Should you name great-grandchildren in an obituary?įor great-grandchildren, great-great grandchildren, grand-nieces or nephews, we can usually just include a number. First names of the spouses of relatives are also typically included.In the case of a person with no children, we can include nieces and nephews by name.Names of cousins, if the family was close.We should name the following relatives, as long as they are not minor children: If they did not have many relatives, yet had a very close friend who is especially grieved by their passing, we can include them, too. It is often desired, and helpful to future readers of the obituary, to include the names of other relatives of our family member. Which relatives should be included in an obituary? City and state of previous residence, especially if different than place of death.Names of parents, including mother’s maiden name, for example, “Mary ( née Smith)”.Age at death and year and/or date of birth.First and foremost, we want to make sure that your relative is easily identifiable in the obituary and that friends and family feel that the obituary represents who the person was.įor example, we need to include most, if not all, of the following details:

The most important aspect of an obituary are identifying details about your relative.

What information should be included in an obituary or death notice? It is an honor to be the person who writes this small piece of history. Obituaries tell our relative’s stories and are the final record of the life they shared with us. Those of us who do family tree research understand how critical obituaries are to our work.

Obituary writing sample