Southern Obituaries
 

A co-worker's father died last week and someone at work send out his obituary. They live in NC and the obituary was so beautiful, nothing like what we have in PA. It was very eloquent and almost like a story of his life, unlike in PA where it's very cut and dry. I know southern engagement and wedding announcements are different, are obituaries different, too?

It really depends on the family and WHERE you're from. I am from a small town in North Carolina. We have ROOM in our obituary section for long memorials because there's not much other news! Plus, people in the town are more likely to know this person and be interested in their life's story. I know exactly what type of obituary you mean, and I would say that it is NOT standard. The family chooses to pay a larger amount of money to the newspaper to print the more in-depth memorial. But perhaps it occurs here more often than there? I would not be surprised if it was also common throughout smaller towns in the Midwest as well. I don't think it's a Southern thing exclusively, but I'm not sure.

there was one in the paper in VA that was 2 columns long (the entire length of the paper), and I was about to die laughing when I read it. It was definitely a very country but hilarious obituary. I felt kind of bad for laughing at first, but I think the person had written it himself before he died.

Other than that, obituaries are usually half a newspaper sheet in length and eloquent.

This is true for my town, as well. I'd be willing to bet that it's a small-town where everyone knows everyone else thing more than a regional one.

It's definitely a small-town thing - if you pay for placement in the Milwaukee paper, you get the standard paragraph of "Mrs. Susan Soandso, of Wherever, WI, passed away Sunday at the age of 91 Susan was a graduate of Marquette University and dedicated her life to volunteer work at the Milwaukee Rescue Mission. She is survived by Mr. Joe So and So, 11 daughters, and 19 grandchildren, and was preceded in death by her parents Amy and Bob."

The longer papers will give you life stories. GPBoy's looked like somebody took his resume and turned it into a newspaper article.