My mom's obit was not very long. The Pensacola News Journal charged us almost $600! It ran for only 2 days.
Maybe other newspapers don't do that. I really think they should think about what they are doing. We were not given a guideline as to how many words for what price either.
yeah it shocked me too, I wasnt really thinking of it as a classified ad you know. We just did the short here as he only lived here 6 months and it still was 120. I blocked out what the PA papers charged, the funeral home handled it.
Our local papers publish info given to them by the funeral homes as a free service (info given to them by you, the family). There is also an option of paying the paper for a more elaborate obit, with a picture included, but it is a ridiculously expensive option when you've already had a free one.
Unfortunately death and burial ain't cheap. When my MIL passed way 4 years ago, the funeral home told us we had to buy a casket for the viewing and service--even though she was to be cremated. We paid $700 for a "cheap" casket. My uncle had been cremated a few years before and they just laid him on a gurney type device lined with a sheet and a few pillows, free of charge . I think the death business just preys upon people and their emotions. Shame on them!
I don't remember (or know?) how much they charged for the obituary when my dad passed last year (on my birthday). We had an excellent funeral home for him, and things were relatively inexpensive, but that's because the funeral home owner was a family friend. However, there were so many expenses that I wouldn't have even considered, even considering that he was cremated. We didn't need anything for the viewing, since he was cremated. There was a service, but no viewing. At least it is a one time expense. I think that funerals occur when money is considered very unimportant for people who are thinking how much more important family and health is than money. I know that each time a friend or family member passes, I find myself thinking that money is so unimportant relative to other concerns, and I'm willing to spend money for things I normally wouldn't.
It is outrageous that they charge families for obituaries like that! I could see charging extra for maybe adding a picture or a flag next to a veteran's name, but a family obit? Just ridiculous.
Obits here are also free. Now I don't know if they charge for the picture, but my aunts had my grandma's pic put in hers just this past April. However...
Grandma and grandpa both had prepaid burials/funerals. But the funeral home they paid through had sold off to someone else. DURING the VIEWING!!! the director approached my aunts and told them that the funerals now cost more and so grandma's was thousands more than what she'd paid!!! So they took grandpa's prepaid and applied it to hers. My aunts are ballistic to say the least. One aunt, who gets things done, has written the state board who licenses these guys, the papers, etc. And...she KNOWS people. This guy is going to end up losing his license. He wrote her a nasty letter after the board contacted him and she's out for blood. You don't mess with her. And he picked the wrong family. I wonder how many others he's done this to?
The problem here is, the lady who USED to own the home, has been burying our family members for many years. She's a friend of the family. This director told them she was in a home and could no longer be contacted. So...they asked her relative down in FL where my aunt lives. The guy LIED, yet again. Seedy to say the least.
What newspapers charge for obits is obscene
. I think the death business just preys upon people and their emotions. Shame on them!
