Obituaries

1. Obituaries Adapted by Dr. Mike Downing from News Reporting and Writing, Eighth Edition

2. General Tips • Include name, place of birth, education, working life, survivors, and hobbies/interests. • Be sure to include funeral home information for visitation. • Do not identify a date of death for your own obit. Use “died yesterday” instead. • Otherwise, follow existing models.

3. Sources of Information • Mortuary forms (see website) • The newspaper library • The funeral director • The deceased’s family

4. Cause of Death • This is a privacy issue. • Typically, the cause of death is omitted from an obituary. • You should follow the wishes of the family. • Exceptions normally involve public persons.

5. Obituary Form • Information on Deceased • Name __________________________________________________________________ • (Title) (First) (Middle) (Last) • Date of Death __________ Place of Death __________________________________ • Age _______ Residence at the time of death ________________________________ • Period of Residency ___________ • If a former Montgomery County resident, where and when ___________________________ • Cause of death____________________________________________________________ • Date of Birth __________________ Place of Birth ______________________________ • Father’s Name _______________________________________________ 􀂆 Deceased • Mother’s Name _______________________________________________ 􀂆 Deceased • Spouse’s Name ______________________________________________ 􀂆 Deceased • Residence of Spouse _____________________________ Years Married _____________ • Children (and children’s spouses, if desired). Use additional sheet if needed. • First and Last Name City, State of Residence Deceased Sex (M/F) • __________________________________ _____________________ 􀂆 ______ • __________________________________ _____________________ 􀂆 ______ • __________________________________ _____________________ 􀂆 ______ • __________________________________ _____________________ 􀂆 ______ • __________________________________ _____________________ 􀂆 ______ • Number of Grandchildren _______ Great-grandchildren _______

6. Obituary Form(continued) • Siblings. Use additional sheet if necessary. • First and Last Name City, State of Residence Deceased Sex (M/F) • __________________________________ _____________________ 􀂆 ______ • __________________________________ _____________________ 􀂆 ______ • __________________________________ _____________________ 􀂆 ______ • __________________________________ _____________________ 􀂆 ______ • __________________________________ _____________________ 􀂆 ______ • Military service, if any ____________________________________________________________ • _____________________________________________________________________________ • Education/Work ________________________________________________________________ • _____________________________________________________________________________ • Memberships/Organizations/Awards/Other____________________________________________ • _____________________________________________________________________________ • Funeral/Memorial Service information (include address) _________________________________ • _____________________________________________________________________________ • Burial information ______________________________________________________________ • _____________________________________________________________________________ • Memorial contributions may be made to (include address) _______________________________ • _____________________________________________________________________________ • Funeral home (include phone number) ______________________________________________ • Contact for family (include phone number) ____________________________________________ • Obituaries in The Gazette are free and appear on a space-available basis. • The Gazette reserves the right to edit obituaries for length and content. Photographs cannot be printed.

7. Writing the Obit Information to include: • Date and place of birth • Occupation • Achievements • Memberships • Hobbies/Interests • Survivors • Visitation time (if any) • Time and place of funeral services • Time and burial place

8. Crafting a Lead • Begin by answering the same questions you would answer in a news story. • Who, what, when, where, why, how • Confirm spellings of names • Watch out for Jr vs. Sr. • Do the math: Does DOB and DOD add up? • Fact check: be sure you have the right person.

9. Choosing Your Words • Avoid euphemisms; such terms are out of place in an obit: Not “passed away,” or “no longer with us.” Instead, use “died.” • Follow the models. There are hundreds of obits posted online each day. You have plenty of models to work with.

10. Conclusion • Obituaries are one of the most formulaic writing styles that you will encounter. • This is why “cub” journalists typically cut their teeth with obits. • Despite the fact that young journalists have traditionally written most of the obits, this is a very important part of a newspaper. There are people who only check the obits from day to day. • Therefore, obits must be correct 100% of the time.

11. Questions?