Get Free Obituary Templates, Searches And Samples From Free Online Obituaries Guide

Below is a free sample of newspaper obituary which you may use as reference when writing newspaper obituaries.

You may also need a free newspaper obituary template to help you too.

Sample Obituary (Not real person)

First Part:

Jason D. Johnson, 63, of San Diego, California, died May 7, 2008, at home surrounded by family and friends.

Note: Other phrases like “went to be with the Lord” or “passed away” might be allowed by the newspaper.

Second Part:

He was born May 8, 1945, in San Diego, California, the son of late Mary and Larry Johnson. He was the oldest of 4 siblings. On June 6, 1975, he married Susan Smith Doe, who survives.

Third Part:

He graduated from University Of California in 1963. He married Susan Smith Doe on July 13, 1975, in WilliamSport.

He served in the U.S. Army as a communication technician in the 1960s. After his discharge, he was employed by Chevron USA as an communications engineer for 29 years, retiring in 1995. He did volunteer work in Caring Choices Volunteer Center in Northern California.

Mr. Johnson was a member of California State Employees Association Retirees’.

Fourth Part:

He is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Sharon and John Smith of Williamsport, Ind.; son and daughter-in-law, Jimmy and Susanna Jackson of Yukon, Okla.; grandchildren, Leslie and Steve Davis of Williamsport, Ind.; brother, Roy Johnson of Auburn, Wash.; and sister, Cecilia Johnson of Seattle.

Mr. Johnson was preceded in death by his wife, Susan; an infant child; and his brother; Roy.

Fifth Part:

A service was held Thursday at FastService Funeral Home in San Diego, California. Burial took place at Woodlawn Cemetery.

This a sample obituary. It is not for a real person and never was printed in any local newspaper.

For all related articles on Free Obituary Samples And Examples, please refer to “Free Obituary Samples And Examples“.

Need to write a proper obituary on your local newspaper obituaries for your loved ones? I have drafted out a free simple yet comprehensive template which you can use it as a guide to write your obituary. However, as different newspaper agencies accept different obituary formats and styles, below are only some general guidelines for your reference.

Publishing your obituary with online obituaries is different from newspaper obituaries. Newspaper obituaries are typically more professional and provide more important and accurate information to the public. You may draft your obituary in your own words using any of the following 14 elements.

Basic Obituary Template For Newspaper Obituaries

1. Deceased First Name, Middle Initial and Last Name, offset by commas, follows by Age.

- Do not use the word “aged” before the numerical age. Age can be omitted upon the family’s request.

2. State, City and Zip

- Do not use specific street address for the deceased.

3. Cause Of Death (optional)

4. Place Of Death (optional)

- Though this is optional, it has been a customary practice to mention where the deceased died eg. home, hospital or nursing home.

5. Date Of Death

6. Occupation

- List job function or title, name of company and number of years employed by the company. More than 1 occupation can be listed where applicable.

7. Hobbies or Community Involvement

- List memberships, clubs, volunteer work or any noteworthy accomplishments.

8. Military Services

- List the different dates and branches of service as well as number of years served.

9. Marriage

- List spouse name and date of marriage. May like to list spouse’s maiden name and state of origin too.

10. Left Behind / Survivors

- List in the order of names and city reside eg. parents, brothers and sisters, children, grand children, step children, cousins etc.

11. Religious Affiliation

12. Place And Time Of Funeral Service

- Name of funeral home, time of visit and viewing hours (please ensure accuracy)

13. Pallbearers And Honorary Pallbearers

14. Contributions And Other Memorials

This template includes examples with basic punctuation and grammatical rules which are applicable to write a proper obituary to publish on general newspaper obituaries. However, it may not necessarily represent the correct style and glossary of terms definitions where applicable, for publication in your local newspaper obituaries.

Additional Information(s):

1. More Obituary Guides And Templates: More Online Obituary Guides And Templates

2. Download a free Funeral Planning Checklist to keep track of information as you make funeral plans and obituaries.

For all related articles on Free Obituary Guides And Templates, please refer to “Free Obituary Guides And Templates“.

Now you can download a free Microsoft Office Word Obituary Template (Funeral Planning Checklist)

Purpose: This Word version obituary template is a Funeral Planning Checklist to keep track of information as you make funeral plans and obituaries.

Requirements: Microsoft Office Word Version 97 or later

Download Size: 77KB

Total Downloads: 54,661

Ratings: 4 out of 5 stars (363 votes)

Additional: To download and use the template, you need to have at least Microsoft Office Word 97 and Microsoft Office Online ActiveX installed.

Download

If you are interested to get Free Obituary Templates for writing, you may like to read my previous article “Get Your Free Obituary Templates And Guides Here“.

For all related articles on Free Obituary Guides And Templates, please refer to “Free Obituary Guides And Templates“

Get Your Free Obituary Templates And Guides In This Article.

1. Basic Obituary Information Gathering

You need to collect a list of names that you would like to include into the Obituary. Make sure that all information are accurate OR to the best of your knowledge especially key dates and correct spelling of names. This is VERY IMPORTANT!

2. Basic Obituary Template

1. Full Name (Deceased) including nickname as well as maiden name.

2. Date Of Birth.

3. Marital Status

4. Whom They Leave Behind To Mourn eg. Spouse, Parent(s), Children, Married Children & Their Spouse, Sibling(s), Niece(s), Nephew(s) or Close Friend(s) etc.

5. Date They Passed Away.

6. Place Of Death (optional).

7. Cause Of Death (optional).

8. Who May Have Passed Away Before Them eg. Mother, Father, Sibling(s), Spouse, Children

Place Of Death and Cause Of Death can be optional. A good example of a simple obituary can be found here.

3. Free Templates For Newspaper Obituaries

- Style and Usage guide from The Denver Post and Rock Mountain News Classified.

4. Other Free Obituary Templates Online (Hope They Can Be Usedful)

- ObitNow.com

- ObituaryGuide.com

- Obituaryhelp.com

If you are reading this article or looking for a sample obituary template, likelihood is one of your close ones has passed away. I offer my condolences to you.

If you interested to know what are memorial obituaries, you may like to read my previous article on “What Are Memorial Obituaries“.

For all related articles on Memorial Obituaries Guides And Templates, please refer to “Free Obituaries Guides And Templates“

Memorial Obituaries are also known as Obituaries in short. Obituaries are mini biographies that form a memorial tribute to someone’s life. They contain important information for the family, friends and relatives, such as time and place of the funeral service.

Memorial Obituaries should be distinguished from “death notices”. A death notice is simply a paid advertisement written by the family members and placed in the local newspaper either by the family members or the funeral home.

However, as time passes by, a Memorial Obituary Notice has been regarded as a Funeral Notice.

I will elaborate more on how to write a proper Memorial Obituary Notice in my next Online Memorial Obituaries Guide post.

If you love to read more similar explanations on Memorial Obituaries, you may like to refer to my “Free Obituary Explanations And Tips“.