My mother died this week.
I have written about how not to get guilt-manipulated by a funeral home. Read it here.
It turns out that the local newspaper wants a piece of the action. It charges $300 for an obituary. That’s $1 a word.
Don’t pay for this. If you cannot get it printed for free, write it and post it online. Send the link to your family’s mailing list. Post it on your family’s website. Then send the link to your church. Your church can then send it out.
You should have a family website/blog. Use WordPress.com. It’s free.
You can create an obituary site. Post photos. Post mementos. A stock newspaper obituary is tossed out the same day it is run. A website is permanent.
In any case, who reads newspaper obituaries? Hardly anyone under age 80.
Post the blog’s link to the obituary. Post it on Facebook. Post it on Twitter. You do not need a local newspaper to get the news to interested readers. The Web is bankrupting newspapers. Don’t slow down this socially beneficial process by paying for an obituary.
(For the rest of my article, click the link.)