Short Obituary Examples: 50 to 150 Words

A short obituary is not a lesser one. Newspapers charge by the line, a program panel holds about a hundred and twenty words, and a social media post is read on a phone. The skill is choosing, and the examples below show the choices. Names are invented.

The six facts a short notice must carry

1. Full name, with any nickname in quotation marks
2. Age, and the town they lived in
3. Date of death
4. Who survives them, immediate family only
5. When and where the service is
6. Where to send flowers or gifts, if the family has a wish

Everything else is optional. One sentence of who they were, if there is room, is the sentence people remember.

Fifty words: the newspaper minimum

Ruth Ann Caldwell, 87, of Duluth, died September 10, 2026. Survived by her son David, daughter Karen Caldwell Boyd, and five grandchildren. Funeral Saturday, September 13, at 11:00 a.m., Gloria Dei Lutheran Church. Memorials to the Duluth Public Library.

Frank Joseph Moreno, 71, of Fresno, died September 6, 2026, after a short illness. He is survived by his wife Gloria and their children, Anthony, Lisa and Michael. Rosary Thursday at 7 p.m. and Mass Friday at 10 a.m., both at St. Anthony's. Burial at Holy Cross.

Eighty words: room for one true sentence

Beverly Jean Nakamura, 79, of Portland, died at home on August 28, 2026. A florist on Hawthorne Boulevard for forty years, she arranged the flowers for two generations of the city's weddings and would not sell a bouquet she did not like. She is survived by her husband, Ken; her daughters, Amy and Jill; and four grandchildren. A memorial gathering will be held Sunday, September 7, at 2 p.m. at the Japanese Garden. Bring a flower, not a bouquet.

Leonard "Lenny" Washington, 66, of Memphis, died September 3, 2026. A bus driver for MATA for thirty-one years, he knew every regular on the 50 by name and held the bus for the ones who were running. He is survived by his wife, Denise; his sons, Marcus and Terrell; and six grandchildren. Homegoing service Saturday at 11 a.m. at Mount Olive Baptist Church.

One hundred and twenty words: a program panel

This is the length that fits beside a photograph on the inside of a folded program.

Harold Eugene Pratt was born in Muncie on May 2, 1938, and died there on September 9, 2026. He served in the Navy, married Joyce Ellen Baker in 1961, and spent thirty-four years at Ball Corporation, most of them as a foreman who was known for fixing what the engineers could not. He built the deck, the treehouse, and half the furniture in the house on Elm Street, and his grandchildren's first word was often "Grandpa" because he was usually holding them. He was preceded in death by Joyce in 2020 and is survived by his daughters, Carol and Diane; his son, Gene; nine grandchildren; and his dog, Buster, who is looking for him.

One hundred and fifty words: the full short obituary

Patricia "Patsy" Ruiz Delgado, 74, of San Antonio, died peacefully on September 11, 2026, with her children at her side.

Patsy was born in Laredo in 1952 and came to San Antonio at nineteen to study nursing. She worked thirty-eight years in the emergency room at University Hospital, where she was famous for two things: never losing her temper, and never losing a vein. She married Roberto Delgado in 1975 and raised four children who all, to her mild disappointment, became accountants.

She loved Selena, the Spurs, her rosary and the beach at Port Aransas, and she made tamales every Christmas Eve for anyone who knocked.

She is survived by her husband, Roberto; her children, Angela, Robert Jr., Cristina and Daniel; and eleven grandchildren. A Mass will be held Saturday, September 20, at 10 a.m. at San Fernando Cathedral.

For social media

A Facebook post is read by people who already know the family. It can be warmer and shorter, and it should say clearly whether the service is open to everyone.

Our mom, Ruth Caldwell, died peacefully on Wednesday morning at 87. She was ready, and she was not alone. The funeral is this Saturday at 11 at Gloria Dei, and everyone who loved her is welcome. If you would like to do something, the library was her favourite place in the world. Thank you for every message. We are reading all of them.

How to cut a long obituary down

• Keep the six facts. Cut everything else first, then add back one sentence.
• Cut adjectives before nouns. "Beloved, devoted, cherished" can all go; "florist" and "bus driver" cannot.
• Survivors: immediate family by name, then counts ("and six grandchildren"). Cousins, in-laws and friends belong in the long version, or in the eulogy.
• Put the service details last, in one sentence. Day, time, place.