Obituary Publication

The Ottawa Herald will publish a free obituary for persons who:

• Have lived in Franklin County or within The Herald's distribution area within the past 10 years;
• Lived in the area for 10 or more years at any time;
• Have immediate relatives in the area.

All deaths and obituary information must be provided by, or confirmed by, a licensed funeral home.

What is included in a free obituary?

All death notices, brief notices that do not include service details, are free. Additionally, free obituaries with service details also include the name and address of the deceased, birth date and place, parents, marriages, immediate family survivors and immediate family members who preceded the deceased in death. Free obituaries also include the deceased's most recent or significant employment, basic military service information and the highest level of education completed.

Who are immediate family members?

Immediate family members are members of the nuclear family — parents and children, including step-children and step-parents and grandparents and step-grandparents.

Can more be said?

Yes. Families, working with their funeral homes, may choose to publish expanded information and formats for obituaries. Additional information may be added for $10 per category. The Herald will take the information and write it up in newspaper style. Additional categories, or more information may be added to the following categories of information in an obituary:

• One-half column photo of deceased
• Memberships
• Military honors, years of service, battles fought
• Hobbies and pastimes
• Awards
• Additional survivors, beyond immediate family members
• Additional preceded in death names
• Residential history
• Years of marriage
• Educational history, achievements
• Patriotic flag graphic

A member of The Ottawa Herald staff will work with families' funeral directors to determine appropriate charges.

What if I want to say it my way?

Families, working with their funeral homes, may submit an obituary written in the style and manner desired, within the bounds of taste and publishing law. Such obituaries are published at the rate of $9.18 per column-inch. A member of The Ottawa Herald staff will work with families' funeral directors to determine appropriate charges. As for all obituaries, a one-half column photo or a patriotic flag graphic is an additional $10 charge each.

Can I publish an obituary online and in print?

Yes. All obituaries are published in the print edition of The Ottawa Herald first. All are then published at no additional cost, if any, on The Ottawa Herald Web site at www.ottawaherald.com. Obituaries with photos include online publication of the photo in color at no additional cost.