You don’t need to know how an obituary should sound to use this. Each box asks for one fact, and the obituary appears beside the form as you type. Skip any box you don’t have an answer for, and that sentence is simply left out. When it’s done, read it aloud once, change anything that doesn’t sound like them, and copy it.
Fill in the blanks
Your obituary
0 wordsStart filling in the blanks and the obituary appears here.
Saved in this browser only. Read it aloud once and change any sentence so it sounds like them.
What you type is saved in this browser so you can stop and come back, and it isn’t sent anywhere.
The blank template as text
If you’d rather copy the template and fill it in somewhere else, here it is in the same order the form uses. Replace each part in [square brackets], delete the brackets, and remove any sentence you don’t need.
Fill-in-the-blank obituary template
126 words[Full name], [age], of [town, state], died [how, such as peacefully at home] on [date of death]. [First name] was born in [birthplace], in [year of birth], to [parents’ names].
[First name] married [spouse’s name] in [year married]. [First name] worked as [job, and for how long]. [First name] loved [a few things they loved]. [One thing people remember about them.]
[First name] is survived by [spouse, children, grandchildren, brothers and sisters]. [First name] was preceded in death by [family who died before them].
[A funeral service / A memorial service / A funeral Mass / A celebration of life / A graveside service] will be held on [service date], at [time] at [place]. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to [charity or cause].
Example: the template filled in
Here is the form filled in for a fictional man, Harold “Gene” Whitfield. His family left the date of birth empty and put “Gene” in the box for the name he went by, so the rest of the obituary uses it.
Harold Eugene Whitfield
141 wordsHarold Eugene Whitfield, 81, of Wichita, Kansas, died peacefully on September 18, 2026. Gene was born in Hutchinson, Kansas, to Walter and Edna Whitfield.
Gene married Loretta Banks in 1968. Gene worked as a machinist at an aircraft plant for 38 years. Gene loved fishing at Cheney Lake, his woodshop and coaching Little League. Neighbors called him first whenever something broke, and he never once let them pay.
Gene is survived by his wife of 58 years, Loretta; his sons, Mark (Julie) and Steven; his daughter, Karen Ruiz; seven grandchildren; and his sister, Joan Pratt. Gene was preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Donald.
A funeral service will be held on September 25, 2026, at 11:00 am at Westside Baptist Church, Wichita. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the youth program at Westside Baptist Church.
Gene’s obituary is about 140 words, which suits a funeral home website or a page in the funeral program. For a newspaper, where you usually pay by length, you could keep the first paragraph, the family and the service details and cut the rest.
For more ways to word each part, read these obituary examples or the step-by-step guide on how to write an obituary.
Questions people ask
What if I don’t know some of the details?
Leave the box empty. The sentence that needs it is left out, and the rest of the obituary still reads correctly. You can add it later if someone in the family finds out.
Why does it use the first name instead of he or she?
The first name is correct for everyone, and many obituaries are written that way. If you’d rather use a pronoun, copy the obituary and change some of the names by hand.
Should I put the full date of birth?
No. A full birth date next to the birthplace and parents’ names is useful to identity thieves, so the form asks only for the year. Leave it empty and the obituary still says where they were born.
Is what I type sent anywhere?
No. It stays in this browser, which saves it so you can close the page and come back. Use "Clear the blanks" to remove it.
How do I print it or put it in a newspaper?
Copy the obituary and paste it into a document to print, or into the email or form the newspaper or funeral home gives you. Newspapers usually charge by length, so ask for a price before you send it.