The Newspaper Notice
The main daily newspaper in this area is the Democrat and Chronicle. Most of the notices you see in this paper are referred to as "death notices." There is a charge for this notice that is calculated as a set price per line. Currently it's $9.05 per line. Photos can be included for an additional $50. Symbols may be included at no charge. Those currently available are a shamrock, butterfly (rebirth), organ donor (gift of life), angel, cross, praying hands, Star of David, flag, Navy, Army, Air Force, Marines, police, fire, Moose, Mason, Eastern Star, Knights of Columbus, Odd Fellows, and Ukranian symbol.
An obituary is written in the same type as the other stories in the newspaper. Because of the space used and its nature as a news story (and is therefore not paid for by the family), the decision to print one is soley at the discretion of the newspaper's staff.
Weekly area newspapers print obituaries exactly as provided to them. There may or may not be a charge for them but your funeral director will be able to advise you, based on the specific newspaper.
Your funeral director will assist you in preparing a death notice but sometimes people choose to write as much as they can on their own. Some families choose to simply include basic biographical information and some choose to include a more detailed background and include clubs, organizations, activities, interests and accomplishments.
Even if you want to keep it simple, consider these tips:
- is there some way that people would recognize who this person is without knowing their name. "Joe enjoyed morning coffee and neighborhood news at the corner table at Donut Delite every day." or "Sue regularly walked around the neighborhood with her white poodle, Angel."
- what insight do you want a stranger who's reading it, to have about this person? "Bill travelled the world, but always liked being home with his family the best."
- do you just want to keep it basic? You can do that but still make it meaningful but using a few descriptive adjectives. ex. Instead of saying, "Mary was a clerk at Macy's for 24 years", try "Mary was the friendliest clerk at Macy's for 24 years."
Your funeral director can help you personalize the notice to honor your loved one's life.
We are most effective when we all work together to not only give of our professional guidance to those who entrust their loved ones to us, but when we also give of our wisdom and experience to help each other. Stay informed by seeing our Current & Past Newsletters.
The death of someone we care about can be one of the most difficult experiences of life. Words seem inadequate to describe how painful the grief we feel can be.
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