Learning how to include hobbies in an obituary can help you show what made someone distinctive, beyond dates and milestones.
A few carefully chosen details can bring their personality into focus and help readers remember the life behind the facts.
Why include hobbies in an obituary?
Hobbies offer a glimpse of how someone spent their time and what mattered to them.
A mention of gardening, woodworking, birdwatching, or weekend soccer can make an obituary feel more personal than a list of accomplishments alone.
These details can also show how the person connected with others.
A hobby might have brought relatives together, created friendships, or given the person a familiar role in their community.
Even a quiet pastime can reveal patience, curiosity, humor, or a love of learning—provided those qualities are grounded in what you know about them.
You do not need to include every activity.
Choose details that help readers picture the person or understand their relationships and values.
Choose hobbies that reveal something meaningful
Start by listing the activities the person enjoyed, then consider which ones best capture their character or daily life.
Ask family and friends what they remember—not only what the person did, but how they approached it.
- Think about consistency. Was it a lifelong interest, a regular weekend activity, or something they recently discovered?
- Look for personal meaning. Did the hobby offer a way to relax, create, learn, serve, or spend time with loved ones?
- Consider distinctive details. A particular garden, collection, recipe, trail, or team may help readers recognize the person more readily than a broad label.
- Include shared activities. Mentioning who joined them can show the relationships woven into the pastime.
- Keep the selection balanced. One to three hobbies are often enough in a concise obituary; a longer tribute may have room for more.
If several people are contributing memories, compare notes and choose details that feel accurate and representative.
You can leave out interests that were brief, private, or not important to the person’s story.
Make the description specific
General statements such as “she enjoyed traveling” or “he loved music” are understandable, but a concrete detail makes the memory easier to picture.
Think about what the person did, where or when they did it, and whether they shared it with someone.
For example, instead of writing “he liked fishing,” you might say that he spent summer mornings fishing with his grandchildren at the family cabin—if that detail is true.
Instead of “she enjoyed baking,” you could describe how she tried new bread recipes for holiday gatherings.
Specificity should come from family knowledge, notes, photographs, or other reliable memories, not guesswork.
When you lack a particular detail, a simple and accurate sentence is better than an embellished one.
You can also ask someone who knew the person well for a memory that illustrates the hobby.
Connect hobbies with relationships and character
A hobby can do more than identify an interest; it can help explain what the person valued.
Describe the activity and its place in their life without claiming more than the available memories support.
Fictional example: “Rosa tended her backyard vegetable garden each spring, sharing the harvest with neighbors and teaching her nieces how to save seeds.” This example connects gardening with generosity and family time.
Use it only as a model for structure, not as a real biography.
Fictional example: “Martin restored old radios in his workshop and enjoyed learning how each one worked.” This conveys a hands-on interest and curiosity without relying on grand claims.
Use bracketed placeholders while drafting if you need details confirmed: “[Name] spent Saturday mornings [activity] with [person or group].” Replace each placeholder only after verifying it with someone who knew the person.
Where should hobbies appear in an obituary?
Hobbies often fit naturally after the opening biographical details and before information about survivors, services, or memorial requests.
This lets readers first understand who the person was, then encounter details that make the biography more vivid.
There is no required placement.
In a short newspaper notice, a single sentence may be enough.
In a longer online obituary or memorial tribute, you might give a hobby its own paragraph, especially if it connects to family life, community involvement, or a major part of the person’s identity.
Keep the overall structure easy to follow.
Readers should be able to distinguish the person’s life story from practical service details, and the hobbies should support rather than interrupt that flow.
Use respectful, accurate language
Write in a tone that feels appropriate to the person and the people who will read the obituary.
Warmth can come from plain, direct language; you do not need to make every interest sound extraordinary.
- Use the person’s correct name and pronouns.
- Describe activities in terms the person or family would recognize.
- Avoid teasing or private anecdotes unless the family agrees they are suitable to share.
- Do not imply that a hobby defined the person if it was only one part of their life.
- Check names of clubs, teams, organizations, and places before publication.
If the obituary will appear in a newspaper, ask the publication about its length and submission requirements.
Newspapers set their own rates, and space or pricing policies vary.
For an online memorial, consider the audience and whether specific details are appropriate to make public.
Common mistakes to avoid
Listing too many interests: A long inventory can read like a résumé.
Select the hobbies that offer the clearest picture of the person.
Using vague praise: Phrases such as “he was the best fisherman” may sound affectionate, but a real detail usually says more.
Describe a familiar routine or shared memory instead.
Guessing at motivations: Do not assign a reason for an activity unless the person expressed it or people close to them can confirm it. “She painted to cope with stress,” for instance, should not be included without reliable support.
Turning the obituary into a list of possessions: Equipment, collections, and destinations may matter, but focus on what the person did and whom they shared it with.
Forgetting to verify details: Confirm spellings, dates, relationships, and any organization names.
A quick review by another family member can catch errors and identify details that feel too private.
A simple drafting approach
Write down several interests, select the most meaningful ones, and add one verified detail for each.
Then draft a sentence that connects the activity to a routine, relationship, or quality the family recognizes.
Read it aloud and ask whether it sounds like something people who knew the person would say.