arial" ><U> </U></FONT><A HREF="id57.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="How to Write An Obituary"><U><U>How to Write An Obituary</U></U></A></div> </td> </tr></table></body>