These sample obituary templates are provided as guidelines to get you started on writing a death notice for your friend or loved one who has died. Just like how you might use a template for designing resumes or creating family chore charts, a template for an obituary gives you a starting point.

An obituary recounts the events and details of the final services and briefly covers biographical information about the person’s life. This identifying statement about the facts of the death The facts of death may be conveyed through a variety of mediums.

When announcing a loved one’s death, make sure you mention his or her surviving family members. While you do not need to name each grandson and cousin, it is important to write down an overall summary of family members who passed away prior to your loved one, and of surviving families. Grandchildren; great-grandchildren; and extended family members, like cousins, nieces, or nephews, are generally not named, but listed by number.