Obituary drafts · from $39
An obituary writing service that gives you a first draft
Send the key details and a few memories once. A real person shapes them into a respectful obituary draft you can make your own — written to the word count your newspaper or funeral home asks for.
Delivered within 24 hours · Written by a person, not a generator · Secure and confidential
What makes a good obituary
Facts people need, in a voice they recognise
An obituary has two jobs at once. It carries information strangers need — names, dates, where and when the service is, who survives them — and it has to sound like the person it is about, in a few hundred words, while you are least able to write.
Share the details once and a writer returns a complete draft with the facts in the right order and the personality intact, plus guidance on exactly where to add the family's own phrasing. You keep control of every word.
What you receive
A draft, and the help to finish it
A complete first draft
Written to 200, 300 or 400 words — whichever your newspaper, funeral home or memorial page requires. Nothing is left as a placeholder.
Personalisation guidance
Specific notes on where a family detail, a nickname or a line of faith would strengthen the draft — written for your obituary, not a generic checklist.
Written around your traditions
Tell us about faith, culture or family customs and the wording respects them. Tell us what to leave out and it stays out.
Ready for where it is going
Newspapers, funeral programmes, online memorials and social media all have different limits. We write to the one you name.
How it works
Three steps, and a break in the middle
1
Share a few details
A guided form asks for names, dates, service details and anything you would like mentioned. A few notes are enough. Nothing is charged at this point.
2
Take a break
A writer takes it from there. You do not have to think about wording, order or what you might have forgotten for the rest of the day.
3
Review and personalise
Your draft arrives within 24 hours with personalisation guidance. Add the family's own touches and send it wherever it needs to go.
Ready when you are
Choose the word count you have been given
Each draft is written with the same care and includes the same personalisation guidance. The only difference is length.
Essential Draft
Up to 200 words
$39
A concise starting point carrying the essential details and one note of personality.
✓ Complete first draft
✓ Personalisation guidance
Request this draftMost chosen
Comprehensive Draft
Up to 300 words
$55
More space for key details, a few memories and the personality behind them.
✓ Everything in Essential
✓ Suits most newspaper requirements
Request this draftLegacy Draft
Up to 400 words
$65
Room to reflect a whole life — their work, their people and what they leave behind.
✓ Everything in Comprehensive
✓ Space for family, faith and legacy
Request this draftDelivered within 24 hours · Provided as a first draft for you to personalise · Secure and confidential
When you would like to say more
Two neighbouring services
Something to read aloud
An obituary is for print. If you also have to speak at the service, a tribute draft gives you a structure built from your memories, with speaking guidance.
The announcement first
Before the obituary there is usually a short notice to send — for social media, a newspaper and a card. We write all three.
Before you order
Questions about obituary drafts
Is it acceptable to get help writing an obituary?
Entirely. Funeral homes write them every day, and families have always asked the person who is best with words. You keep control of the content; we simply take the blank page away.
What information do I need to provide?
Names and dates, the service details, who survives them, and a few notes about their life — work, interests, the things people will remember. Tell us about faith or cultural traditions and anything you would rather leave out.
How is this different from an online obituary generator?
A person reads what you send and makes judgements a generator cannot: what to lead with, what is private, how to phrase a difficult detail, and how the family's traditions change the wording.
Are revisions included?
This is a first-draft service, so revisions are not included in the price — which is why it costs what it does. The draft is yours to edit freely, and the personalisation guidance shows you exactly where to make changes.
How long should an obituary be, and where can I use it?
200 words covers the essentials; 300 to 400 leaves room for a life. Obituaries are used in newspapers, funeral programmes, online memorials and social media — check the word limit where you are publishing and choose to match.
What should an obituary include?
Their full name, age, and the date and place they died; where they were born; their work, interests and community; the family who survive them and who died before them; service details; and where donations should go. One or two personal details are what make it theirs.
Should the cause of death go in an obituary?
Only if the family wants it there. Many obituaries simply say died peacefully or after a short illness. Some families name the illness to raise awareness or to point people to a related charity. Either is correct.
Do I have to publish an obituary?
No. There is no legal requirement to publish one. Many families now publish only online, on the funeral home's website or a memorial page, and some choose not to publish at all.
How do I submit an obituary to a newspaper?
Usually through your funeral director, or directly through the newspaper's online obituary form. Ask for their word limit, deadline and price before you finalise it, then tell us the limit and we write to it.
Can an obituary be written before someone dies?
Yes. When a death is expected, some families prepare it in advance so the hardest piece of writing is not left to the worst week, and some people write their own. It is handled with exactly the same privacy.
When do I pay?
Not on this site. You send your request first, we check we can meet your date, then email a secure payment link — usually within 20 minutes to 3 hours. No link within 3 hours means our schedule is full for that date, and you are welcome to try again in 48 hours.
Writing an obituary
What to include in an obituary, and what to leave out
What an obituary usually includes
Their full name and any name people knew them by, their age, and the date and place they died. Where they grew up, the work or community that shaped them, and the family who survive them and who died before them. Then the service details and where donations should go, if anywhere. Most newspaper obituaries run 200 to 400 words.
What to leave out
Their home address and full date of birth, which are useful to identity thieves. A published address next to a service time also tells strangers when a house will be empty. Leave out the cause of death unless the family wants it shared, and anything a relative has not agreed to see in print.
Obituary or death notice?
A death notice is the short announcement: who died, when, and the service details. An obituary tells the story of the life. Many newspapers charge for both by length, which is why writing to the exact word count you have been given matters.
Who usually writes it
Usually a close family member, sometimes with help from the funeral director, who can often submit it to the newspaper for you. It does not have to be family who writes it, only that the family approves it before it is published.
One task off your list today
Send the details once. Read the draft tomorrow morning.