Writing an obituary is something we are never really prepared or ready for. When you come to write one you’re likely grieving, maybe sleep deprived and then you have to sum up an entire life in a few hundred words.
No obituary can ever really sum up someone in the way we would like. But there are good obituaries that do a fair job of it – ones that feel honest and warm. Not overly formal or too stiff. They come across as true to the person.
If that’s what you want then this guide has obituary examples for different relationships and different formats – short obituaries, full length ones, and examples written specifically for a mother, father, brother or sister. One of the templates here should be something you can use regardless of where you’re writing the obituary for.
According to the National Funeral Directors Association the vast majority of families write an obituary as part of the funeral process – and most find it one of the hardest parts. So if you’re struggling you’re definitely not alone.
What Is an Obituary?
Before we get to the examples,l it helps to know what you’re actually writing. An obituary is a short biographical notice that announces someone’s death and celebrates their life. It usually appears in a newspaper, on a funeral home website, in a funeral program or somewhere else the family feels is appropriate.
Most obituaries include:
- The person’s full name and age
- Date and location of death (sometimes the cause)
- A brief biography – where they lived, what they did, who they were
- Surviving family members
- Funeral or memorial service details
That’s the bare bones of an obituary. But the ones that people will remember go a little further. They tell you something specific – a hobby, a phrase the person always said, a quirk that made them unforgettable. That sort of stuff is worth including.
Short Obituary Examples
Sometimes you need something brief. Newspaper obituaries often come with word limits and sometimes a shorter notice just feels more appropriate for the person.
These short obituary examples are between 75 and 150 words – enough to say something that sums up the deceased without going on too long.
Short Obituary Example #1 – General
Born in 1947 in Boise, Idaho, John spent his career as a high school history teacher, touching the lives of thousands of students over 35 years.
He loved fishing, terrible puns, and his three grandchildren more than anything else on earth. John is survived by his wife of 52 years, Carol; his children, Brian and Susan; and his grandchildren, Ella, Max, and Lily.
A memorial service will be held on March 22 at 11 a.m. at St. Andrew’s Church in Portland. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Portland Public Library.
Short Obituary Example #2 – For a Private Person
Eleanor was a woman of few words and enormous kindness – a homemaker, a devoted mother, and the best pie baker in three counties. She is survived by her four children, eleven grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. Services are private.
The family asks that you remember her the way she would have wanted: with a good meal and the people you love nearby.
Short Obituary Example #3 – Younger Person
Marcus was a software engineer by trade and an artist by nature – his illustrations filled notebooks, walls, and the hearts of everyone lucky enough to know his work. He was fiercely loyal, endlessly creative, and genuinely funny.
He is survived by his parents, Raymond and Gloria Reid; his sister, Tamara; and a wide community of friends who loved him deeply. A celebration of life will be announced by the family shortly.
For more help and ideas see our short obituary examples and templates.
Full Obituary Examples
A full obituary gives you more room to tell the story, mention the details that matter, to really paint the picture of who someone was. Most full obituaries are between 300 and 600 words.
These examples are meant to show you what that looks like in practice.
Full Obituary Example – Long Life Well Lived
Bob was born on June 12, 1940, in Dubuque, Iowa, the second of five children born to James and Ruth Hartley. He grew up in a small house on Maple Street, where he learned early that hard work and loyalty were the two things that mattered most.
After graduating from Dubuque Senior High School in 1958, Bob enlisted in the United States Army, serving two years before returning home to marry the love of his life, Patricia Ann Nowak, in 1962. Together, they built a life defined by warmth, laughter, and a front porch that always had room for one more chair.
Bob spent 41 years working for Hartley Hardware, the family business he helped his father build from the ground up. He was known to his customers as the kind of guy who’d spend 20 minutes helping you figure out the right screw for a project he wasn’t getting paid for. His word was his bond. His handshake meant something.
Outside of work, Bob was most himself in the outdoors. He loved hunting, fishing on the Maquoketa River, and spending weekends at the family cabin with his grandkids. His granddaughter Emma once said that Grandpa Bob knew the name of every bird she pointed at, and she never once caught him looking it up.
He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Patricia; his children, Kevin Hartley (Jenny) and Diane Morelli (Tony); his grandchildren, Emma, Jack, Sophia, and Cole; and his brother, Tom Hartley of Dubuque.
A funeral Mass will be held on February 5, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. at St. Raphael Cathedral, 222 Bluff St., Dubuque. Visitation will be held the evening before from 5–8 p.m. at Leonard Funeral Home. Burial will follow at Linwood Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes donations to the Wounded Warrior Project in Bob’s memory. He would have liked that.
Obituary Examples for a Mother
Writing an obituary for your mother is probably one of the hardest things you’ll ever put into words. Where do you even start? What do you leave out?
When I had to write the obituary for my mom I spent hours getting. I were with it. It either felt like what I wrote was too much and overdoing it or not enough.
The best obituaries for a mother tend to focus on what made her her – not just her role, but her personality.
Obituary Example for Mother #1 – Short Version
Margaret was a devoted mother, a generous neighbor, and the kind of woman who remembered everyone’s birthday without writing it down. She raised three children largely on her own and somehow made it look easy – though her kids know better.
She is survived by her children, Claire, James, and Rachel; her five grandchildren; and her sister, Barbara. A memorial service will be held March 8 at 2 p.m. at Covenant Presbyterian Church.
Obituary Example for Mother #2 – Full Version
Born in Scranton in 1956, Linda grew up in a loud, loving Polish-American household where food was how you showed people you cared. She carried that with her her whole life. If you came to Linda’s house, you left full. That was non-negotiable.
Linda worked for 30 years as a nurse at Lehigh Valley Hospital, where colleagues described her as the person you wanted in the room when things got hard. She was practical, calm, and somehow funny even in the worst moments.
She is survived by her children, Daniel Kowalski, Anna Russo (Marco), and Peter Kowalski; her grandchildren, Sofia, Leo, and Mia; and her sister, Joanna, who was her best friend for 66 years.
Visitation will be held February 25 from 4–7 p.m. at Harding Funeral Home, 1701 Allen Street, Allentown. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated February 26 at 10 a.m. at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. In lieu of flowers, please bring a dish to pass at the reception – Linda would have insisted on it.
We have more obituary examples for a mother if you need some extra help.
Obituary Examples for a Father
Writing about a father can feel different from writing about a mother. Not necessarily any harder (or easier) but different.
Dads are complicated. Some are talkers; some show love through doing. Some were larger than life and others quiet presences you didn’t appreciate enough until they were gone.
Obituary Example for Father #1 – Short Version
Every game, every recital, every school play: he was there. He is survived by his wife of 49 years, Sandra; his children, Michael, Karen, and David; and eight grandchildren who called him “Papa Tom.” Services will be held April 7 at 10 a.m. at First Baptist Church of Austin.
Obituary Example for Father #2 – Full Version
Born in rural Oklahoma in 1951, Gene was the son of a farmer and a schoolteacher. He learned to fix things before he learned to drive, and that self-reliance stayed with him his whole life. By the time he was 25, he’d built his own house by hand – a fact he mentioned only slightly too often at family dinners.
Gene worked 30 years in manufacturing, retiring in 2010. He spent his retirement doing exactly what he wanted: woodworking in his garage, watching old westerns, and driving his daughter’s kids to school on Friday mornings so she could sleep in. Those Friday mornings mattered more than he ever let on.
He is survived by his daughter, Cheryl Patterson-Grimes (David); his son, Brian Patterson; and his grandchildren, Tyler, Caden, and Zoe. He was preceded in death by his wife of 40 years, Helen, and his brother, Roy.
Graveside services will be held February 20 at 1 p.m. at Brookside Cemetery. In Gene’s memory, the family asks that you do one home repair project you’ve been putting off. He would have appreciated that.
For more ideas and inspiration see our
Obituary Examples for a Brother
The death of a sibling is awful. You lose someone who knew the inside jokes and shared childhood memories. Obituaries for a brother mention that type of grief – the loss of someone who was just always supposed to be there.
Obituary Example for Brother #1
Chris is survived by his wife, Jenny; his children, Lucas and Mia; his parents, Thanh and Mai Nguyen; and his siblings, Kevin, Sandra, and Lily. A celebration of life will be held March 17 at 3 p.m. at the Nguyen family home. The family welcomes anyone who knew him.
Obituary Example for Brother #2 – Longer
Dan grew up in Columbus, Ohio, and never really left – not in the ways that mattered. He was a Columbus guy through and through: Buckeyes football, Donatos pizza, Scioto River sunsets. He had the kind of loyalty to his people and his place that’s rarer than it should be.
He worked for 25 years in construction project management, known for being the guy you called when things were going sideways. He had a gift for calm. And for bad jokes at exactly the right moment.
Dan is survived by his wife, Michelle; his children, Aiden and Grace; his parents, Ronald and Judith Freeman; and his sister, Karen Doyle (Paul), who was lucky enough to have him as a brother for 50 years. He was preceded in death by his brother, Steven.
Services will be held February 1 at 11 a.m. at Worthington Presbyterian Church. The family asks in lieu of flowers that you call someone you love today. Dan would have said you should have done it sooner.
Looking for more ideas? Try our
Obituary Examples for a Sister
Writing a sisters obituary means trying to sum up someone you knew better than almost anyone. That’s so hard but more meaningful than writing for someone you knew at a distance.
Obituary Example for Sister #1
She is survived by her husband, Paul Bloom; her daughters, Natalie and Hannah; her parents, Robert and Diane Schultz; and her brothers, Greg and Tim, who will never stop thinking she was right about most things. A memorial gathering will be announced by the family.
Obituary Example for Sister #2 – Longer
Patty grew up in Phoenix, the youngest of four kids and – according to her siblings – the loudest. She was unapologetically herself from about age six onwards. She became a high school art teacher, a marathon runner, a foster dog coordinator, and the person her family and friends called when they didn’t know what else to do.
She is survived by her husband, Ryan Gallagher; her son, Owen; her parents, Michael and Colleen Gallagher; and her siblings, Kevin, Bridget, and Sean, who grew up in her orbit and were better for it.
A Mass of Remembrance will be held March 6 at 10 a.m. at Queen of Peace Catholic Church, 731 E. Thunderbird Rd., Phoenix. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to the Arizona Humane Society – Patty would have had it no other way.
For more help see our obituary examples for a sister.
Tips for Writing Your Own Obituary
The examples above should give you a good starting point. But if you’re about to write one then these are a few things that should help:
- Start with what was specific about them. The general stuff – “loving”, “devoted”, “caring” – doesn’t tell anyone anything. Think about what made this person this person. A habit. A phrase they used. Something they loved that surprised people.
- Don’t worry about making it perfect. It doesn’t have to rival Shakespeare for it’s literary skill. It should just be honest. A small, true detail is much better than a sentence that sounds good but could describe anyone.
- Include the survivors, but also the person. A lot of obituaries feel like they’re more about who’s left behind than who’s gone. Both matter but don’t let the list of survivors over take the actual person.
- Talk to other people who knew them. If you’re writing for a parent it can help to ask siblings. If for a friend then ask their other friends. You’ll remember things you’d forgotten and you might learn things you didn’t know.
- It’s okay to be a little funny. If the person was funny or if there’s a story that makes you smile through tears that’s the sort of thing that belongs in the obituary. Grief doesn’t mean you have to only stay solemn. Sometimes the funniest line is the most loving one.
If you want more help with the structure and what to include the Legacy.com guide to writing an obituary has some practical advice worth reading before you start.
What to Include in an Obituary: A Quick Checklist
Not sure if you’ve covered everything? This is a simple checklist you can work through:
- Full legal name (and nickname, if they had one they went by)
- Age at time of death
- Date of passing
- Place of passing (city, state – you don’t need the hospital name)
- Brief biography: where they were from, what they did, who they were
- Career or vocation
- Significant personal interests or qualities
- Surviving family members (in rough order: spouse, children, grandchildren, parents, siblings)
- Any family members who predeceased them
- Funeral or memorial service information
- Donation or memorial preference (if applicable)
You don’t have to include everything on this list – especially if space is limited. But it’s a helpful starting point for making sure you haven’t missed anything important.
Final Thoughts
There’s no way to write an obituary that perfectly captures a person’s life. But you can make it sound as good as possible by not trying to sound official and just sound like someone who loved them – imperfect words and all.
Use the examples here as templates, not as scripts. Take what works from the examples and don’t bother with the parts that don’t. Then you can add the specific bits things that only you know about the person you’re writing for.
If you’re still working through what to say in sympathy cards or other messages during this time our guides on what to say when someone dies and condolence messages may also help.
