Guides & Support
Most people write one obituary in their life, under a deadline, days after losing someone. These are the guides we wish every family had on the first morning.
Writing the Obituary
What to include, how long it should be, what it costs to print, and what to do when you are not sure you knew enough about them to write it.
The full structure, what belongs in each paragraph, how long it needs to be, and the conventions people get wrong. Start here.
Fourteen worked examples by relationship and by length - mother, father, husband, wife, son, daughter, grandparent.
Copy it, replace the bracketed parts, delete what does not apply. No sign-up and nothing to download.
Three documents, three jobs, and the one confusion that costs families the most money.
Why papers charge by the line, what drives the price up, and how to get an exact quote in one phone call.
Misspelled names, survivor lists in the wrong order, a missing stepchild - and a proofing checklist that catches them.
Funeral Programs
What goes in it, the order of service for every kind of funeral, which format holds what, and how to print it without it looking homemade.
The cover, the order of service, the obituary, photographs and the back page - plus how much each format actually holds.
The standard eleven-entry sequence, what each part is for, and the two places families put things in the wrong order.
Thirteen entries, several of which the parish decides rather than the family. Which is which, and what to ask before printing.
No liturgy means no structure handed to you. An order that holds together, and how to keep open sharing from falling flat.
Ten to twenty minutes, standing, often outdoors. The short order that suits it, and whether you need a program at all.
What is rendered, who qualifies, how to arrange it through the funeral director, and where it belongs in the printed order.
Chosen for tone, and checked for the thing most lists ignore - whether you are actually allowed to print it.
They cost the same to print. What separates them is how much they hold - and one of them caps your order of service.
Paper weight, the one printer setting almost everyone gets wrong, folding, and how many to run.
Memorial Pages
The page that outlasts the week - collecting memories, choosing photographs, and the accounts that need closing.
How it differs from a Facebook post, a funeral home listing and a paid notice - and the three situations where you clearly want one.
A blank box gets almost nothing. A specific question gets paragraphs. The prompts that actually work, and when to send them.
Which pictures to use, how many each format holds, and the resolution that decides whether the cover prints sharp or soft.
Facebook, Instagram, Google and Apple - what each allows, what you will need, and the one decision that cannot be undone.