Writing Obituaries That Actually Work in the St. Point Journal
I spent years handling obituary submissions for the St. Point Journal. Most families submit something they pulled from a template found online, and then we spend three phone calls clarifying dates, survivors, and service details. It is slower than it needs to be. I learned to handle the process differently after a few years of doing this. The most important thing people miss is that the newspaper does not just want a summary of a life. They want something that satisfies legal requirements while remaining readable for readers who actually knew the person. Getting both at once takes a specific approach.
St Point Journal Obits Honoring Legacies Navigating Loss With Dignity And Precision
This is how you actually prepare an obituary that meets their standards and honors the person properly. Start by gathering the hard facts before you write a single narrative sentence. Full legal name, date of birth, date of death, exact cause if the family wants it disclosed, and complete survivor list including predeceased relatives. The St. Point Journal requires survivors to be listed in a specific order: surviving spouse first, then children in age order, then grandchildren, then parents if applicable. I have seen submissions returned because the order was wrong. The layout team is strict about this. After the facts come the biographical content. Keep it between 150 and 400 words. Anything shorter reads like a form. Anything longer gets cut or incurs overage charges that run roughly $15 to $25 per extra line depending on current rates. Call the business office to confirm exact pricing before submitting because these change annually.
One detail that trips people up every time is the funeral home attribution. The journal requires the name and contact information of the funeral home handling arrangements. If the family is using a local home, include it. If they are handling things privately, you can note that services are private but you still need to provide a contact for media inquiries. I had a case once where a family omitted the funeral home entirely because they wanted no outside involvement. We resolved it by listing aPO box address through the journal itself for any follow-up. It was a workaround that saved the submission.
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Common Mistakes That Delay Publication
The biggest issue I encountered repeatedly was incomplete surviving family information. Someone will list children but forget to mention a spouse who is also a survivor, or they will omit grandchildren when the deceased was known as a grandparent figure in the community. These are not just editorial preferences. Readers notice omissions, and families sometimes contest corrections after publication. Always ask the immediate family to review the complete survivor list before you send anything in. Another frequent problem is using titles incorrectly. Reverend, Doctor, Captain, Colonel — these matter to families and they matter to the typesetting process. If the deceased held a title, verify the correct usage. I once saw a retired Army sergeant listed as a general because a family member assumed rank based on years of service rather than actual rank achieved. Getting that wrong is unnecessary.
A Counter-Intuitive Approach
Most people think an obituary should focus on achievements and accomplishments. The ones that resonate most with readers and photograph well in print actually lead with personal detail. What made this person recognizable to their neighbors. A hobby, a habit, a favorite place, the way they showed up for people. The factual framework still matters, but the human element is what gets read and remembered. Here is a practical method that works well. Draft the obituary in two parts. Write the biographical section first with dates, places, education, career, and survivors. Then write a separate paragraph capturing personality and community presence. Combine them afterward with the personal section opening the piece. This structure gives the journal everything they need while ensuring the human element is front and center.
What This Approach Cannot Do
The St. Point Journal has space limitations. Some lengthy careers or large families will require cuts regardless of how well you write the piece. If the deceased had a particularly extensive professional history spanning multiple decades and organizations, you may need to make deliberate choices about what stays and what goes. There is no way around that constraint except working with the editor beforehand to understand your word allowance. Additionally, the journal does not accept submissions through email in most cases. You typically need to call the business office to arrange placement or drop off printed copy at their main desk. Online submission portals are being introduced gradually but are not universally available. This means you cannot simply draft and submit from home on a Sunday evening if the deadline is Monday. Plan accordingly.
Final Practical Notes
Submit your obituary at least 48 hours before the desired publication date. Rush fees apply for same-day or next-day requests and they are significant. Proofread everything twice. Then have someone who did not read the first draft read it aloud to catch errors your brain will auto-correct past. Spelling mistakes in names are the kind of error that causes real friction for grieving families. The process is straightforward once you understand the requirements. The trick is knowing which requirements exist before you encounter them the hard way.
