How can you tell someone else what is important to include in the obituary? It's a really upsetting time for most folks, they're lucky to have their thinking caps on at all. One way around it is to be sure to write up one's own obit before hand, so what you feel is important is included. If you want the death date there, leave a blank saying: insert actual death date here. I feel like if I can find an obit in a regular newspaper, usually the death was within a few days of the occurance. This helps to order death certificates. Karen