(Editor’s note: This column was publshed several times through December and January. The response has been good from readers either writing their own obituary or using our form.)
An obituary in a newspaper is an indelible record of a person’s life that serves as a guide for anyone hundreds of years from now researching genealogy or the area’s history.
Writing obituaries for a newspaper used to fall to the newest or oldest member of the staff. It forces new people to talk to residents, get family ties and delve into files about key locals, veterans, clubs and organizations. Long-time staff members can do the job more easily and pull from institutional knowledge to do the task well.
Those days are gone. Obituaries in the Española Valley are written by untrained people with an eye on the living and keeping family peace. And the few facts family members can provide about a deceased parent are just sad. Most offspring don’t know dates and places and are little help in writing an obituary.
We’d like to change that, at least at the SUN, and you can help. Write your own obituary. That’s right, you’re the best person for the job because you know the details of your life that make you who you are.
The obituaries that trickle across our desks list a parade of survivors reaching to great-great-great status, in-laws, special someones and neighbors. But the best we hope for in learning about the dead person is a small line stating, “He loved to fish.” Is that really all that person was?
An obituary is about the deceased person, not the family left behind. They have their own stories and being related to a dead person is not part of them. Keep that in mind as you trudge through your life.
Please don’t be intimidated by grammar and structure. Get us the facts and we’ll craft your life story for you.
Start with where you were born and the date. Where did you graduate high school? College? Military? Ribbons, wars, awards? What did you do for a living? What have you accomplished of which you’re proud? Include clubs and organizations and any volunteer board on which you served and made a difference. To help, we have forms available here that will guide you through the process.
There’s a lot more to all our lives than just breathing for X amount of years. Once you’ve gotten the particulars of your life down on paper or in a computer, mail or e-mail them to us and we’ll file them. We will edit to Associated Press style. You may update as you wish.
If you’re not comfortable sending your life details to us for safekeeping, please put it in a safe deposit box or with your will. Tell loved ones where it is so they can use it upon your death.
The SUN is one of the few newspapers in the country that still prints obituaries free of charge. The people who choose to pay for an ad normally do so because they want to list a large number of extended family and we don’t do that in free obituaries. We stick to the traditional obit that tells the story of the person who died.
When you come across a free obituary that runs long, it’s because it’s telling the deceased person’s story. That’s worthy of print and that’s what readers want.
Give it a try. If you have questions or get stuck, call Braiden Trapp at 753-2126 or e-mail questions or your obit to mnged@riograndesun.com.
Additionally, if a loved one dies and you’d like a proper obituary, please call me and we’ll write one together.