What an obituary is
An obituary is a written text that publicly honors a person who has died. It appears in the newspaper, in the company newsletter, in the club bulletin, or on an online memorial page. The eulogy is spoken at the funeral before the mourners; the obituary is read. The death notice announces the death with the key dates; the obituary tells who this person was.
Major newspapers have kept prepared obituaries of public figures on file since the mid-19th century; those are the work of newsrooms. Condolences are their own format too: as a sympathy card or letter, they are addressed directly to the bereaved. The obituary addresses everyone who knew the person and expresses sympathy publicly.
Whoever writes an obituary rarely speaks only for themselves: the company honors its long-serving employee, the club its founding member, the family a loved one. For public remembrance on memorial days and anniversaries there is the memorial speech as its own format.
The structure: four elements
No artful dramaturgy is needed. Four elements carry the text, in this order:
1. Name and connection. Who has died, and how was the writer connected to them? “We mourn our colleague Henry Sanders, who shaped our workshop for 31 years.” Year of birth and date of death belong in, but briefly; they are in the death notice anyway.
2. The tribute. The main part of the obituary: one concrete achievement. What did this person build, move, leave behind? For the club member it might be the youth section they founded in 1998; for the colleague, the archive nobody else could have navigated. One nameable achievement says more than three paragraphs of praise.
3. The personal note. A character trait or a small anecdote that shows the person: the regular seat at the club bar, the handwritten birthday cards to everyone on the team. A detail like that turns a tribute into a memory.
4. The closing words. One or two sentences at the end: what remains, and a word of comfort for the grieving family. “Our deepest sympathy goes to his family. We will honor his memory.” A short quote can stand here too, if it fits the person.
The right length
The length follows the place of publication. In the newspaper every line costs money; 80 to 150 words are usual there, and a short obituary of five sentences is entirely appropriate. The company newsletter or intranet takes 150 to 250 words. In the club bulletin, 200 to 300 words are common, often with a photo. Only memorial pages have no space limit; even there, long obituaries only get read if every paragraph tells something of its own. When in doubt: better short and concrete than long and solemn.
Four variants
The company obituary. The company honors an employee who has died, as a notice in the newspaper or a message to staff and colleagues. The tone stays factual and warm at once: years with the company, role, one concrete contribution, one sentence about the person. Coordinate with the family beforehand on what may be published.
The club tribute. It appears in the bulletin or on the club website and honors volunteer work above all: years of membership, offices held, community involvement. Anecdotes may get more room here than in a company notice, because many readers knew the person themselves.
The obituary in the newspaper. The family or circle of friends pays a private person their last respects. It is the most personal of the four forms: a few lines, one image from this person’s life, a word of farewell.
Online and on memorial pages. Memorial pages on the internet, the funeral home’s condolence book, or the company’s website. The text stays findable for years; write it so it still holds true in five years. Many memorial pages let friends add memories of their own.
What matters when you write
“Died suddenly and unexpectedly” only if it’s true. The formula appears in thousands of notices, even after a long illness. Placed wrongly, it unsettles everyone who knows better. Write what is true, or leave the circumstances out; the text does not have to name them.
Concrete achievements, no superlatives. “Unique,” “irreplaceable,” “always exemplary” could stand above any name. “He organized every club trip for 25 years” can stand above only this one. In writing an obituary, all that counts is whether the words belong to this life.
Calm and dignified, without pathos. Short sentences carry grief better than nested ones. The text is allowed to be plain; dignity comes from precision, especially in deep mourning. If you feel your own grief while writing, you may show it: “We miss his laugh in the hallway” is a complete, dignified sentence.
Common mistakes
The résumé in prose. Born, school, career, retirement: stringing together the major stations is not yet an obituary. The death notice supplies the dates; the tribute shows the person between the dates.
Publishing without the family. Especially for the company obituary: the circumstances of death, illness, or private details belong in only if the bereaved agree. A short phone call settles it.
Too much sender. Some company obituaries are more about the company than about the person who died. The text belongs to the person who is gone; how much the company mourns shows in the tone.
Unverified facts. Wrong years or a misspelled name hurt the family more than any omission. Have names, dates, and offices checked before publication by someone who knew the person well.
Three complete, fully written obituaries for a company, a club, and a newspaper are in our obituary examples, with notes on why each one carries.
How your obituary comes together with eloqole
You give eloqole the essentials: who has died, your connection, one achievement, one memory. From that comes a draft at the length your medium allows, whether newspaper, newsletter, or memorial page. You check every sentence, change what doesn’t sound like you, and publish only when everything is right.