Death notice & stationery
Placing a death notice, designing the printed announcement and the thank-you — we write the texts with you and take care of printing and posting.
What to expect
The death notice and the Leidzirkular — the printed announcement sent by post — are often how friends, neighbours and colleagues first learn of a death. They say who has died, when and where the funeral service (Abdankung) takes place and how people can show the family their sympathy. Just a few lines — and yet many people find them hard to write in these days.
We take on this work together with you: we suggest texts and design, get your approval for every line, place the notice with the newspaper, have the Leidzirkular printed and send it out. After the ceremony comes the thank-you.
If part of the family lives abroad, we design the notice and the announcement in two languages on request — with the text your family provides in the second language.
Process
Who should be informed: family, friends, neighbours, employers, clubs and associations? We put together the address list for the Leidzirkular with you and clarify which newspapers the notice should appear in.
A saying or poem, photo, symbol, typeface. We show you templates and write the text based on your details — simple or personal, religious or without religious reference.
You receive a draft to check. We go through names, dates and places together before anything is printed or published.
We place the notice with the newspapers you choose and keep an eye on the publisher's copy deadline so that it appears before the funeral service.
The Leidzirkular is printed, addressed and posted. On request, extra copies are also laid out at the ceremony.
After the funeral service we design thank-you cards or a thank-you notice in the newspaper — for flowers, donations, letters and support in difficult days.
In detail
Today death notices usually appear not only in the printed newspaper but also on its online memorial portal — and are sometimes picked up by other portals. At the same time they state when the family will be at the funeral service. The police point out that burglars use such notices as a source of information. We therefore recommend giving a correspondence address instead of the home address, for example that of a trusted person or a PO box. If you do not want online publication, we tell the publisher.
In Switzerland there are three ways of making a death known. They are often confused but are independent of one another:
If the funeral service takes place in the closest circle, the notice can either appear beforehand with this information or only afterwards, stating that the funeral has already taken place. The cost of a newspaper notice is set by the publishers; it usually depends on size, column width and design.
Leidzirkular: The printed letter customary in Switzerland, sent by post to relatives, friends and acquaintances. It usually contains the same details as the death notice, often with an invitation to the funeral meal (Leidmahl) or a request for donations in lieu of flowers. Older people in particular, and acquaintances without a newspaper subscription, learn of the death personally this way.
Funeral cards: Smaller cards, for example as an invitation to the funeral meal, to accompany flowers, or as a memorial card with a photo laid out at the ceremony.
Thank-you: After the ceremony the family thanks people for their sympathy, flowers, donations and letters — with printed cards to everyone who wrote, or with a thank-you notice in the newspaper. There is no fixed deadline; send it when you are ready.
On the newspapers' memorial portals, guests can often leave condolences or light a virtual candle. For families whose relatives live far apart, this is a place where everyone can show their sympathy, even without travelling.
If relatives abroad are to be informed, we design the death notice, Leidzirkular and thank-you in two languages. Your family provides the text in the second language or has it translated; we take care of design and printing and make sure names and special characters are set correctly. We can also supply the notice as a file, so that you can forward it yourself or have it published in the country of origin.
What else needs to be done after a death is set out in the checklist after a death.
Questions & answers
No. A private death notice in the newspaper is voluntary. Many municipalities publish the death officially anyway; the Leidzirkular reaches the personal circle by post.
Each publisher sets its own prices. The price usually depends on size, column width, text length and design; current rates are on the newspapers' websites. The municipality's official publication is free in many places, for example in the city of Lucerne and in Basel-Stadt.
Usual are the surname and first name, dates of birth and death, place of residence, place and time of the funeral service and the names of the bereaved family. Often added are a saying, a photo or symbol and a request for donations in lieu of flowers. The home address is better left out.
Usually a few days before the funeral service, as soon as the date and place are fixed, so that guests can plan. If the ceremony takes place in the closest circle, the notice can also appear afterwards.
A printed letter of bereavement sent by post to family, friends and acquaintances. It contains the details of the death notice and often an invitation to the funeral meal. We design, print, address and post it.
After the funeral service, when the family is ready. There is no fixed deadline. The thank-you can go as a card to everyone who sent condolences, or appear as a notice in the newspaper.
With many newspapers, yes: the printed notice is also published on the online memorial portal. If you do not want that, the publisher must be informed beforehand — we take care of that for you.
Yes. We design the notice, Leidzirkular and thank-you in two languages when part of the family lives abroad. Your family provides the text in the second language or has it translated; we take care of design and printing.
Guides
The steps of the first hours and days, ordered by real urgency — with the legal deadlines and what changes for a repatriation.
What has to be decided, in which order — and what changes when part of the family lives far away.
The full list of who has to be informed, with the only deadlines that genuinely matter.
Other services
Traditional burial in a coffin — grave, date, ceremony and every formality.
Learn moreCremation followed by urn interment, a natural burial or transfer of the urn.
Learn moreService, viewing and farewell — religious or secular, shaped the way you want it.
Learn more