Should a colon be placed after each family relationship (sons, daughters) instead of a comma?
Answer Hi, Dorothy. I don’t specialize in journalism; so though I’m going to give you an answer based on general prose style, you may also wish to consult a journalism style expert. Here is how I would punctuate the passage: She is survived by her husband, John Doe; one son, Joe Doe of Belton, Texas; three daughters, Annie Smith of Andrews, Suzie Jones of Andrews and Betty Bee of Andrews; four brothers, Angel Brown of Kermit, Texas, Ventura Brown of Uvalde, Texas, Romero Brown of Mexico and Cruz Brown, Jr., of Uvalde, Texas; two sisters, Felix Fine of Pearsall, Texas, and Maria Rodriguez of Mexico; 15 grandchildren; and 18 great-grandchildren. Here’s what I changed: 1. I removed the colon after “survived by.” 2. I added a comma after “Jr.” (My style guide calls for commas both before and after a term like “Jr.,” unless it is the last thing in a sentence or a parenthetical, etc.) 3. I added a comma after Pearsall, Texas (similar to the commas you have elsewhere after the word “Texas”).
