A Good Obituary

What makes a good obituary? Why do readers/viewers read and watch them?

A well written obituary should honor the person who passed and display their character in a favorable way.

Typically they tell who the person is leaving behind and their relation to that person. They also remark on the accomplishments and achievements of that person.

These all are things that celebrate the person’s life, it should never focus on the negativity of their death. A well written obituary’s may mention the sequence of events of the person’s death if it was a murder or an accident, any death that is controversial.

Many people are drawn to read obituary’s to gain knowledge on a specific death that happened in their area.

For example when someone well regarded in the community dies many people want to read their obituary to see how it is written and if they were honored properly.

Obituary’s should be written with the person in mind and their family. A good journalist will even write it with their own family or friends in mind and write it as well as they would for someone they know.