The obituary intake and publication checklist

At the arrangement conference

• Confirm the full legal name and every spelling out loudRead the name back letter by letter, including maiden and middle names, and write down the nickname the family actually used. Good looks like a name on the page that matches the death certificate worksheet exactly.
• Record the dates and places as the family states themTake the date of birth, place of birth, and date of death, and note anything the family is unsure about. Anything uncertain gets verified before publication rather than guessed at.
• Build the survivor list in the order the family wants it readAsk directly about stepchildren, former spouses, and predeceased family, and write the order on the page rather than reordering it later. Good looks like a list nobody has to phone you about.
• Collect the photographs before the family leaves the buildingTake prints for scanning or have the family send phone images from the table while they are still with you. Chasing photographs afterward is the single most common reason a page sits unpublished.
• Fix service times, venues, and any streaming detailWrite the visitation, service, and committal with full venue names and street addresses, plus the officiant. Note whether the family wants a stream link on the page.
• Name the one family member who approves the copyGet the name, cell number, and email of the single person who signs off. Good looks like one approver, not four relatives sending edits from three states.

Before you publish

• Check every name against the death certificate worksheetCompare the decedent name, parent names, and spouse name field by field. A mismatch here surfaces later at the registrar and at the bank, so catch it now.
• Call the church, cemetery, or hall to confirm the timesConfirm the service time with the officiant and the opening and closing time with the cemetery. Good looks like a page that never contradicts what the venue tells a caller.
• Read the obituary aloud once, slowlyReading aloud catches the doubled word, the wrong pronoun, and the sentence that reads coldly. It takes two minutes and it is the highest value proofing step you have.
• Decide what stays off a public pageLeave out the family home address, exact times the house will be empty, and anything the family flagged as private. Note that decision in the file so the next director does not add it back.
• Confirm the memorial gift instruction and the charity spellingGet the exact organization name and, where the family has one, the mailing address or donation page. A misspelled charity name sends gifts nowhere.
• Get written approval from the named family contactSend the draft or the unlisted page link and wait for a written yes by text or email. Good looks like an approval you can point to if a relative objects later.

Publishing and sharing

• Publish the page and open it on a phoneCheck the photo gallery, the service times, and the share preview on a phone screen, since that is where almost every relative will read it. Fix anything that wraps badly before you send the link.
• Send the share link to the family contact firstLet the approver see the live page before anyone else does, and ask them to forward it to relatives. Good looks like the family sharing your link rather than screenshots.
• Match the newspaper notice to the published pageIf a paid notice is running, make sure the copy, the times, and the survivor list agree with the page word for word. Two versions in circulation guarantees a phone call.
• Turn on condolence review and name who watches itDecide which staff member releases messages and how often they check during the visitation days. Good looks like nothing reaching a grieving family unread.
• Send the link to the clergy, the veterans group, and the floristAnyone who needs the service schedule should get the link rather than a retyped time. That is how you stop a fourth version of the schedule from appearing.

After the service

• Post the final corrections within a dayFix any name spelling, add a survivor who was missed, and correct the interment location if it changed. Families notice these long after the week is over.
• Save the photo gallery for the familyGive the family a way to download the images they provided along with anything added during the services. Good looks like a family who never has to ask twice.
• Decide whether condolences stay openSome families want the page open for months and some want it closed after the burial. Ask, then set it and note the choice in the file.
• File the approved copy with the case recordKeep the approved obituary text, the approver name, and the approval message with the case file. That record answers most complaints before they become anything more.