This is a fill-in obituary template written for a mother. The general obituary template works for anyone; this one adds the details families of a mother usually want in the text and often forget until the day before it is due: the name she was known by, the people who called her something other than Mom, the work that was never in a job title, and the long list of people who survive her.
The template
Replace every [bracket]. Delete any sentence that does not apply.
[Full name], [age], of [city, state], [known to family and friends as "[nickname]"], died on [date] [optional: at home / at place / surrounded by her family].
She was born on [birth date] in [birthplace] to [parents' names]. [She grew up in [town] / She graduated from [school] in [year].] She married [spouse's name] on [date] [optional: and they shared [number] years together].
[She worked as [occupation] at [employer] for [number] years / She devoted herself to raising [number] children / Both.] [Volunteering, church, clubs, or the thing she did that nobody paid her for.]
[Two or three specific things: the dish people asked her to bring, the thing she kept in her purse, the rule she never broke at the dinner table, the phrase she used on the phone.]
She is survived by [her husband / her partner]; [her children and their spouses]; [her grandchildren, by name or by number]; [her great-grandchildren]; and [her siblings]. She was preceded in death by [names].
A [service type] will be held at [venue], [address], on [day, date], at [time]. [In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to [organization].]
The parts that are different for a mother
The name she was known by
Many mothers went by more than one name: a maiden name, a nickname from childhood, a shortened first name, or Nana or Grammy to the grandchildren. Put the one she used to introduce herself first, and the others in quotation marks or parentheses. If she used her maiden name as a middle name, say so once: it helps old friends and distant relatives recognize her.
Work, paid and unpaid
Do not leave out raising a family because it has no employer. "She raised four children and kept the books for the family hardware store" is complete and true. If she had a career, give the employer and the years; if she did both, say both.
The paragraph about who she was
This is where a template is weakest, because a template cannot know her. Replace general praise ("a loving mother and friend") with something only she did: what she grew, what she made, what she said. One specific sentence does more than three warm adjectives.
Survivors
Most mothers leave a long list. Order it closest outward: spouse or partner, children and their spouses, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, then siblings. Past six grandchildren, a number is kinder than a list nobody can check: "eleven grandchildren" cannot leave one out.
A filled-in sample
The names and places below are invented.
Eleanor "Ellie" Marsh Whitaker, 84, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, died on April 9, 2026, at home, with her family beside her.
Ellie was born on January 3, 1942, in Lima, Ohio, to Harold and June Marsh. She married Don Whitaker in 1963, and they shared fifty-six years together.
She raised three children and worked for twenty-two years as a school secretary at Franklin Elementary, where she knew every child's name and which ones needed a second milk carton.
She baked a lemon pound cake for every birthday on the street, kept a roll of quarters in her purse for the vending machine at the hospital, and ended every call with "Drive careful."
She is survived by her daughters, Carol Dreyer and Susan Whitaker; her son, Mark Whitaker, and his wife, Beth; seven grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and her sister, Louise. She was preceded in death by her husband, Don, and her brother, Paul.
A funeral service will be held at St. Paul's Church, 220 Maple Street, Fort Wayne, on Friday, April 17, at 10:30 a.m.
Before it goes anywhere, read it aloud to one other family member and ask who is missing. A stepchild, a close friend who was "like a daughter," or a long-term caregiver left out by oversight is the mistake that hurts longest.
If you would like worked examples at different lengths and tones, see obituary examples for a mother. For the poem or reading to print beside it, see poems and readings for a funeral, and for how the whole page is laid out, obituary format. You can also download a general obituary template in Word.
Or skip the blanks entirely
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