A funeral announcement is a summary detailing the service times and location of a funeral and/or a memorial service. It also often includes details of the life of a loved one. These usually are written during a time of grief, which makes it difficult to focus on details and tasks. A funeral home may be able to provide you with a standard announcement, or you may prefer to write your own. Often, obituaries and funeral announcements are combined into one document for publication in a newspaper.
Step 1
Write down the name of the deceased along with the place and date of death. Listing the cause of death is optional.
Step 2
Include the age of the deceased or date of birth, where she was born and how long she lived in the area at the time of death.
Step 3
Mention in the article if the deceased was married, her father and mother, and occupation. Add details of the deceased’s hobbies, community service and/or life accomplishments.
Step 4
List the names of the surviving relatives and relationships. Include spouse, children, grandchildren, siblings and parents.
Step 5
Give the details of the funeral or memorial service, including the time, location and whether there is an open invitation for a reception. Some families prefer only relatives attend the reception; if so, leave this information out of the announcement.
- It is easier to write out the announcement rather than trying to give the information over the phone. This helps ensure the newspaper gets the correct details and properly spells names. Many newspapers require the announcement comes from the funeral home to prevent fraudulent announcements.
- It sometimes is better to allow family members or friends who are not emotionally distraught to write the announcement for you with the details you provide to them.
- You may wish to include all amicable former marriages in the announcement, if there were more than one.
- Try to keep the announcement succinct; lengthy announcements may be cut by the newspaper for space and details that were important to the family can be lost.