Obituaries in New Bedford, MA | SouthCoastToday.com (2024)

FAQs

How do I find an obituary for a specific person in MA? ›

Obituaries in Massachusetts and other parts of New England can generally be found in the local town or county papers. Many obituaries for Boston and the surrounding area can be found in: Boston Athenaeum. Index of Obituaries in Boston Newspapers, 1704-1800.

Most of the time, if an obituary is available online, you will be able to find it with a Google search. However, if you still fail to see the results you want, consider looking through the websites of local funeral homes or newspapers. Unfortunately, you may have to pay to access content in a local online paper.

Legacy.com hosts obituaries for more than three-quarters of the 100 largest newspapers in the U.S., by circulation. The site attracts more than 30 million unique visitors per month and is among the top 40 trafficked websites in the world.

Massachusetts State Law: "Chapter 46: Return and Registry of Births, Marriages, and Deaths" states death records are public records. "Death certificates are public record, so any member of the public can obtain a copy at the city or town clerk's office where the death occurred."

Usually people include names of a spouse, parents, children (with any spouse's names listed in parenthesis), grandchildren and great grandchildren. You may choose to list grandchildren and great grandchildren individually by name, or simply include the number of each.

Read The Paper or Watch The Local News

If you receive a physical newspaper, review the obituaries section to see who recently passed. Searching for someone who died more than 30 days ago? Turn to sites like Google News Archives, US News Archives, or International News Archives.

A basic online search may reveal an obituary or information about a memorial service. Type the person's name and words like “death,” “obituary,” or “memorial” and any personal information you may have, such as their date of birth or names of close relatives who could be mentioned as one of their surviving kin.

MyObits: Obituary Listings on the App Store.

Obituary Example: Announcing the Funeral

[Full name], [age], of [where they lived], sadly left us on [date of death] due to [cause of death]. They leave behind [list of surviving family members]. A service will be held in their honor at [time] on [date] at [location].

What is the appropriate length for an obituary? ›

Most obituaries are around 200 words long, which means using as few words as possible to avoid going over the word count. It's a good idea to make a plan before you write to ensure you stick to the most important points about the person who died.

In most cases, obituaries do not include the names or nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins, or in-laws unless they were close to the deceased. Grandchildren are sometimes listed but often numbered instead (…he leaves behind 5 grandchildren).

How to list a deceased spouse in the obituary. If the spouse passed away after the decedent, you can use a variant of the following language: "Brian was married to Janet, who has since passed."

This reading may be performed by a family member, a close friend, or a designated individual. The purpose of the obituary reading is to share important details about the deceased person's life, allowing everyone present to reflect on their accomplishments, relationships, and contributions.