Death is expensive. It's also noisy. When someone passes away in North Texas, the scramble to figure out how to announce it usually leads straight to one place: the Dallas Morning News obituaries. But honestly, most people get overwhelmed by the process or the price tag before they even write the first sentence.
It’s weirdly complicated.
You’d think in the digital age, a simple notice would be easy, right? It isn’t. There’s a specific dance you have to do with funeral homes, legacy databases, and the paper’s own advertising desk. If you’re looking for someone who passed away decades ago, you’re looking at an entirely different beast involving microfilm or specialized archives.
Let's break down what's actually happening behind those columns of text.
Why Dallas Morning News Obituaries Still Carry Weight
In a world of Facebook tributes and "In Memory" Instagram stories, you might wonder why people still pay hundreds—sometimes thousands—of dollars for a print notice. It’s about the record.
The Dallas Morning News has been the "paper of record" for the DFW metroplex since 1885. When a name appears in the Dallas Morning News obituaries, it becomes part of the permanent history of the city. Genealogists a hundred years from now won’t be looking at your private Facebook wall. They’ll be looking at the digital archives and microfilm of the city’s major daily.
There’s also the "official" factor. Banks, insurance companies, and government agencies often require a published notice or a death certificate to settle an estate. While the obituary itself isn't a legal document, it serves as public notice that helps prevent fraud and alerts creditors or distant relatives.
But mostly? It’s for the community. Dallas is a big city that acts like a small town. People check the "obits" over coffee to see if a former teacher, a local business owner, or a neighbor has moved on. It’s a shared ritual.
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The Cost Nobody Wants to Talk About
Let's be real. It’s pricey.
The Dallas Morning News charges based on line count and whether you want a photo. A standard obituary can easily run $400 for a single day. If you want it to run on a Sunday—the day with the highest circulation—you’re looking at a premium.
Most people don't realize that the "obituary" you see in the paper is technically an advertisement. It’s a paid notice. The newsroom doesn't write these unless the person was a major celebrity or a local "mover and shaker." If Aunt Linda passed away and she was a lovely woman who made the best brisket in Plano, the family is the one footishing the bill and writing the copy.
How to save some cash
- Keep it brief. You don't need to list every single surviving second cousin.
- Use the funeral home. Most Dallas-area funeral homes (like Sparkman/Hillcrest or Restland) have a direct portal to the newspaper. They can often get slightly better package rates or at least handle the formatting so you don't get charged for "dead space."
- Focus on the digital. Sometimes the paper offers a digital-only version through Legacy.com that is significantly cheaper than the print run.
Finding Old Records: The Archives
If you’re doing genealogy, searching for Dallas Morning News obituaries from the 1940s or 1970s is a different game.
You can’t just Google it and expect a direct hit every time. Google is great for recent stuff, but for the old stuff, you need the Dallas Public Library. The J. Erik Jonsson Central Library downtown is basically the holy grail for North Texas history. They have the Dallas Morning News on microfilm and access to databases like NewsBank or the Dallas Morning News Historical Archive.
If you have a Dallas Public Library card, you can often access these archives from your couch. It’s kind of a superpower for local history buffs. You can search by name, date, or even keywords like "Oak Cliff" or "high school coach" to narrow things down.
The Difference Between an "Obituary" and a "Death Notice"
This trips everyone up.
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A Death Notice is basically a classified ad. It’s short. Name, age, city of residence, date of death, and service times. That’s it. It’s functional.
An Obituary is a story. It’s the narrative of a life. It mentions the person’s career at Texas Instruments, their obsession with the Cowboys, the way they volunteered at the food bank for twenty years.
Honestly, the best Dallas Morning News obituaries are the ones that sound like the person. I once read one for a guy in Highland Park who requested that his golf handicap be listed (it was impressively low). Another woman’s obit mentioned her lifelong "feud" with a neighbor’s overgrown hedge. These small details make the cost worth it because they preserve the personality, not just the dates.
The Legacy.com Connection
If you go to the Dallas Morning News website today to look for an obituary, you’ll likely be redirected to a co-branded site with Legacy.com.
This is where the "Guest Book" lives.
It’s a double-edged sword. On one hand, it’s great because people from all over the world can leave a note or share a photo. On the other hand, those guest books eventually go behind a paywall or "expire" unless someone pays a fee to keep them online forever. If you’re a family member, make sure you know who is managing that digital space. You don't want to lose those heartfelt messages from old friends because a subscription lapsed.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Writing these things while you're grieving is a nightmare. Your brain is mush.
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Check the spelling of names. It sounds obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people misspell their own siblings’ names in a moment of high stress.
Double-check the service location. If the memorial is at a church in Preston Hollow, make sure the address is right. People will show up at the wrong place if you get one digit off.
Don't include too much personal info. In 2026, identity theft is still a thing. You don't need to include the deceased’s home address or their exact birth date and mother’s maiden name. Just say "born in 1945" or "passed away at his home in Garland." Keep the scammers at bay.
How to Actually Get One Published
If you aren't using a funeral home, you have to contact the Dallas Morning News directly. They have an "Obituary Desk."
- Verification is required. They won’t just take your word for it. They usually need a death certificate or the contact info for the funeral home/crematorium to verify the passing.
- Deadlines matter. If you want it in the Tuesday paper, you usually have to have it submitted and paid for by Monday afternoon.
- Proofread the proof. They will send you a digital proof. Look at it. Then look at it again. Then have a friend who isn't crying look at it. Once it goes to press, that’s it.
Actionable Steps for the Next 24 Hours
If you are currently tasked with handling this, take a breath. It’s a lot.
- Call the funeral home first. Ask them if they include a Dallas Morning News obituary in their package. Many do, or they can at least handle the upload for you.
- Draft the "story" offline. Don't write it in the newspaper's submission portal. Use a Google Doc or Word. Focus on the "hook"—what made this person unique?
- Gather your photo. You want a high-resolution headshot. If you scan an old physical photo, make sure the glass on the scanner is clean. Grainy photos look even worse on newsprint.
- Set a budget. Decide beforehand if you’re doing a $200 notice or a $1,000 tribute. Stick to it. The person you’re honoring wouldn't want you to go into debt over a paragraph of text.
The Dallas Morning News obituaries are a vital part of the city’s fabric, but they are just one way to remember someone. Whether you go for the full-page spread or a simple three-line notice, the goal is the same: making sure the name is recorded and the life is acknowledged.
If you're searching for an ancestor, start with the Dallas Public Library's digital portal. If you're honoring a loved one today, start with a clear budget and a focus on the stories that actually defined them.