Common Funeral Program Mistakes and How to Proofread Before You Print

Nobody makes a funeral program carelessly. Mistakes happen because the person making it is grieving, tired, interrupted every few minutes, and working to a deadline, often late at night. Under those conditions, everyone's eyes slide past errors – especially in text they have read twenty times already. The result is that some of the same mistakes turn up again and again, and they are almost always the ones that hurt most: a misspelled name, a wrong date, a forgotten grandchild.

This article lists the most common funeral program mistakes, grouped by type, and then gives you a practical proofreading method designed to catch them. None of this is a criticism of anyone who has made these errors. It is simply the list we wish every family had before they pressed "print."

Names and family

1. Misspelled names

The single most common and most painful mistake. It happens with the person's own name (a middle name, a maiden name, an unusual spelling), and even more often with family members' names in the life story and survivors list – particularly spouses of grandchildren, step-relatives and names from other languages.

How to avoid it: build a "names list" at the start – every name that will appear, spelled correctly – and copy from it rather than typing from memory. Ask the person whose name it is, or their closest relative, to confirm spellings.

2. Someone left out

Leaving a grandchild, a sibling, a step-child or a long-term partner out of the survivors list can cause lasting hurt. It usually happens when the list is written from memory, late at night.

How to avoid it: write the family out as a tree first, generation by generation, and check it with at least two relatives from different branches of the family.

3. Inconsistent naming

The life story calls him "Robert," the cover says "Bob," and the order of service says "Rob." Or a grandchild's spouse is included in one place and not another.

How to avoid it: decide on a convention – formal name on the cover with nickname in quotation marks, familiar name in the life story – and apply it throughout.

4. Wrong titles for clergy and participants

"Rev." versus "Pastor," "Father" versus "Monsignor," "Dr." versus no title, the wrong rank for a veteran.

How to avoid it: ask each participant, or the church office, how they would like to be listed. For military ranks, see military and veteran funeral programs.

Dates and times

5. Wrong dates of birth or death

Transposed digits (1942 becomes 1924), the wrong month, or the date of the funeral entered as the date of death.

How to avoid it: check dates against a document – a birth certificate, the funeral home's paperwork – and read them aloud.

6. Day and date that don't match

"Friday, November 14" when the 14th is a Saturday. This is one of the most frequent errors and confuses guests about when to attend.

How to avoid it: check the day of the week against a calendar for every date in the program.

7. Wrong age

An age that doesn't match the dates, usually because of a birthday that hadn't yet occurred that year.

How to avoid it: calculate the age from the dates, or leave it off the program – the dates say it all.

8. Service time inconsistent with other notices

The program says 10 a.m., the newspaper says 10:30. Guests arrive at different times.

How to avoid it: confirm the time with the funeral home and use the same wording everywhere.

Service details

9. An order of service that doesn't match what happens

The most common cause: the program was printed before the officiant confirmed the order. A hymn changes, a reading is swapped, a speaker is added.

How to avoid it: get the order of service in writing from the officiant or funeral director before printing, and send them the proof.

10. Missing practical information

No address for the interment, no time for the reception, no mention that the committal is private – and guests are left asking each other.

How to avoid it: use a checklist of practical details (see what to include in a funeral program).

11. Wrong venue name or address

Churches with similar names, a cemetery's old name, the wrong branch of a funeral home.

How to avoid it: copy names and addresses from the venue's own website or paperwork.

12. Hymn titles or scripture references that are wrong

"Psalm 32" instead of "Psalm 23," a hymn title remembered slightly wrong, or lyrics from a different version than the one that will be sung.

How to avoid it: check references against a Bible; ask the church musician for the exact version of hymn words.

Design and readability

13. Text too small

Fitting too much on a page by shrinking the type. Older guests in a dim church cannot read 8-point text.

How to avoid it: keep body text at 10–12 point in the printed program. If it doesn't fit, edit or move to an eight-page booklet.

14. Low contrast

Light grey text, text over a busy photo, or white text on a pale background.

How to avoid it: dark text on a light background for anything people need to read. Print a test copy and look at it in dim light.

15. Too many fonts

Three or four decorative fonts competing on one page.

How to avoid it: one decorative font for the name and headings at most; one clear font for everything else.

16. Blurry or dark photos

A photo taken from social media, or a dark photo printed on matte paper.

How to avoid it: use the original file, check its resolution, and lighten slightly if needed. See choosing and preparing photos.

Printing

17. Pages in the wrong order

The back page ends up on the front, or the inside spread is upside down.

How to avoid it: use an imposed file for plain double-sided printing, or a reading-order file with booklet mode – not both – and choose "flip on short edge." Always fold a test copy. See how to print funeral programs at home.

18. Text cut off at the edges or lost in the fold

How to avoid it: keep text a quarter inch from the edges and the fold. Use bleed for full-color designs at a print shop. See bleed, crop marks and fold marks.

19. Running out of programs

How to avoid it: estimate attendance with the funeral director and print a margin of extras.

20. Last-minute edits that introduce new errors

Fixing one thing at midnight and accidentally deleting a line elsewhere.

How to avoid it: after every round of edits, re-read the whole program, not just the changed section.

Beyond typos: mistakes of tone and judgment

Some of the mistakes families later regret are not errors in spelling or dates but in judgment – things that were correct but perhaps should not have been printed, or should have been worded differently. These are harder to catch with a checklist, so it helps to ask a trusted person to read for them specifically.

Details that compromise privacy or safety

A full date of birth, a home address, or a note that "the family will be at the service from 10 until 2" can be useful to people with bad intentions. Programs are handed out freely and often shared online afterwards. Keep birth dates to the year if you are concerned, and leave out home addresses unless the reception is at the house.

Cause of death without family agreement

One family member may want the cause of death mentioned; another may not. Programs are not the place to settle that disagreement. If there is no clear agreement, leave it out – it can always be shared in other ways later.

Humour that not everyone shares

A light touch can be a blessing, and many families find that the right joke in a program brings relief. But a line that delights the grandchildren might wound a widow who is not ready to laugh. Ask the closest family member to approve any humour.

Language that doesn't match the service

"Went home to be with the Lord" in a program for a humanist ceremony, or "celebration of life" on a program for a traditional Requiem Mass, can jar. Match the language to the person and the service, and ask the officiant if unsure.

Former spouses and complicated relationships

Including or leaving out a former spouse, an estranged child or a new partner can cause real hurt in either direction. There is no universal rule; what matters is that the decision is made deliberately by the closest family, not by accident at midnight. Our guide on writing an obituary for a parent discusses these situations in more detail.

Copyrighted lyrics and poems printed in full

Printing the full lyrics of a modern song or a copyrighted poem may not be permitted. Print the title and author, or ask the church whether its licence covers it. See funeral poems for programs.

When the funeral home sends a proof

If the funeral home or a printer is producing the program, you will usually receive a proof – a PDF or image – to approve. Treat it exactly as you would your own draft:

• Print it out and use the same passes: names, numbers, days, service, reading aloud.
• List corrections clearly in a single email, numbered, with the exact wording you want – "Page 2, line 3: change 'Johnathan' to 'Jonathan'" – rather than describing them loosely or sending several emails.
• Ask for a revised proof after corrections, and check that every correction was made and nothing else changed.
• Approve in writing only when you are satisfied, and note the time by which they need your approval to print.

Funeral home staff are usually careful and kind, but they are working from the information you gave them, often typed from handwritten notes or a phone call. The proof is your opportunity to catch anything that was misheard or misread.

Why we miss our own mistakes

When you have written something, your brain reads what you meant, not what is on the page. This is why the person who made the program is the worst-placed person to proofread it, however careful they are. Grief, fatigue and familiarity all make it harder still.

The solution isn't to try harder. It's to change how you read and who reads.

A proofreading method that works

Step 1: Proofread a printout, not the screen

Print the program, even on plain paper. People catch more errors on paper than on screen, and you will see the layout as guests will.

Step 2: Do separate passes for separate things

Rather than reading everything for everything, do focused passes:

1. Names pass: check every name against your names list
2. Numbers pass: every date, time, age, address and scripture reference
3. Days pass: check every day of the week against a calendar
4. Service pass: compare the order of service line by line with the officiant's version
5. Reading pass: read the life story aloud from start to finish

Step 3: Read aloud

Reading aloud forces you to see every word. It catches missing words ("she was born in a farm"), doubled words ("the the"), and sentences that don't make sense.

Step 4: Read backwards for spelling

For spelling, reading the text one word at a time from the end to the beginning breaks the flow of meaning so you see each word on its own.

Step 5: Ask two other people, with specific jobs

Don't just send it round with "can you have a look?" Ask:

• One person – ideally the oldest family member who knows the history – to check names, dates and relationships
• Another person to read it fresh, as a guest would, and say if anything is confusing

Send them a PDF or image, not an editable file, so all changes come back to one person.

Step 6: Send it to the officiant or funeral director

They will catch errors in the order of service, titles and service details, and often spot practical omissions.

Step 7: Final check after the final edit

After the last round of changes, do the names, numbers and days passes once more. Last-minute edits are where new errors appear.

A printable proofreading checklist

• Full name spelled correctly, including middle and maiden names
• Nickname consistent throughout
• Every family member's name checked against the names list
• No one left out of the survivors list
• Birth and death dates correct and consistent
• Age matches the dates (or omitted)
• Day of the week matches every date
• Service time matches the funeral home and other notices
• Venue names and addresses correct
• Order of service matches the officiant's version
• Officiant and participant titles correct
• Scripture references and hymn titles correct
• Interment, reception and donation details included
• Body text at a readable size
• Strong contrast throughout
• Photo sharp and well lit in a printed test
• Nothing too close to the edges or the fold
• Test copy printed, folded and checked for page order
• Final re-check done after the last edit

If a mistake is found after printing

It happens, and it can be fixed:

• A small error (a typo in the life story) is usually best left. Guests will not notice, or will not mind.
• A significant error (a misspelled name on the cover, a missing survivor, a wrong service time) – reprint if there is time. If there is not, a small printed correction slip or a word from the officiant is enough. Some families correct a handful of copies by hand for the immediate family.
• Afterwards, correct the digital file so that any copies printed later are right.

Be gentle with yourself. Everyone at the service understands what week you have had.

How a template-based maker helps

Many layout mistakes come from rebuilding pages by hand. In our funeral program template, you enter names and details once in a form, the pages lay out automatically at readable sizes, and the print files are imposed correctly with bleed and fold marks. You still need to proofread – no software can know how your nephew spells his name – but the free watermarked preview makes it easy to share a proof with family and the officiant before you pay ($4.99 – see pricing).

Frequently asked questions

What is the most common mistake on funeral programs?

Misspelled names, followed closely by mismatched days and dates.

Who should proofread a funeral program?

At least one older family member who knows names and dates, one person reading it fresh, and the officiant or funeral director for the order of service.

Should the person who made the program proofread it too?

Yes, but not alone. The maker knows the content best and should do the names, numbers and days passes – then hand it to others who will read it with fresh eyes.

What if family members keep sending changes?

Agree a cut-off time for changes, and route all corrections through one person. After the cut-off, only factual errors are fixed.

How long before the service should the final proof be approved?

Ideally a day before printing, so there is time to fix anything that comes up.