Obituary and death notice: how to write them, with samples

Death notice and obituary: two different texts

In everyday speech the two words are often used interchangeably, but they do different jobs. A death notice is a practical message: who has died, where the body is resting, when the panikhida will be held (panashvidi in Georgian: the evening farewell with prayers beside the coffin) and when the funeral procession leaves. Its purpose is to let the reader understand in a few seconds where to go and at what time. An obituary, on the other hand, tells the story of a life: where the person came from, what they did, whom they loved and what others remember them for. In practice the family sends out the notice first, within the first few hours, while the obituary can be written a day or two later, once there is time to gather memories.

Essential details for a short notice

Before posting, check that the text really includes:

• Full first name and surname: for a woman it is worth adding her maiden name in brackets, since old acquaintances often know her by it.
• Dates: the date of birth and the date of death, or only the years if the family prefers.
• Place of farewell: the exact address of the hall, home or church, with entrance and floor if needed.
• Days and hours of the panikhida: with start and end times, so that a late guest does not arrive at a locked door.
• Day and time of the procession: and the name of the cemetery, since some guests go straight there.
• Family members: the spouse, children, brothers and sisters, so readers know whom to offer their condolences to.
• Contact person: one name and phone number, ideally not one of the most grief-stricken relatives.

What goes into an obituary: a life in a few paragraphs

A good obituary is not a CV. Three or four main threads are enough: where the person came from, what their work was, what values they lived by and who survives them. One concrete detail - say, that every spring he pruned the vine in the courtyard himself, or that he taught physics at the same school for thirty years - tells the reader more than a long string of general praise. Mention awards and titles only if they truly mattered in the person's life, not as decoration.

Formats compared

Sample Facebook post

A social media post is often the first place a wide circle of people learns the news. It is best published on one family member's page and shared by everyone else rather than copied: that way, if a time changes, the correction appears everywhere at once. Sample:

"It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of our father, grandfather and brother, [first name surname], in his 78th year. The farewell is taking place at [name of hall, address]. The panikhida will be held on Friday and Saturday from 5 to 8 pm. The funeral procession leaves on Sunday at 1 pm for [name of cemetery]. For details please contact [name, phone]. Thank you to everyone who will be with us in these days."

Sample for forwarding on WhatsApp or Viber

On messaging apps a text is passed from hand to hand and is mostly read on a small phone screen. What matters most here is short lines and a map link in the same message, because a location sent separately often gets lost when the message is forwarded. Sample:

"[First name surname] has passed away. Farewell: [hall, street, building number], map: [link]. Panikhida: Monday and Tuesday, 17:00 to 20:00. Funeral procession: Wednesday, 12:00, [cemetery]. Questions to [name], [phone]. Please forward to anyone who knew him."

Emojis, words in capital letters and a scattering of exclamation marks do not suit a text like this. Calm, clear information is enough.

Sample for a newspaper or website

In print or on a memorial page online, the obituary is longer and takes the form of a story. Sample:

"[First name surname] was born in [village or town], where he spent his childhood at his grandmother's, among the vineyards and the old mill. In Tbilisi he trained as an engineer and for more than forty years designed bridges and roads. Colleagues knew him as the man who checked every figure on a drawing twice; neighbours knew him as the one who fixed everybody's broken radios and clocks. For more than half a century he lived with his wife, [name]; together they raised three children, and on Sundays six grandchildren gathered at his house. He passed away on [date] surrounded by his family. The farewell will take place at [place, days, hours], and the burial on [day, time, cemetery]."

Sample from an organisation, university or company

When an employee or lecturer dies, the institution often publishes a notice on its own page. Before publishing, always agree with the family which time and place to give, and whether the family wants a notice at all. The text states the position, the years of service and what the person is remembered for by the team or the students. Sample:

"[Name of organisation] is saddened to announce the death of our colleague, [position] [first name surname]. For sixteen years he led [department], and the young specialists he trained still form the backbone of that team today. We share the family's grief. With the consent of his relatives, we can tell you that the farewell will take place at [place, day, time]."

A university will often add the person's research interests and the fact that several generations of students remember their lectures. A company, meanwhile, should avoid corporate language and a large brand logo.

Sample from a school class

Former classmates often keep in touch only through a group chat, and that is where the notice appears when a classmate, a teacher or someone's parent dies. The main task of such a text is to organise a joint visit. Sample:

"The [school] class of [year] announce with deep sorrow the death of our classmate [first name surname]. He was the one who organised all our reunions and remembered everyone's birthday. We are meeting on [day, time] at [meeting point] to go to the panikhida together. Anyone who cannot come but would like to pass something on to the family, please contact [name, phone]."

Choosing a photo for the notice

A photo is almost always attached to the notice, and it catches the eye before the text does. Choose a picture from recent years in which the face is clearly visible and the expression calm. Sunglasses, a festive table with glasses in the background or a badly blurred shot are out of place. If the only good picture is a group photo, it can be carefully cropped. A digital version with a black frame and the name is prepared together with the memorial portrait, so the same photograph appears both in the hall and in the online notice.

Tone: calm, precise, simple

A text about a death does not need grand words. "Has died" or "passed away" are direct and respectful, and replacing them with euphemisms often makes the text unclear. Religious phrases such as "May the Kingdom of Heaven be his" are included or left out according to the family's faith; a non-religious family can simply write "farewell" instead of "funeral service". Families of other denominations use their own traditional expressions, and that is entirely natural. Write each text in one language; if many acquaintances are foreigners, add a translation as a separate paragraph. In Georgia most notices are written in Georgian, so an English version is usually added underneath for friends abroad rather than replacing it.

What to leave out

Unfortunately, public notices are read not only by friends and relatives. For safety:

• Do not give the home address unless the farewell is held at home; the address of the hall is enough.
• Do not write that the family will be at the cemetery or the memorial meal all day and that the house will be empty.
• Do not publish the personal number of a widow living alone or an elderly parent.
• Mention the cause of death and details of an illness only if the family consciously wants to.
• Family disputes, inheritance questions and anyone's reproaches have no place in a notice.

If the farewell is at home and the address cannot be avoided, ask a relative or neighbour to stay near the house during the ceremony.

Updating the post when the time or place changes

Funeral times sometimes change: a relative's flight is delayed, the weather turns, or the hall's schedule shifts. In that case do not write a new post; edit the original and put a first line such as: "Updated: the procession has been moved to Wednesday, 3 pm." A new post circulates alongside the old one and only adds to the confusion. Also send a short message about the change to the groups and people you had already forwarded the first version to, because on a messaging app the old text will not correct itself.

A link to the live stream

If the ceremony is being streamed online, you can add one sentence to the notice: "Those who cannot attend will be able to watch the ceremony online; message us privately for the link." Do not put the link itself in a public post, so that the farewell does not become a spectacle for strangers. Send it personally to relatives abroad the day before the ceremony. To learn how this kind of broadcast works, see our page on live streaming a funeral.

Who writes the text and who checks it

The writing is best left to the family member who is a little more composed emotionally, not the widow or the mother, who carry a different weight in those hours. A second person should read the text before publication and check the spelling of names, the dates and that the weekday matches the date. Only give times in the notice once they have been confirmed with the hall and the cemetery. If a coordinator is in charge of funeral arrangement, they will give you the exact schedule, and the text is then written around it.

Tell people personally first, then publicly

The public notice goes out only after the closest people have heard the news in person. A mother, a brother or a best friend should not find out from a phone screen, from someone else's post. We explain in detail whom to call and in what order in a separate article: how to tell relatives and friends about a death. Once that circle has been informed, the notice can be shared calmly.

Short notices for ormotsi and the first year

On memorial days families also often publish a short message, especially for those who could not attend the funeral. The text here is even shorter: "On [day, date] it will be forty days since the death of [first name surname]. A panikhida will be held at [place, time], after which we will go to the cemetery." In Georgia the 40th-day memorial is called ormotsi. Guests are invited to the memorial meal (in Georgian, kelekhi: a shared table in memory of the deceased) personally as a rule, rather than through a public post, because the number of guests has to be known in advance. For the anniversary, families often add an old photo or one short memory to the notice.

What happens to the post after the funeral

Many families wonder whether they should delete the notice after the ceremony. There is no need to: the memories and condolences left in the comments are often precious to the relatives. It is good, though, to add a note of thanks at the end to everyone who came, along with a line saying the ceremony has taken place. The deceased's personal Facebook profile can be turned into a memorial page; the family need not hurry with that decision and can make it weeks later.

Frequently asked questions