Of course the Sentinel wants to tell stories about what’s going on in town, what’s happened, what’s coming up, what government and businesses are doing that interests or may affect people. The staff depends on the community to share information and opinions so that we can tell all those stories.
It’s the same when a member of the community dies. And it’s even more important at those times to tell the person’s story so that friends and family, acquaintances and even strangers can read and remember the person’s contributions to the community and to lives of others.
It’s a responsibility we take seriously, particularly in a small town.
Which is why the Sentinel generally will not charge to publish an obituary as long as it stays within our limit of about 400 words. No charge for the photo, either. If a family wants a particularly long obituary, or designed with a border and artwork or larger type, we do charge but we offer a discount and try to work with the family to ensure the expense is not an undue burden.
We know that many people feel uncomfortable writing an obituary — and we want to help.
Family members can write an obituary and submit it for publication, which we will look over and call if we have any questions. Or people can download the obituary form from the Sentinel website to use as a guide. Even easier, call Amber at 907-874-2301 for a fill-in-the blank Word document and provide as much information as everyone is comfortable with – and we will write up the obituary for the family.
The Sentinel doesn’t want any member of the community to pass away without an obituary to tell the story of their life and accomplishments. However, all too often we hear of a death in the community but never receive an obituary or the information form from the family. We know death is a difficult time for families and we do not want to intrude, which means we wait until the family is ready to deal with submitting their own notice or filling out the form and answering questions.
If you have a death in the family, take time to comfort each other and then, when you are ready, you can help comfort everyone else who knew your mother or father, sibling, aunt or uncle or close friend and share their stories with an obituary in the Sentinel.
People can take screenshots of Facebook notices or file them away on their smartphones, but nothing matches the permanence of a printed newspaper page that can be shared for generations.
Alice Rooney and Cindy Martin, of Hospice of Wrangell, said it well: “During these recent years of social distancing, some people have just vanished from sight. We’d like to honor their lives.”
The Sentinel has been honoring lives and recording Wrangell’s passings for 120 years. Help us continue that service by sharing news when someone dies.
Reader Comments(0)