Community Chat

[sunshine45]

i do still get the newspaper delivered and always glance over the obituaries to see if there is anyone i know.

most of the time i see people on facebook mention  that someone has died. i then search for information regarding a funeral or viewings.....usually at a local funeral home or on legacy.com.

• Because of limited space and the large number of requests for obituaries, The Sun regrets that it cannot publish all the obituaries it receives. Because The Sun regards obituaries as news, we give a preference to those submitted within 48 hours of a person's death. It is also our intention to run obituaries no later than seven days after death.
• This section contains both obituaries and death notices. Obituaries are articles written by reporters, and usually found in the Maryland section of The Sun. Death Notices are paid classified ads, usually placed by funeral homes, that note the individual's passing and contain details of services and viewing times, among other information. Because there is an additional charge, all death notices from The Sun may not be available online. We regret any inconvenience this causes.

[Sooner]

I don't see any obligations in relation to a death except to immediate family and very close friends.  Those who need to know will know, otherwise it's no survivior's obligation to spread the word about a death. 

More and more funerals are close affairs for those directly affected, and to me that's a fine thing in many cases, especially of very elderly people with few family and friends left.  

[reiki604]

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@noodleann wrote:

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@aroc3435 wrote:

@drizzellla   Just a point of clarification:  newspapers charge to publish a death notice.  

Obituaries are published for free and are written by the paper's obit staff.  For famous people (local or national or international) the obit writers have the individual pieces already composed and on file that can be updated rapidly once a widely known person has died. 

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Not in my local paper--which I do not take--or in many others, I suspect. ANY notice, "death" or obit, is submitted by the funeral home, executor, or family, and it costs. There are no free anythings and there is no obituatory editor or "staff." Obits and notices are run as submitted, unless they violate the paper's standards. For major papers like the NYT, what you say holds, but from what I've seen, I think the vast majority of small regional or local papers are run like the one in my area.

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When my dad died, we ran his obituary in the NYT and were charged by the word.

[ALRATIBA]

As far as I'm aware, the funeral home takes care of obits / death notices and it's included in the price of their services.  At least - that's been our experience.

In one instance ... a family member died and we declined any announcement.  Her house would have been empty and there is a certain class of criminals that follow death notices and break into empty houses.

[jlkz]

Happened to hear from a friend who lost a loved one:  the cost of an obituary was several hundreds of dollars in her local Philadelphia paper !   Outrageous but at this difficult time unconscionable!

I read metropolitan obits everyday in the digital edition of the paper.  A few times a month, I will look at the free online obits of a more local paper.

In the metropolitan version, as I read the names I recall the names of folks that I used to work with or went to school with.  May their souls rest in God ‘s peace.....

[beckyb1012]

Every morning while reading our local paper online I click on the Death Notice section to see the list.  I have come across so many that I have not even thought about since a class in high school.  There are so many people that touch our lives over the years.  Even if you cannot make it to their service it is so special to just pause and enjoy their memory and life you were once a part of.

[Lipstickdiva]

I always check the obituaries on-line.

If it is someone you currently work with, I would think the company might put out a company wide announcement. 

[Lipstickdiva]

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@SahmIam wrote:

I look at it differently.

When my son passes, there will be no obituary. Those that will attend his service will be those who already knew he died because they are a presence in his life/in our life on a consistent basis. They know when he is hospitalized, they know when he has been near deaths' door and they know he has, amazingly, pulled back from it (so far). These are the people who will attend his funeral. 

My Daddy called funerals a "Dog and Pony Show". He saw people moan and cry and hug and say all these wonderful things and yet the last time they EVER saw the deceased or even spoke to the deceased was decades ago. Now they come AFTER the person has died? It angered and disgusted him; which is why his funeral was done HIS way and I made sure of it.

Like I said, I look at it differently.

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I don't necessarily go to a viewing or funeral because I know the person who passed.  I go for the family still living, out of respect for them and to express my condolences to them over the loss of a loved one. 

[lovescats]

I found out recently that a local funeral home sends out emails of recent deaths that they handle if you want to sign up for them. It gives a link to the obit and the guest book.

I usually look online at the obituaries in the local paper on Sunday.

Putting an obituary in the paper is not cheap.

[Brisky]

My mother has already stated her plans to us all.No obituary no viewing. Cremation and has a place beside my father at veterans memorial wall. Nobody but immediate family. She will get what she wants.