What should an obituary include?

At minimum: the person's full name (and nickname), age, the town they lived in, and the date they died. Then the life — where and when they were born, the people and work and places that mattered — and finally the practical details: who survives them, the service or celebration information, and where to send flowers or donations. You do not need every part; include what is true and what helps.

How long should an obituary be?

There is no rule, and shorter is often better. A short obituary can be 60 to 100 words and do everything it needs to. A standard one runs around 150 to 250 words. Longer, more personal pieces are lovely for a memorial page or program, where space is not charged by the line — note that newspapers usually charge by length, so a printed obituary is often kept tight on purpose.

How do you start an obituary?

Start with a single specific detail rather than only the facts. 'She never forgot a student's name' tells you more in six words than a list of dates. You can lead with the announcement (name, age, town, date) and then open up — but somewhere near the top, give one true detail that makes the person recognizable.

June 27, 20266 min read

Obituary Examples: Short, Standard, and Longer Samples to Adapt

An obituary does two jobs at once: it shares the news and the practical details, and it tells, briefly, who the person was. The hard part is almost never the facts — it is starting from a blank page. So here are three examples you can adapt, from short to longer, with a note on what each part is doing. The names are invented; the shapes are real.

A short obituary

Short obituaries are not lesser ones. Sixty to a hundred words, led by one true detail, can say everything:

Short obituary

Margaret “Peggy” Sullivan, 78, of Columbus, Ohio, died peacefully at home on March 3, 2026, surrounded by her family. Born in 1947 to John and Rose Daley, she spent thirty years as a third-grade teacher and never once forgot a student’s name. She is survived by her husband, Tom; her children, Anne and Michael; and four grandchildren. A celebration of her life will be held at St. Brigid’s Church on March 10 at 11 a.m.

A standard obituary

The most common shape: the announcement, a paragraph of life, the people who survive them, and the service details. Around 150 to 250 words.

Standard obituary

James “Jim” Okafor, 71, of Asheville, North Carolina, passed away on February 18, 2026, after a short illness. He was born on June 4, 1954, in Durham, the eldest of five, and moved to the mountains he loved in his twenties and never left. Jim was a carpenter by trade and a fixer by nature — there was no broken hinge, bicycle, or feeling he would not at least try to mend. He met his wife, Carol, at a church fish fry in 1979 and liked to say it was the cheapest two dollars he ever spent. He is survived by Carol; his sons, David and Daniel; his sister, Grace; and three grandchildren who knew him as the one who always had peppermints. He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Samuel. A service will be held at Grace Methodist Church on February 25 at 2 p.m., with a reception to follow. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Habitat for Humanity, a cause close to Jim’s hands and heart.

A longer, more personal one

When the obituary will live on a memorial page or a printed program rather than a newspaper column, you have room to let the person breathe. A longer piece leans on specifics and a story or two.

Longer obituary

Eleanor “Nell” Marsh died on January 9, 2026, at the age of 84, in the house in Portland, Maine, where she had lived for fifty years and where the kitchen always smelled of cardamom. She was born in 1941 in a fishing town she could describe down to the color of each front door, and she carried that town with her everywhere. Nell was a nurse for nearly four decades, the kind whose patients wrote to her years later. She raised three children mostly on her own, taught all of them to sail and to argue well, and took up watercolor at sixty-eight “to have something to be bad at.” She was bad at it, joyfully, for sixteen years. She is survived by her children, Ruth, Peter, and Joanna; six grandchildren; and a great many people who were not related to her but considered her theirs. Those who knew her will remember the loud laugh, the strong opinions about bread, and the way she made everyone at her table feel like the most interesting person there. A celebration of her life will be held at the Eastern Promenade on a date to be announced, in the spring, when the harbor is open and the wind is right.

What an obituary includes

You can build your own from these parts. Use the ones that are true; skip the rest.

The announcement: full name and nickname, age, town, and the date they died.
Birth: when and where, and parents, if you wish to include them.
The life: work, the places and passions, and a detail or two that make them recognizable.
Family: who survives them, and who preceded them in death.
The service: time, date, and place of any gathering, and a reception if there is one.
In lieu of flowers: a charity or fund, if the family prefers donations.

A little more help

If you want the full method rather than examples, our guide on how to write an obituary walks through it step by step. For the donations line, our note on what to say in lieu of flowers has wording you can borrow. And when you are ready to give the obituary a lasting home, you can put it on an online memorial, where family can keep adding to it over time.

Common questions

What should an obituary include?: At minimum: the person's full name (and nickname), age, the town they lived in, and the date they died. Then the life — where and when they were born, the people and work and places that mattered — and finally the practical details: who survives them, the service or celebration information, and where to send flowers or donations. You do not need every part; include what is true and what helps.
How long should an obituary be?: There is no rule, and shorter is often better. A short obituary can be 60 to 100 words and do everything it needs to. A standard one runs around 150 to 250 words. Longer, more personal pieces are lovely for a memorial page or program, where space is not charged by the line — note that newspapers usually charge by length, so a printed obituary is often kept tight on purpose.
How do you start an obituary?: Start with a single specific detail rather than only the facts. 'She never forgot a student's name' tells you more in six words than a list of dates. You can lead with the announcement (name, age, town, date) and then open up — but somewhere near the top, give one true detail that makes the person recognizable.