Writing Obituaries for the Rochester Democrat And Chronicle
The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle has been publishing obituaries in print and online for well over a century. When someone in the greater Rochester area passes, families typically submit the notice to the newspaper either through their website or by calling the obituary desk. The process is straightforward, but there are a few details people consistently get wrong, and I have seen the same mistakes repeat across thousands of submissions over the years. The modern obituary is no longer just a brief death announcement with a listing of survivors. Most families now want a fuller narrative, and the Democrat and Chronicle supports that with both print placement and a permanent online page. The online version can include photos, guest books, and links to memorial funds, which changes how you approach writing the content. Here is what actually happens when you submit an obituary to the Democrat and Chronicle. You provide the basic information: full legal name, age, city of residence, date of death, and a list of immediate family members who survived or predeceased the person. From there, you can choose a short formal notice or a longer biographical piece. The newspaper charges by the word or by the line for print, and the online extension is usually included or available as an add-on depending on the current pricing structure. As of my last check, a standard print notice runs about thirty dollars for the first few lines and then additional charges apply for extra content. Online features like photo galleries cost extra. These numbers shift periodically, so you should verify current rates directly with the paper before committing.
I once worked through a submission where the family had gathered detailed information from multiple branches of a large extended family, and the resulting draft was nearly two thousand words. The editor on the other end had to trim it significantly to fit the allocated space. The workaround was simple: we moved the fuller life story to the online-only version and kept the print notice concise. This is a common arrangement, and it is worth planning your content with that split in mind from the start rather than trying to force everything into one format. One thing many submitters do not realize is that the Democrat and Chronicle typically requires verification before publication. They will contact listed survivors or the funeral home to confirm the details. If you list a phone number for the family, expect a call. If you route everything through a funeral director, the verification step is usually faster because their staff handles these submissions regularly. Using a funeral home as the point of contact cuts down on back-and-forth and reduces the chance of errors slipping through. Survivor listings are another area where people routinely make mistakes. The standard format lists the surviving spouse first, then children in order, followed by grandchildren and sometimes great-grandchildren. Parents and siblings who survive are included as well. People often forget to mention those who predeceased the person, and while this is not required, many families choose to include that information for completeness. The paper does not correct omissions after publication, so if a child or grandchild is accidentally left out, there is no easy fix. Take extra time with the family tree section before you hit submit.
Photographs are handled separately from the text submission. You upload them through the newspaper's online portal, and they must meet specific resolution and file size requirements. A common problem is submitting images that are too small or in the wrong format, which results in delays while the paper asks for a replacement. Use JPEG or PNG files, and aim for at least one high-resolution portrait along with any additional photos you want included. The online gallery can hold multiple images, but each one costs extra, so be selective. The guest book feature on the online obituary page is something I see families underutilize. It allows friends and acquaintances who may not have been close enough to send a card to leave a brief message of condolence. For larger families or well-connected individuals, this section can accumulate hundreds of entries over the weeks following the death. It provides a useful archive, but it also means someone needs to monitor the page for inappropriate comments. The paper generally moderates submissions, but it is not foolproof, and offensive material occasionally gets through before it is caught. Timing matters more than most people expect. The Democrat and Chronicle typically runs obituaries within one to two business days of receipt, provided all information is complete. If you are working with a tight timeline because of a scheduled service, you need to factor in weekends and holidays. A Friday evening submission will likely not appear until Tuesday at the earliest. Rush processing is sometimes available for an additional fee, but it is not guaranteed and depends on the newsroom's current capacity.
Get the Full Details
For those navigating grief while handling these logistics, the digital option provides some practical advantages. You can draft the obituary at any hour, save progress, and revise it multiple times before submission. The online system lets you see a preview of how the notice will appear, which eliminates a lot of the guesswork. You can also share the link directly with people who receive the paper infrequently or who live outside the local area. This is especially relevant for Rochester-area families with relatives spread across the country, since a physical newspaper subscription does not reach them. One counter-intuitive point about obituary writing is that less detail is often better for the print version. Readers scanning the newspaper are looking for the essential facts: who died, when, where the services will be, and where to send flowers or donations. Biographical flourishes belong online. I have seen experienced writers produce print notices that read like short stories, and those pieces invariably get cut down severely during editing. Start with a tight draft and expand only for the web version if you want more depth. If you need to access past obituaries from the Democrat and Chronicle, the newspaper maintains an online archive that is searchable by name, date, and location. This is useful for genealogical research or for locating information about earlier family members. Some older records may require a subscription or a fee to view beyond the basic listing, but recent obituaries are generally freely accessible. The archive is maintained by the Gannett network, which owns the Democrat and Chronicle, and the search interface has improved significantly over the past several years.
The bottom line is that submitting an obituary to the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle is a managed process with clear guidelines. The main pitfalls are incomplete survivor information, poor photo quality, and unrealistic expectations about turnaround time. Handle those three areas carefully, and the rest of the process moves smoothly. Grief is difficult enough without adding administrative friction to the equation, and a well-prepared submission makes the experience considerably less burdensome for everyone involved.
