Writing Obituaries That Actually Get Run
I spent years working with the Montana Standard obituary process, which means I have seen every variation of mistake possible. The format itself is deceptively simple, but getting it right the first time saves everyone a headache. The paper charges by the line or by the inch depending on layout decisions made weeks in advance, so length matters more than people realize. The Montana Standard has maintained a consistent obituary format for decades. That consistency is partly why families keep coming back and why the archive reads like a coherent record rather than a chaotic collection. The standard includes specific sections for vital statistics, surviving family, service details, and donations. Everything else is optional. I see families try to cram in career achievements, military service, hobbies, and a full biography all at once. The editors will cut what they do not need, and they often cut the parts that matter most to the family because they do not know what those parts are. The actual process starts when you submit the obituary to the funeral home or directly to the newspaper. Most submissions go through the funeral director, who forwards them to the Standard's obituary desk. Processing time runs about two business days for standard submission. Rush processing is available but costs extra and only applies if the death occurred within the past forty-eight hours. I have watched families miss that window because they assumed same-day publication was guaranteed. It is not.
One thing most people get wrong about the Montana Standard format is the Survived By section. The standard order is spouse first, then children in birth order, then grandchildren, then parents if living, then siblings. I once had a family submit the section with siblings listed before grandchildren because the grandmother insisted that was how her family worked. The editor changed it back to the standard order without asking. That is just how it works. The Standard does not negotiate the structure. You submit to their format or you accept that they will reorder it. The pricing structure changed a few years ago. What used to be a flat fee for a set word count became a tiered system based on total lines. A standard obituary runs between seventy-five and one hundred twenty lines in the print edition. Anything over that gets bumped to online-only unless you pay the premium rate. I recommend writing to about one hundred lines and letting the editor trim if needed rather than aiming for a longer draft. The editor trims aggressively. They remove duplicate names, shorten lengthy lists of survivors to "numerous grandchildren," and cut service venue addresses down to city only. Your obituary will be shorter than your first draft. Accept that. Here is a practical edge case I ran into recently that nobody warns you about. If the deceased served in the military and you want to include branch, rank, and years of service, you need to provide the DD-214 or have the funeral director verify it before submission. I had a family include "Vietnam Veteran" without documentation, and the Standard removed that line entirely during editing. They will not print military honors without verification. It is a policy, not a suggestion. The workaround is simple. Print the relevant sections of the DD-214 and send them with the obituary submission, or have the funeral home attach it to their digital file. That takes about three minutes and prevents the edit.
The online version operates differently from print. The Standard's website runs longer obituaries than the paper, sometimes up to two hundred lines. The digital format also allows photo uploads at no additional charge, while the print edition requires a separate photo submission fee. I always advise families to write one master draft and then submit both versions simultaneously. That way you control the content across both platforms instead of hoping the editor makes the same choices twice. She does not. Different editors work print and digital, and they have different trimming habits. There is a significant limitation to the Montana Standard approach that people overlook. The paper has a hard cutoff for local coverage. If the deceased did not live in western Montana or have strong ties to the region, the obituary may be rejected or redirected to a different section. I worked with a family whose mother died in Arizona but had grown up in Missoula. The Standard accepted the obituary because of the Missoula connection, but the publication date was delayed because they needed to verify residency history. The workaround was pulling a decade-old utility bill or property record to confirm the connection. Without that, the obituary sat in limbo for four days. If you are dealing with a non-local death or a complex family situation like blended families, estranged relatives, or surviving spouses from multiple marriages, the Standard's format struggles. The Survived By section was not designed for unusual family structures. I have seen editors simply omit whole categories rather than ask questions, which causes real friction. In those cases, I recommend submitting the obituary directly through the newspaper's editorial desk instead of through a funeral home. The editorial staff is more willing to make accommodations if you call and explain the situation before submission. The funeral home route is faster but less flexible. Fast does not always mean better.
Get the Full Details
The archive quality of the Montana Standard obituaries is genuinely strong. The newspaper has digitized back issues going well beyond fifty years, and the search functionality is decent if you know the person's name and approximate date. I use this archive regularly for genealogy work and historical research. The consistency of the format across decades makes cross-referencing relatively straightforward. You can trace family connections across three or four generations by reading successive obituaries in the same family line. For anyone currently preparing an obituary under these standards, my recommendation is straightforward. Write the full version first without worrying about length. Then cut it down to one hundred lines using only your own judgment before submitting. Include all required documentation upfront, especially military records and proof of local ties. Submit through the editorial desk if the family situation is complicated. And keep a copy of the final published version for your records, because the online link can change or be removed if the paper decides to prune old content. They do that occasionally. It happens without notice. The Montana Standard obituary process is not perfect, but it is reliable when you understand how it works. The standard format exists for a reason. It produces clear, consistent records that families and researchers can actually use. The pain comes from submitting things the wrong way or expecting the editors to bend the format to fit your preferences. They will not. Work with the system and the result is usually fine. Fight the system and you end up with a shorter, edited version you did not approve.
