Veteran obituary builder

Write an obituary that honors their service.

Most obituaries give a lifetime of service two sentences. Answer what you know, skip the rest, and this builds the obituary as you go, with their service told in full. Copy it for the funeral home or the newspaper.

This is an example. Replace it with your veteran's details, or clear it and start fresh.

The basics

Name, dates, family

Full name Known as (optional)

Pronoun Age Date of passing

City and state they lived in Where they passed (optional)

Born in Parents (optional)

Spouse (optional) Years of marriage

Who they were

The part people remember

In a sentence or two, what were they like? A saying they lived by (optional) Things they loved (separate with commas)

Their service

The heart of it

Check the details against the DD-214 if you have it. Ranks, units and awards are the details other veterans notice.

Branch How they joined

Served from Served until Final rank

How did their service end?

Honorably discharged Retired

Jobs and roles, in order (one per line) Units, ships or squadrons (one per line) Wars, tours and deployments A moment or campaign to name (optional)

Awards and decorations

Veterans groups they belonged to (separate with commas)

After the service

Work, school, community, faith

Education (optional) Career (optional) Community and faith (optional)

Family

Survivors and those before

Survived by (as you want it printed) Preceded in death by (optional)

The service

Where and when

Service location

Date Service time Visitation from

Burial or inurnment (optional) Military honors

In lieu of flowers (optional) Funeral home (optional)

Before you send it

Leave out the exact birth date and the home street address. Scammers and burglars read obituaries.
Newspapers usually charge by length. The short notice can run in print, with the full obituary on the funeral home's website.
Ask the funeral director to request military funeral honors at least 48 hours before the service.

Honor them at the service

Our Service Pack adds a memorial Trail Map for the easel, a tribute page with their ribbon rack, and 50 "Share a memory" cards so everyone at the service can add a story. Delivered in 48 hours. $149, credited toward a memorial book.

Order the Service Pack