A Gentle Place to Begin an Obituary
This workspace is designed to help you gently gather life details, and meaningful moments in one place — without pressure to write everything perfectly.
Many people begin an obituary with scattered thoughts, life details, or no idea where to start. That’s completely okay.
Unlike a traditional obituary template that focuses mainly on structure, this workspace is designed to help you gather personal reflections and memories as they come to mind, before bringing everything together.
Taking time to fully reflect on someone’s life, personality, and memories can help make an obituary feel more personal and meaningful.
Before You Begin
You do not need to finish everything today.
Simple thoughts and rough notes are completely okay.
Once you begin gathering details and memories, additional thoughts and moments often surface naturally.
Your memories stay private unless you choose to share them. This page does not automatically save progress.
You can print, or save your notes as a .PDF file before closing your browser.
Prefer Speaking Instead of Typing?
If your device supports dictation, you may find it easier to simply speak your memories naturally rather than type them. Just find somewhere quiet and capture what comes to mind.
Begin Gathering Your Memories
Start wherever feels easiest for you. Your thoughts and notes do not need to be in perfect order.
Looking for inspiration? Explore our obituary examples to help spark ideas and reflections while using this workspace.
What immediately comes to mind when you think about their life, character, or the role they played in the lives of others?
You might mention:
The kind of person they were • Their role within the family • How they made people feel • Important parts of their life • What people may remember most about them.
Example: “He was known for his quiet kindness, strong work ethic, and the way he always made time for family.”
You might include milestones, family life, work, achievements, hobbies, community involvement, or meaningful memories.
You might include:
Family life • Career or work • Hobbies and interests • Community involvement • Achievements • Traditions or routines • Meaningful memories.
Example: “She spent over 30 years teaching locally and was deeply involved in community fundraising events.”
What stands out most about them, or what do you hope stays with others?
You might mention:
Kindness • Humour • Reliability • Generosity • Strength • Friendship • The impact they had on others.
Example: “People often remembered how welcome she made everyone feel, even during difficult times.”
This could include gratitude, love, a simple reflection, or anything you'd like others to remember about them.
You might want to include:
Love • Gratitude • A final reflection • Something the family would like remembered • A simple goodbye.
Example: “We will always be grateful for the love, guidance, and quiet support he gave throughout our lives.”
Use this space for anything else that comes to mind later. Nothing is too small or unimportant.
Continue adding memories and reflections at your own pace. You can print or save this workspace as a PDF on your device and return to it whenever new thoughts, stories, or reflections come to mind.
How to save or print this workspace
On a phone or tablet: use your browser's Share or menu option, then choose Print, Save to Files, or Save as PDF where available.
On a desktop or laptop: use your browser's Print option, then choose Print or Save as PDF.
Memories and Details Often Return Over Time
Additional memories often return gradually — sometimes days or even weeks later.
You may also find it helpful to:
• Speak with family members or close friends
• Ask others what they remember most
• Revisit photographs
• Look through condolence messages or cards
• Simply add new thoughts whenever they come to mind
Even small details or memories can later become meaningful parts of an obituary and help reflect the life they lived.
Bringing Everything Together
Gathering memories and information is easier than:
Deciding what information to include
Knowing what order everything should go in
Balancing facts, memories, and reflection
Writing something that feels clear and personal
Trying to summarise someone’s life in a few paragraphs
That’s completely normal.
This workspace is designed to help you gather what matters most — even if your thoughts still feel unfinished or hard to organise.
🕊️ Need Help Bringing an Obituary Together?
We can help organise your memories and thoughts into a clear ready-to-share obituary you can continue to personalise in your own way:
✓ A personalised obituary shaped around the details you share
✓ Ready to use as it is — or personalise further if you wish
✓ Suitable for newspapers, programmes or online publication
Your memories. Their Story. We simply help you bring them together
👉 Explore Our Obituary Service
From $39.99 • Delivered within 24 hours • Secure and confidential
💬 Have a question about writing your tribute or using this workspace? You can message me directly. If you’d prefer, you can also get in touch here.
Words from Those We’ve Helped
“The obituary you wrote brought comfort to our whole family. It felt like you knew him.”
“Thank you for making this so much easier. It was written beautifully and felt exactly right.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Why can writing an obituary feel so overwhelming?
Many people already know some of the details they want to include, but find it difficult to organise life information, family details, memories, and emotions into something that feels clear and respectful. Grief can also make even simple writing feel harder than expected.
This workspace is designed to help you begin gathering details gently, without pressure to write everything perfectly straight away.
Do my notes need to be organised before I begin?
No. Many people begin with rough notes, scattered details, or memories that arrive out of order. This obituary workspace is designed to help you capture what matters most first — structure can come later.
What should I include in an obituary?
An obituary often includes key life details, family relationships, important milestones, work or community involvement, personal qualities, and sometimes funeral or memorial service information.
It does not need to include everything. The aim is to create a clear and respectful summary that feels right for the person being remembered.
Is it okay if some details are missing?
Yes. It is completely normal not to have every date, detail, or memory ready straight away. Some information may come from family members, photographs, messages, or documents later.
You can begin with what you know now and add more when it becomes available.
Does this page automatically save my information?
No. This workspace does not automatically save your progress. If you would like to keep your notes, please save the page as a PDF before closing your browser.
Can I save or print my obituary notes later?
Yes. You can save this page as a PDF and return to your notes later whenever you feel ready. Your saved PDF can also be printed if needed.
What if I later decide I’d like help turning my notes into an obituary?
Many people find that gathering information is easier than turning it into an obituary that feels clear, personal, and ready to share. If you would like support later, DBS can help organise and thoughtfully shape your notes into a personalised obituary suitable for newspapers, programmes, or online publication.
You can explore our Obituary support here .