GIVING NOTIFICATION OF THE FUNERAL

Normally a funeral takes place within a week of a person’s death, though it may take place later if, for example, a post mortem is needed, or one or more of the chief mourners is currently out of the country.

Relations or close friends who have indicated a wish to attend the funeral will need to be contacted. Nowadays the news is more likely to be communicated by phone or email, but if there is enough time it is quite a nice idea to send a note through the post, perhaps with a sketch map showing where the funeral is going to take place if they are unfamiliar with the area.

In order to convey news of the death and the funeral to the world at large, it is customary to place an announcement in one or two newspapers along the lines of the examples given in this book. If you need advice on the wording of the announcement, the classified department of the newspaper concerned, or the funeral director, will be able to help.

You would normally put a death announcement in a newspaper circulating in the locality where the deceased lived or used to live (see Figure 8). If the deceased was known nationally, a death notice could be placed in one or more of the national dailies, but this will be more expensive. The funeral director will be able to make the arrangements for you. If you contact the paper or papers yourself, you will be expected to produce a copy of the death certificate before the details can be published.

If the deceased was well known in the local community, it is a good idea to inform the newsroom of the local newspaper, which may wish to report the death or publish an obituary. If you can provide any details of the deceased’s life, or can put

the editor in touch with someone who can, this will reduce the potential for errors.