Free obituary writer and online obituary maker.

Answer a few guided questions and our free obituary generator writes an editable draft in minutes.

Start the obituary with their name and dates

Then it asks about family, work, and what they loved, and writes a full draft.

First name

Last name

Date of birth (optional)

Date of passing (optional)

Location (optional)

The town they called home, or the location of passing.

Add a first and last name to begin.

Everything the free obituary generator includes

One place to write the obituary, share it with family, and keep it online. No separate tools, and nothing to pay before you begin.

About ten minutes, start to finish
The guided prompts do the organizing, so you can spend your time remembering rather than wrestling with wording.
A draft, not a blank page
Each prompt asks one simple question, and the writer turns your answers into a respectful, well-ordered obituary. You get full sentences to change, cut, or keep.
Publish it online
Put the obituary on an online memorial and send the link to anyone. Family can add photos, sign the guestbook, and read it from wherever they are. Publishing is free, no card is required, and the page stays online for good.
Ad-free and yours to keep
A memorial page carries no ads and stays online for good at no cost. An optional one-time $79 upgrade adds unlimited photos and private sharing whenever someone wants them. There is no subscription.

Why people choose the Lovekept writer

First draft in minutes
Outlines and examples below
Share the page by link
Photos and guestbook built in
No ads on any page
Free to keep, no subscription

How to write an obituary in four parts

Nearly every obituary is these four short pieces of writing, in this order. The writer above asks for the same things in plain language and assembles them for you.

Open with the announcement
Full name and the nickname everyone used, their age, the town they lived in, and the date they died. One or two sentences, so a reader knows straight away who this is about.
Tell the life story
Where they were born and raised, their schooling, their work or service, the marriage, the moves, and what they were known for. Two or three paragraphs is plenty.
Name the family
Who survives them and who went before, in the usual order: spouse, children, grandchildren, then siblings. Spell every name the way the family spells it.
Close with the service
Place, date, and time of the service or celebration of life, then where the family would like memorial gifts sent in place of flowers.

Would you rather fill in a blank? The outlines below lay out the same four parts with the gaps marked, ready to copy.

Obituary outlines you can copy

Three shapes that cover almost every notice. Copy one, replace the words in brackets, and you have a finished obituary. To print it with a photo and the service details, use the free obituary template.

Short obituary outline

One paragraph, close to the length a newspaper asks for.

[First name] [Last name], [age], of [city, state], died on [date of passing]. [He/She/They] was born on [date of birth] in [city, state] to [father's name] and [mother's name], and spent [number] years as a [occupation]. [He/She/They] is survived by [spouse's name], [children's names], and [number] grandchildren. A [funeral service / graveside service / celebration of life] will be held at [place] on [date] at [time]. In place of flowers, the family asks that gifts be made to [organization].

Standard obituary outline

Four paragraphs: the announcement, the life, the family, the service.

[First name] [Middle name] [Last name], [age], of [city, state], passed away on [date of passing] at [home / hospital / care facility]. [He/She/They] was surrounded by family. [First name] was born on [date of birth] in [city, state], the [oldest / middle / youngest] of [number] children of [father's name] and [mother's name]. [He/She/They] graduated from [school] in [year] and went on to [college, trade, military service, or first job]. [He/She/They] spent [number] years as a [occupation] at [employer], where [the one thing people remember about the work]. [He/She/They] married [spouse's name] on [date] in [city], and together they [built a home / raised a family / ran a business] in [city]. Away from work, [he/she/they] loved [hobby], [hobby], and [hobby], and was known for [a habit, a saying, or a kindness]. [First name] is survived by [spouse's name]; [children's names]; [number] grandchildren; and [siblings' names]. [He/She/They] was preceded in death by [names]. A [funeral service / memorial service] will be held at [place] on [date] at [time], with [visitation / burial / a reception] to follow. In place of flowers, the family suggests a gift to [organization], a cause close to [his/her/their] heart.

Celebration of life outline

For a family that wants warmth rather than formality.

[First name] [Last name] lived [number] full years and left us on [date of passing] in [city, state]. [He/She/They] would not have wanted a solemn notice, so here is what [he/she/they] loved instead: [three or four things]. Born [date of birth] in [city, state], [first name] spent [number] years [work, service, or the thing that filled the days], and the rest of the time [the thing that made them happiest]. Anyone who knew [him/her/them] will remember [a saying, a habit, or a standing invitation]. [He/She/They] leaves behind [spouse's name], [children's names], [number] grandchildren, and more friends than we can list. We are holding a celebration of life at [place] on [date] at [time]. Come as you are, bring a story, and wear [color] if you have it.

Obituary examples at three lengths

This is the tone and structure a generated draft follows. All three are sample writing about people we invented, and every line is yours to rewrite before you publish.

Ruth Alice Mercer

1936 to 2024 · a short obituary, about 80 words

Ruth Alice Mercer, 88, of Bell Buckle, Tennessee, died at home on March 2, 2024. She was born in Shelbyville in 1936, taught fourth grade for twenty-six years, and kept a jar of peppermints on her desk for every one of them. She is survived by her son, Daniel, her daughter, Peggy, and five grandchildren. A graveside service will be held at Hillcrest Cemetery on Saturday, March 9, at 11 a.m.

Alma Rosario Delgado

1950 to 2024 · a mid-length obituary, about 165 words

Alma Rosario Delgado, 74, passed away on the evening of June 18, 2024, at her home in Yuma, Arizona, with her three daughters beside her.

She was born in Nogales in 1950, the eldest of six, and came to Yuma at nineteen with one suitcase and a job waiting at a packing house. She married Efrain Delgado in 1972, and they raised Marisol, Teresa, and Lupita in the small blue house on Third Street that the family still calls home.

Alma cooked for anybody who came through the door, invited or not. She sewed her daughters' dresses, kept a garden that produced more chiles than five families could eat, and did not miss a grandchild's ball game in thirty years.

She is survived by her three daughters, nine grandchildren, and her sisters Carmen and Rosa. A rosary will be said at St. Francis of Assisi on Friday, June 28, at 6 p.m.

Walter James Coyle

1938 to 2023 · a full-length obituary, about 350 words

Walter James Coyle, called Wally by nearly everyone who knew him, died on the morning of October 3, 2023, at the age of 85, in the town of Cedar Falls, where he had lived for most of his life. His wife and both of his daughters were with him.

He was born on July 9, 1938, in Rockford, Illinois, the middle child of five. After four years in the Navy he came home, earned his teaching degree, and stood in front of a high school history class for thirty-two years. Former students still talk about how he could make a dry date feel like a story worth hearing.

Wally kept a workshop in the garage and a garden out back, and he was never happier than when he had sawdust on his hands or dirt under his nails. He married Helen in 1961, and the two of them spent sixty-two years building a quiet, steady life: Friday fish fries, road trips with no fixed plan, and a porch light he always left on for whoever might stop by.

He is survived by his wife, Helen, his daughters Karen and Diane, four grandchildren, and his younger brother, Raymond Coyle of Peoria. A service will be held at First Presbyterian Church on Saturday, October 14, at 10 a.m., with a reception in the church hall to follow.

The family suggests that any gifts in his memory go to the Cedar Falls Public Library, a place where Wally spent countless afternoons and where he believed anyone could learn to love reading.

What to include in an obituary and what to leave out

An obituary is a public document, so a little care about what goes in it protects the family later.

Include

Their full name, plus the nickname everyone actually used
Their age, and the dates of birth and of passing
The city and state they lived in
Immediate family: who survives them, and who went before
The shape of the life: work, service, faith, the things they were known for
What they loved doing, in specifics rather than adjectives
Service details: place, date, and time
Where the family would like memorial gifts or donations sent

Leave out

The street address of the family home
The full date of birth, if identity theft is a worry. The year alone, or the month and year, is enough, and the date fields above allow either
The cause of death, unless the family wants it shared
Anything the person kept private while they were living
Financial details, and the hours the house will sit empty during the service

The Lovekept obituary writer, part way through a draft

Publish the obituary online, free for good.

A newspaper obituary usually runs between $200 and $600, priced by the line, and a long notice with a photo can pass $1,000. You can post an obituary online for free here instead, on a memorial page that carries the photos, a guestbook, and one link that works for everyone you send it to. Publishing does not require a card, and the page stays online for good at no cost. An optional one-time $79 upgrade adds unlimited photos and private sharing.

One link, and the whole family is there
Send the memorial page to anyone, in any city or time zone. They can read the obituary, sign the guestbook, and add their own photos in a minute.
It has a permanent home online
A newspaper clipping yellows in a drawer. Here the obituary, the photos, and every message sit in one place that grandchildren can still open decades from now.

Start writing

What people ask us

How do I write an obituary?

Start with the basics: full name, dates, and hometown. Then add family, work, hobbies, and a few specific memories. The Lovekept writer takes those answers and returns a complete draft you can reword any way you want. It is free, and you can begin without an account.

What should an obituary include?

Most obituaries cover the person's full name, date and place of birth and passing, close family, their career or main pursuits, and details of any service. The tool asks for each of these one prompt at a time, so nothing important gets left out.

Can AI write an obituary?

Yes. Answer a short set of questions and the generator drafts a warm, respectful obituary from your details in a couple of minutes. It uses only what you provide and never invents facts, and you edit the result before it goes anywhere.

Is there a free obituary template?

Yes. Lovekept's free obituary template lets you fill in the blanks and print the obituary with a photo and the service details. This page also has three short outlines to copy, and the writer above fills the same structure in for you, so you get finished sentences instead of gaps.

Do I need an account to use the obituary writer?

No account is needed to start writing or to generate a draft. You create a free Lovekept account only when you are ready to save the obituary and publish it on a memorial page that family and friends can visit.

How much does it cost to publish an obituary?

A newspaper notice usually costs between $200 and $600, priced by the line or the column inch, and a long obituary with a photo can pass $1,000. On Lovekept, the writer is free, and you can publish the memorial page without paying or adding a card. It stays online for good at no cost. An optional one-time $79 upgrade adds unlimited photos and private sharing, with no subscription or automatic charge.

Where can I post an obituary online for free?

Right here. Write the obituary with the tool at the top of this page, then publish it free on a Lovekept memorial page with photos, a guestbook, and one link to share. No card is required, and the obituary and memorial stay online for good at no cost. Many funeral homes also host an obituary on their own site for a while as part of the arrangements.

How long should an obituary be?

Most run between 100 and 300 words, largely because newspapers charge by length. Online there is no limit, so families often publish a fuller version of 500 words or more and keep a short one for the paper. The writer can produce either, and the draft grows with how much you tell it.

What should you not include in an obituary?

Leave out the street address, financial details, and the hours the family home will be empty during the service. Many families also leave off the full date of birth and give the year only, which lowers the risk of identity theft. The cause of death is always optional, and nothing the person kept private needs to appear.

Obituary or memorial page, which am I making here?

Both, really. The obituary is the piece of writing, the account of a life. The memorial page is where that writing lives, next to a photo album, service details, and a guestbook for visitors to sign. Starting and publishing the page costs nothing. One optional $79 payment keeps every feature open permanently, and without it the page remains public and readable in a limited state after 30 days.

Put their story into words, free.

No account and nothing to pay to start writing. Write the obituary, then publish it in minutes on a memorial page that stays online for good at no cost.

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