How to Write a Death Announcement

What a death announcement is

A death announcement, also called a death notice or funeral announcement, gives the facts: who has died, when, and what happens next. An obituary is longer and tells the story of their life (see how to write an obituary). Many families do both: a brief announcement in the first days, and something fuller later, once there is time to think.

Tell the people closest to them before anything is posted publicly. Nobody should learn that a parent, partner or close friend has died from a post on their phone. A call or a private message comes first, and the announcement follows.

What to include

• Their full name, and the name people knew them by, if it was different.
• Their age, or the years of their life, if the family wishes.
• When they died, and where, if you want to say. "Peacefully at home" or "in hospital, with family close by" is enough.
• Close family: who they leave behind. Keep the list short, or leave it out. It is easy to forget someone when you are grieving.
• Funeral details, or "details to follow" if nothing is arranged yet.
• Flowers or donations: "family flowers only", or a charity in their memory.
• Where people can send their messages, so they reach the family without a flood of calls.

You do not have to give a cause of death. Some families find it easier to say, after a long illness or a sudden death people will ask about. Others keep it private. Both are fine.

Death announcement wording you can adapt

Replace the words in brackets, and cut anything that does not fit. Plain and short is right for an announcement: the place for their life story comes later.

Simple

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of [name], who died peacefully on [date], aged [age]. Funeral details will follow.

With funeral details

[Name] died peacefully at home on [date], with family close by. A much-loved [husband, father and grandad], [he] will be missed by everyone who knew [him]. The funeral will be held at [place] on [date] at [time]. Family flowers only. Donations, if you wish, to [charity].

After a sudden death

We are heartbroken to share that [name] died suddenly on [date]. We are still taking this in, and we ask for a little time and privacy. We will share details of the funeral when we can.

After a long illness

After a long illness, faced with great courage, [name] died peacefully on [date]. We are so grateful to everyone who cared for [her]. Details of the funeral will follow.

For a celebration of life

[Name] died on [date], aged [age]. Rather than a traditional funeral, we will gather to celebrate [her] life at [place] on [date]. Come as you are, and bring a story.

Where to share it

Close family and friends first, by phone or in person. A wider circle by message or email, often sent by one person on the family's behalf. Social media once those closest know (see announcing a death on social media). A newspaper death notice, usually paid, which the funeral director can often place for you. Their workplace, through one colleague or manager who can tell the rest.

It helps to send everyone to one place, so the same questions do not reach you twenty times. A memorial can be that place: the announcement at the top, and room underneath for everyone to add their memories.

Sharing the funeral details

Funeral details often come a few days after the first announcement, and they sometimes change. Keep them in one place you can update, rather than in messages people forward on with old times. With Premium, a Cherished Book memorial can hold the service as an event with RSVPs, and email everyone you have invited when you post it (see events and RSVPs).

If a blank page is too much

Tell us their name and a few facts, and Cherished Book drafts a short, plain notice in the style of a death announcement. You can change any word of it. Later, when you are ready, it can grow into a full memorial that family and friends add their own tributes to.