How to Submit an Obituary in the Pioneer Press

If you want to share a loved one's story in the Pioneer Press, you have a few easy ways to start. You can send an email to [email protected] and include the details they ask for. Or you can go online and use their self-service portal that walks you through each step. If you get stuck, just call the obituary desk at 651-228-5263. They're happy to answer questions about the process or deadlines.

They'll need some basic info from you. Give your full name, your address with city, state and zip, your phone number, and an alternate phone if you have one. For the obituary itself, give the name of the person who passed. Add the text you want printed. Provide a photo. A JPEG or PDF works best, but they'll also take TIF or other formats and let you know if there's a problem. Remember, the ad will run on the dates you choose.

Before they can publish, they must verify the death. You'll need to provide the name and phone number of the funeral home or cremation society handling the arrangements. If the body was donated to the University of Minnesota Anatomy Bequest Program or a similar program, give that phone number instead. A death certificate works too, but you only need one of these two. They'll call during business hours, so allow extra time if it's a weekend. You can't link to other websites or guestbooks in the notice. But you can include a funeral-home site or a family email for contact. After you submit, they'll send you a proof by fax or email. The proof shows the cost and the run dates. Look it over carefully and tell them right away if anything needs to change. Once it's printed they won't fix later mistakes.