Eulogies and Obituaries

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Eulogies and Obituaries

Eulogies and
Eulogies

Giving a meaningful, moving eulogy can be a nerve-wracking situation for even the most accomplished public speaker, but it doesn’t have be. How can you summarize somebody’s life in a few short minutes, while being both somber and funny at the same time? Writing and delivering a eulogy is a therapeutic tool to help deal with your grief, and being chosen to give a eulogy is an honor and should be treated that way. Young’s Daughters has a certified Celebrant on staff which covers all the areas to make the perfect eulogy tying in the history, poems, verses to commemorate a loved ones legacy. Pricing for assistance will be listed below in the Certified Celebrant section. Here are some tips for writing and delivering an eloquent and memorable eulogy.

Gather information. Talk with family members, close friends and co-workers to get important information on the deceased. Some important information to include in the eulogy is the persons family and other close relationships, their education/career, hobbies or special interests, places the person lived or traveled to, and any special accomplishments they had.

Organize your thoughts, Jot down your ideas by whatever means are most comfortable and familiar to you. Create an outline of your speech, and fill in the information that you gathered about the person.

Write it down. This is not a toast at a wedding where you can make off the cuff remarks, and you should not adlib a eulogy. Writing it all down allows you to include and remember every detail you wanted in your eulogy. When you bring a copy your eulogy to the podium make sure it is easy to read, print it out in a large font, or if it hand-written leave a few spaces between the lines. Keep in mind your time constraints, it’s best to keep things on the short side, especially if there are other speakers.

Review and Revise. Your first draft will not be the last. When you think you are done, sleep on it and look it over in the morning when it is fresh again, that will be the time to make any necessary revisions.

Practice, Practice, Practice. Read over your eulogy several times in order to become familiar with it. Practice in front of a mirror, read it over to some friends or family and have them give you feedback. Become familiar with your speech so you can recite it without making it look like you’re reading from a script. The more you practice the more comfortable you will be.

Make them laugh, but be respectful. A funeral is not a roast, however there is room for humor in your eulogy. Fondly remember a story about the person that everyone can relate too. Keep it appropriate, there will be children and the elderly there that may not share the same sense of humor. Laughter is truly the best medicine, and some well placed humor will help people cope, and will bring back fond memories of the deceased.

Don’t be afraid to show emotion. Funerals are an extremely emotional event, nobody expects you not to shed a few tears. However, if you feel that you will be too strongly overcome by your emotions, have a back-up plan in place where someone you trust can deliver the eulogy for you. Give them a copy well in advance if you feel this could be an issue.

Have a glass of water as well as tissues handy.

Obituaries

Writing an Obituary is a difficult and emotional task. First, you will need to gather information from family and friends of the deceased about their childhood, education, career and hobbies and interests. As well, speak to the Funeral Home to receive any important information on the date, time and location of any funeral service, or other funeral related events. Using the template will help make the process easier and will ensure you write a properly structured obituary.

Instructions: Replace all items in
ITALICS below with the appropriate information.

[GIVEN NAME] [MIDDLE NAME (AND NICKNAME)] [SURNAME NAME], [AGE], of [CITY], [STATE], died on [DATE OF DEATH] in [LOCATION OF DEATH].

[NAME] was born in [LOCATION OF BIRTH] to [PARENT’S NAMES] on [DATE OF BIRTH]. He/she went to high school at [SCHOOL NAME] and graduated in [YEAR]. He/she went on to earn a degree/certificate in [DEGREE TYPE] from [SCHOOL NAME]. He/she worked as a [JOB TYPE] for [COMPANY] for [NUMBER OF YEARS]. He/she enjoyed [ACTIVITIES/HOBBIES]. He/she received [AWARDS/HONORS] and was involved in [CHARITIES/ORGANIZATIONS].

[NAME] is survived by his/her [RELATION], [NAME] of [CITY]. (List all survivors: spouse children, siblings, parents, grandchildren, nieces and nephews). He/she is preceded in death by his/her [RELATION], [NAME]. (List predeceased: spouse, parents, children and siblings.)

[SERVICE TYPE] will be held at [LOCATION] on [DATE] at [TIME] with Reverend [NAME] of [CHURCH] officiating. Burial will follow at [CEMETERY NAME], [CEMETERY LOCATION]. [VIEWING OR VISITATION] will be held at [LOCATION] on [DATE] at [TIME]. [NAME OF FUNERAL HOME] will be handling the funeral arrangements.

Memorial contributions may be made to
[ORGANIZATION NAME], [MAILING ADDRESS]. The family wishes to extend their gratitude to [ORGANIZATION/NAME] [FINAL WORDS].

***Remember most Newspapers charge by the word or by the line, this template is good for getting the all the information necessary in as few words possible. However, this template is not written in stone. You can make any adjustments you feel necessary.

How Much Does an Obituary Cost?

In our area, The Temple Daily Telegram is the area wide Newspaper. Printed editions are produced daily. You can go to their website at www.Tdtnews.com  to verify Obituary guidelines.

There are four types of Obituaries; pending notice, free editions, paid editions and services for today notices.

  • Pending Notice

    Pending notice - is typically submitted right away by the Funeral Director to give the announcement.


    Free edited Obituaries are still available through the Editorial Department.  For information regarding free obituaries, contact Editorial 254-778-4444 or tdt@tdtnews.com They must be submitted by the Funeral Home.  Deadline for free full obituaries is 1 p.m. the day before publication.  Deadline for free pending notices is 1 p.m. the day before publication.

  • Free Obituaries

    Free obituaries - is scheduled to run after the family has met with the funeral director and discussed when is appropriate to run. It will list the service information.  In the Temple Daily Telegram obituaries are news reports (which are run in the next available edition) and not paid funeral notices.  Because free Obituaries are news, it is the Telegram's policy to determine what will be included in an Obituary.  It is not the policy of the Telegram to print the cause of death in an Obituary.  In cases of deaths by other than natural causes such as accidents, suicides or deaths of an undetermined cause which are under investigation by police, the Telegram may have a separate news story.

    The Temple Daily Telegram feels it is the Funeral Directors responsibility to inform their clients of the Telegram's policy on free Obituaries.


    They will run the following:

    •  Name, age, city of residence of deceased.
    •  When (day of week, month, date), where and sometimes (as noted previously) how the person died.
    1. When, where funeral service and burial are scheduled and who is conducting service; rosaries, family visitation times, viewing's, other memorial services.
    • Biographical information
    1. Date of birth
    2. College, degree
    3. Place of employment and/or occupation (will list even if retired from job)
    4. military service
    5. Service, fraternal or professional organization memberships
    6. Church membership or religion
    7. Major civic or military honors
    8. How long lived in community
    • Survivors
    1. By name — spouse, children, parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters (includes step-and half-relations except grandparents)
    2. By number — grandchildren, great-grandchildren, etc.
    3. When there is no survivor in the "By name" category we will run the name of any local survivor in the next closest family member group in the following order: grandchildren; great-grandchildren; aunts and uncles; nieces and nephews; cousins.
    4. If there is no local relative we will not run the name of a survivor unless that person has also lived in our circulation area at sometime and then the obituary will say ". . . survived by John Smith of Oshkosh, Wis., and formerly of Red Ranger."
    • Funeral Home in charge of services, if not already listed as the place where services are being conducted.
    • To whom memorial gifts, etc. may be made.
    • Where the family may be contacted if other than the deceased's residence.
    • Names of children who preceded the deceased in death.
    • Where the person was born.
    1. The balance due is payable at the time of conclusion of the arrangement process.
    2. We do not extend credit, nor wait on estates to be probated.  If this agreement is placed in the hands of an attorney for collection, the buyer(s) agree to pay the attorney fees and all other legal and court fees associated with the collection of this account.  
    3. We are confident you will find one or a combination of the following options that best suits your individual circumstances and needs. Cash- Paypal- Cash App- Venmo- Bank Checks - Debit Card - Visa - Mastercard- Discover- PreNeed Transfer-Verifiable Life Insurance Assignments (with applicable fees by company or third party processing fees)- Lendingusa.com (Any cards/chips/webs/apps to be processed will incur a 3.5% processing fee)


    We will not run:

    • A picture with a free Obituary.
    • Relatives other than spouse and children who preceded the deceased in death.
    • Names of grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, uncles, aunts, cousins.

    When we will accept an Obituary as a free Obituary:

    • The person who died lived and or worked in our circulation area. (Full Obituary will be run)
    • When the person who died formerly lived or worked in our area. (Full Obituary will be run)
    • When a survivor of the deceased lives or works in our area, but the deceased never did. (An abbreviated obituary will be run including an abbreviated or no bio and the only survivors listed by name will be the local survivors)
    • When a survivor of the deceased lives or works in our area, but the deceased never did. (An abbreviated obituary will be run including an abbreviated or no bio and the only survivors listed by name will be the local survivors)
    • When services and/or burial will be conducted in our area or by a Funeral Home in our area. (Full Obituary will be run)

    We will not accept an Obituary when:

    • The only connection to the area is that a survivor was a former resident of the area.

    ** For purposes of determining who is a survivor, we mean only those people we would list by name in the Obituary (husband, wife, son, daughter, brother, sister, grandparents, great-grandparents etc.) Also included in survivors would be step- and half- relations of this same type.

  • Paid Editions

    Paid Editions state - Any deviation from these guidelines requires a paid Obituary which must be submitted to the Display Advertising Department of the Temple Daily Telegram. Advertiz@tdtnews.com.


    Deadlines are as follows: Obituary to run any day, Tuesday through Saturday must be submitted by 1 p.m. the day before publication. An Obituary to run Sunday and/or Monday must be submitted by 2 p.m. Friday.  Holiday deadlines as published in the paper. At the request of the family the Telegram will be happy to run a free Obituary in addition to a paid Obituary. Paid Obituaries will run in a separate area of the Obituary page of the Telegram, not under the Central Texas Obituaries headline.  Paid Obituaries will be accessible behind a metered paywall on www.tdtnews.com. To submit a paid Obituary email Advertiz@tdtnews.com.  You can pay the Temple Daily Telegram directly or for no additional charge you could pay at the Funeral Home.


    The inclusion of a photo increases the cost.  Obituaries in the Temple Daily Telegram are charged per line.  

  • Service for Today Notice

    Service for today notice - The Temple Daily Telegram does not charge families or Funeral Homes for routine Obituaries or listings in the Funerals Today column.  The information requested here is what the Telegram will run in a free Obituary.  Information beyond what is requested here, including a photograph, will necessitate contacting the Telegram's advertising department for a paid Obituary. If a family wishes to pay for an Obituary, it is the policy of the Telegram to still offer a free Obituary if one is desired by the family.  It is also the policy of the Telegram to run a free listing in the Funerals Today column for both free and paid Obituaries unless the family requests otherwise.

    The second largest paper is the Belton Journal.

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