Finding and Submitting Obituaries Through the Post Crescent
The Post Crescent in Appleton publishes obituaries for the Fox Valley region, covering Neenah, Menasha, Little Chute, and nearby communities in Winnebago and Outagamie counties. It is one of the main print and digital outlets for funeral announcements in this part of northeastern Wisconsin. If you need to place an obituary or research one that was previously published, there are a few things worth knowing before you start. Obituary placement through the Post Crescent works through a standard paid submission process. You contact their advertising or obituary desk, provide the biographical information, and pay according to the length and format you choose. The newspaper handles typesetting and runs the piece in both print and on their website at postcrescent.com. For someone who has managed this process more than once for family members, the main thing to understand upfront is that the cost adds up quickly if you are not careful about length and photo inclusion. A standard obituary that runs about two hundred words in print typically costs several hundred dollars. Adding a photograph increases the price further. The online version may have different pricing tiers. I learned this the hard way when my mother-in-law passed and the initial draft I submitted came back with a revised cost estimate that was nearly double what I expected. I had included three photos and a detailed career history section that I thought was essential. The workaround was simple: I trimmed the career section down to two sentences, kept one photo, and moved some personal details to the online-only version where there was more room and a lower per-word equivalent cost. That cut the print price by about forty percent and still preserved the important information.
Here is how the process actually works step by step. First, you call the Post Crescent obituary desk or visit their website to get current rates and deadlines. They usually require submissions by a certain time in the afternoon for next-day publication, though exact cutoff times can vary by day of the week and I would confirm that directly since it has shifted over the years. You can prepare the text yourself or work with the funeral home that is handling arrangements, since most funeral directors in the area already have established relationships with the paper and can submit on your behalf. Some people prefer this route because it removes a step from an already difficult time, but it also means you have less direct control over the final wording unless you communicate clearly with the funeral director beforehand. If you are researching a past obituary rather than placing a new one, the Post Crescent archives are searchable online. You can go to postcrescent.com and use their obituary search feature, entering the deceased person's name and filtering by date range. This works reasonably well for records from the last ten to fifteen years, though earlier records may require a visit to the physical newspaper archives or a request through the library system. The Neonabec Public Library and the Winnebago County Historical Society both maintain local obituary collections that can fill gaps. I needed to track down a great-uncle's obituary from the late 1990s and the online search only returned a fragment. I ended up going to the local library reference desk and pulling the microfilm directly, which took about twenty minutes and gave me the complete original text including the names of surviving relatives that the online snippet had omitted. One counter-intuitive detail that many people miss is that the Post Crescent sometimes runs abbreviated versions of obituaries in print while publishing the full text only online. This is not arbitrary. The newspaper balances ad revenue considerations with community service, and longer obituaries get truncated based on available column space, especially during busy periods like late December or around holiday weekends. If you want the complete version to appear in print, you generally need to ensure the total word count fits within their standard column width for that day's edition, which tends to be tighter than you might assume. Another practical consideration is that biographical accuracy matters more than people expect. I once saw an obituary published with the wrong middle initial for the deceased, which caused a noticeable amount of confusion among extended family members who were already dealing with grief. Getting the full legal name, correct dates, and accurate surviving family member listings right the first time saves everyone from having to request corrections, which the paper will accommodate but which is an unnecessary burden during an already stressful period.
There are legitimate limitations to using the Post Crescent as your primary obituary source. The reach is regional, not statewide or national. If your family is spread across multiple states or countries, some relatives may never see the print edition and relying solely on the paper can create uneven awareness. The digital presence helps, but older generations in the area still primarily read the morning paper and may not check the website regularly. For broader distribution, you might consider supplementing the Post Crescent placement with notices in other local papers or through social media channels, though that requires coordinating multiple submissions and additional fees. The cost structure is another real constraint. Not every family can absorb a multi-hundred-dollar obituary placement, and the pressure to include extensive content can feel overwhelming when you are already managing funeral arrangements, estate logistics, and emotional strain. A practical compromise is to place a shorter, information-focused notice in the print edition and then publish a fuller memorial piece on a personal website, a family blog, or even a private Facebook page where you can include photos, stories, and guest comments without extra charge. For current pricing, submission guidelines, and the online search tool, you would visit the Post Crescent website directly at postcrescent.com or call their main office in Appleton. The obituary desk hours and any seasonal changes to deadline policies are best confirmed by phone rather than assumed from outdated online information, since newsroom procedures do shift occasionally. The key is to plan ahead, write the text before you need it, get the facts verified, and be realistic about what fits in print versus what lives online.
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