Amy and all, Thanks for giving me obituary abriviation lesson:) That really helps alot. I did not know about the information you gave. Thanks a million! Heather ""Inst. is short for "instant." It refers to the most recent occurance of that date or time. For example, if the obituary is dated July 15, then the 11th inst is July 11 and 9th inst is July 9. Similarly, if the obit was published on Thursday, June 30 and it said the death occured on Tuesday inst, that means Tuesday, June 28 (the immediately preceding Tuesday). Another term you might see is "ult.," which is short for "ultimo" and refers to the month preceding. If an obit is dated July 15 and says the death occurred on the 9th ult., the death was on June 9th."