Do all deceased Americans have obituaries?
Yes and no. I once wrote obituaries. I wrote thousands. Different newspapers have different policies. My county-wide newspaper printed obits in 12 pt. type so the older subscribers (the main base of readers, even back in the 70’s) could read them. We wrote them ourselves, and did not accept “obits” written by the family. We also printed “Vitals,” which were in 6 pt. type at the beginning of the Classified Section. The vitals were paid for by the mortuary. Information for obituaries was supplied through the mortuary or legal authorities only. If families called in information it got vetted (too much mischief can happen.) If something was amiss, I called for verification. Now days, any obits are generally paid advertisements, or for famous people. In the old days, everybody got the same treatment, even if their obit only amounted to name, date of birth, place and date of death. If you are looking for an obituary on someone, it is best to start with the small community newspapers, who sti
