Submitting Obituaries to the Ar Dem Gazette: A Practical Guide
The Ar Dem Gazette runs obituaries on a regular schedule, usually printing them Thursday and Sunday editions. If you're handling this for someone recently deceased, you have two routes: write it yourself and submit it, or pay the paper's advertising department to draft one from basic details. The paid option is faster but costs more. The self-written route takes a bit longer but lets you control the tone and content. Most newspapers charge by the line or by the inch, not by the word. A typical obituary runs about 100 to 200 words and costs anywhere from $75 to $250 depending on length and whether you include a photo. Photos add another $50 to $150 on top. The Ar Dem Gazette is no different. They also run memorial ads, which are essentially the same thing but sometimes marketed under a different name at a slightly higher price point. Here's how the submission process actually works. You can fill out their online form through their advertising page, email the text directly to their obituary editor, or drop off a typed copy at their office. Email is the fastest route and usually gets acknowledged within a few hours during business days. The online form sometimes times out or loses attachments if your photo file is too large, so I always send the text via email and attach the photo separately in a follow-up message.
One edge case that catches people off guard: the cutoff time. The Ar Dem Gazette typically requires obituaries by 2 p.m. the day before the edition they want to run in. If you miss that window, your piece slides to the next available print date. I learned this the hard way when I submitted an obituary on a Friday afternoon for a Saturday special section. The editor called me the next morning to say it wouldn't make the deadline. I had to scramble to reformat it for the Monday edition. Now I always aim to submit by noon on the business day prior, giving myself a buffer for any issues.
The Drafting Process: What Actually Gets Published
Obituary writing sounds straightforward until you sit down to do it. People struggle with how much detail to include, whether to list every surviving family member, and how to phrase sensitive information like cause of death or long illness. There's no single right answer, but there are conventions that newspapers expect and families generally find acceptable. A standard obituary structure looks like this. Start with the full name, age, and city of residence. State the date and location of death. Mention the cause of death only if the family wants it included. List the surviving immediate family: spouse, children, grandchildren, parents if applicable. Note any predeceased family members in a separate sentence. Include brief biographical details like occupation, military service, hobbies, or community involvement. Finish with service information and where memorial donations can be sent. Keep it between 100 and 200 words unless the person has an unusually long or notable life. Longer pieces run longer and cost more, and some readers skip past walls of text anyway. The editor will often trim excess automatically if you go over what they consider reasonable length. I've seen submissions get cut down by a third after editing, so aim for conciseness from the start rather than relying on the paper to edit for you.
Get the Full Details
Photos matter more than most people realize. A clear headshot or a recent candid photo prints much better than a dark, grainy, or heavily filtered image. The Ar Dem Gazette prefers JPEG or TIFF files, ideally at least 300 DPI for print quality. If you're scanning a physical photo, use a scanner rather than a phone camera. Phone photos of printed photos tend to have glare and perspective distortion that makes the final print look sloppy.
Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Misspelled names are the most frequent error. Double-check the spelling of everyone listed, especially extended family members like in-laws and step-relatives. People notice these things and will call the paper to complain. I once caught a submission where a grandmother's name was spelled wrong because the daughter who wrote it had confused her with another relative. Catching it before submission saves everyone an embarrassment. Another issue is outdated contact information for the funeral home or donation organization. Verify that phone numbers and URLs are current before submitting. A dead link in an obituary looks careless and frustrates people trying to send flowers or make donations. Sometimes the paper will reject an obituary if it reads more like a biography or a character reference than an obituary. Keep the focus on the facts of death and survival rather than an extended eulogy. The editorial staff wants something that fits their format, not a personal essay. If you've written something longer and more reflective, consider posting it on a memorial website or social media and keeping the newspaper version concise.
Costs and Payment Details
Pricing varies based on length, photo inclusion, and whether the piece runs in a special section. As of my last check, a standard obituary under 100 words runs about $85 with no photo. Each additional 25 words or so adds roughly $20 to $30. Photos cost extra, and full-color images cost more than black and white. If you're on a tight budget, stick to the minimum word count and skip the photo, though I'd recommend at least considering the photo since it personalizes the notice significantly. Payment is usually handled over the phone or through their online portal after submission. They accept major credit cards and sometimes checks. You'll receive a proof before publication, and that's your last chance to catch errors. Read the proof carefully. I've seen typos slip through in published versions that weren't in the original submission, usually introduced during typesetting. A quick phone call to the editor can often fix mistakes before print, but not always, so catching them at the proof stage is critical.
When the Standard Process Doesn't Work
There are situations where the regular obituary route falls short. If the death was sudden or unexpected, the family may not have time to prepare a polished piece. In those cases, the paper can run a brief notice with basic details while a fuller obituary appears later. This is called a life notice or a preliminary notice, and it's useful when you need something in print quickly but don't have the complete information yet. If the family doesn't want the death publicized in the local paper, alternative options exist. Online memorial platforms like Legacy.com syndicate obituaries to many newspapers and operate independently. Some families choose to publish only through those channels. Funeral homes also often maintain online obituary pages that can serve as the primary public notice while skipping traditional print entirely. For the Ar Dem Gazette specifically, their online archive preserves obituaries indefinitely, which is valuable for people who want a lasting record. Printed copies degrade over time, but digital versions remain accessible. If long-term accessibility matters to you, confirm that the paper provides online archiving and that you understand how to access those records later. Some smaller papers don't maintain their archives well, but the Ar Dem Gazette generally does a reasonable job of keeping older notices available on their website.
One final practical note: submit early. Life doesn't wait, and neither should your paperwork. Getting the obituary filed within a few days of death ensures it appears while people are still actively looking for information about services and arrangements. Waiting too long means the notice competes with newer deaths for attention, and some readers stop looking after the first week.
