Obituary

An Obituary or death notice is a formal paid announcement in the newspaper. Funerals and obituaries are for the living. For obituaries, you aim to inform people about the life of the deceased, and those who proceeded them. You can submit the Obituary to newspapers directly. Alternately, you can leave the Obituary to your funeral director.

Submitting Obituary via the Funeral Home

Funeral directors or funeral homes may submit the notice to the press on your behalf. It makes the process easier and guided. In addition, it simplifies the billing since you receive one bill for all the services rendered. Many people find this to be convenient. Furthermore, the funeral director can arrange for the death certificate required for the Obituary.

Placing Obituary Online

Nowadays, obituaries are placed online. In Singapore, there are online obituary service for placing obituaries, memorials, and condolence messages, in the Berita Harian and The Straits Time. You create the notice online and pay via credit card. The following day the notice runs in the press based on your request. To use the service, you have to upload a digital copy or photograph of the death certificate. The Singapore Press Holdings' (SPH) Print Classified offers this online service.

Important Aspects of the Obituary

Nowadays, people come up with two versions of the Obituary. The first is a condensed version for the newspaper. They also write a detailed version posted online on memorials sites such as Legacy or on social media sites. So, how do you come up with an Obituary?

Elements to Consider When Writing an Obituary

The essential information is age, name, residences, and date of death, along with the time. Some of the ways to announce the death can vary for instance ‘departed this life', ‘made his exit', or ‘went to be with his Lord.' You can come up with other euphemisms and elaborate phrases instead of using the word ‘died'.

After the announcement, the next step is drafting a short biography. Here you can list events chronologically. The essential events include the place of birth, marriage, the name of spouse, education, and work. Note that, you should make your Obituary precise by including significant events in the deceased life. It is useful to summarise especially if the deceased was involved in many organisations, places of residence or clubs.

Writing about the Family

In Singapore, major newspapers have a format detailing how to write the names of the closest family members. The list normally starts with a spouse, children, parents, siblings, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren. Usually the nephews, cousins, nieces are not included.

The Obituary also serves to inform the public about the funeral program. Here, it is best to leave it to the funeral director. They will include the full dates and venues of the meetings, visitations, and interment.

Most obituaries end with special messages such as poems, quotes, or in lieu of flowers, –used when asking for contributions. Finally, look for an up-to-date photo of the deceased for ease of identification.