Understanding Death Notices at the Tri-City Herald
Death notices in the Tri-City Herald serve a function that goes beyond just publishing a name and a date. They are the community record of who passed away, where the service will be, and who survives them. For families in the Richland, Kennewick, and Pasco area, placing one in the Herald is often the first step in letting people know what happened. I have helped several families work through this process over the years, and the pattern is usually the same. People underestimate how much they need to get right the first time, and then they spend hours on the phone trying to fix mistakes afterward. Here is how it actually works. A death notice is different from an obituary. An obituary is a full narrative written by the family or a journalist. A death notice is a compact announcement — usually paid, with space limits and a cost per line or per word. The Herald charges by the length, and the longer you make it, the more expensive it gets. That is the main practical concern.
I ran into a specific issue last year where a family had already printed programs for the funeral service that included an incorrect date for the notice publication. By the time they called the Herald, the notice had already run. There was no way to go back and fix it in the current edition. They ended up having to pay for a second placement just to correct the details. The workaround is simple: confirm the exact wording with the funeral director and a second family member before you submit anything. Take a screenshot of the proof the Herald sends you and verify every date, name spelling, and phone number against your own notes. It takes three minutes and saves you from paying double. The Herald's death notice submission process has moved mostly online in recent years. You can fill out a form on their website, upload the details, and receive a proof within a few hours. During weekdays, turnaround is usually under four hours. Over weekends it stretches to twelve to eighteen hours depending on staffing. If you need something published urgently, call the classifieds desk directly instead of relying on the online form. I learned that the hard way when a submitter's online form got queued behind weekend backlog and nearly missed the Monday paper deadline. One counter-intuitive thing most people miss: you do not need to include the full obituary text in a death notice. The Herald allows you to reference the full obituary that runs elsewhere, whether that is in the same paper or on a funeral home website. This means you can keep the death notice short and cheap, then direct readers to a longer piece for the full biography. Families who compress everything into one notice often pay 40 to 60 percent more than they need to.
Another nuance is the surviving family section. The Herald typically lists immediate survivors — spouse, children, grandchildren — but does not require every single relative. I have seen families accidentally list ex-spouses, deceased relatives with current dates, and even pets in the survivor line because they pasted from an old draft. Always check the survivor list against current facts. A deceased person listed as surviving is a common error that readers notice immediately and that looks careless.
Get the Full Details
How to Place a Death Notice
The basic steps are straightforward: You will need the full legal name of the deceased, date of death, age, city of residence, a brief biographical line or two, service details (date, time, location), and the name of the funeral home handling arrangements. If there is a donation preference instead of flowers, include that too. Keep a written copy of everything before you start filling out forms. The Herald offers an online submission portal on their website, a phone line for urgent requests, and in-person drop-off at their office in Richland. Online is the default and works well if you have time for the standard turnaround. Phone is faster and lets you clarify things in real time with a staff member. I prefer phone submissions when the family is under stress because you can catch errors on the spot instead of waiting for a proof that might have the same mistake twice.
The Herald will send you a digital proof before it goes to print. Read it slowly. Check the spelling of every name, including middle names and initials. Verify the service address, especially if the venue has moved recently. Some churches and funeral homes have changed locations in the Tri-Cities area over the past few years, and outdated addresses appear in submitted notices more often than you would expect. If you spot an error, call the classifieds desk immediately. Do not reply only through the online proofing system if the deadline is within a few hours — they may not see your message in time. Payment is typically taken over the phone or through the online portal. You will receive a confirmation number and the expected publication date. Save that confirmation. If the notice does not appear in the printed paper or on the Herald website on the date you were promised, call the classifieds desk with your confirmation number and they will investigate. Most issues are resolved within the same business day. The most frequent mistake is assuming the notice will automatically appear online. The Herald does publish death notices on their website, but not every submission makes it to the digital version automatically. If you want online visibility, confirm with the staff that your notice will be posted. Some families assume this is included and are surprised when it is not.
Another issue is timing around holidays. The Herald runs a special holiday schedule during Thanksgiving week, Christmas week, and New Year's. Deadlines shift earlier and staffing is reduced. If you are placing a notice during those windows, assume the turnaround will be slower and plan accordingly. I once had a family submit on a Thursday before Christmas and expected Saturday publication. It ran Monday instead because the Friday and Saturday editions had earlier cutoffs and reduced staff for the holiday. Word choice matters more than people think. The Herald has editors who will rephrase or trim language that is overly promotional, vague, or contains information that cannot be verified in a short notice. Phrases like "lovingly remembered by all who knew her" are fine, but detailed life summaries belong in an obituary, not a death notice. Keep it factual and concise.
What Death Notices Accomplish
A properly placed death notice in the Tri-City Herald reaches a broad local audience. It alerts people who knew the deceased but may not have been reached through personal contact. It provides service information to anyone looking for it. It creates a permanent record in the newspaper archive that families can reference later. And it fulfills a cultural expectation in the Tri-Cities community that these notices exist. The cost range varies depending on length and layout, but a standard death notice with basic details usually runs between eighty and two hundred dollars. Longer notices with full survivor lists and multiple service locations can exceed three hundred dollars. Budget for this early so there is no last-minute scrambling.
When a Death Notice Is Not Enough
Sometimes a death notice alone does not meet the family's needs. If the deceased had a long career, significant community involvement, or a story that deserves fuller coverage, a separate obituary or a commemorative feature is the better path. The Herald accepts obituary submissions alongside death notices, and the editorial staff can help you decide which route makes sense. I recommend treating them as complementary rather than redundant — a short death notice for the practical details and a full obituary for the biography. For families who want the widest possible reach, combining a Herald death notice with social media posts and funeral home website listings covers both the traditional readership and the younger demographic that may not read the print edition regularly.
