On behalf of the staff of The Lincoln County News, please accept our condolences for the loss of your loved one.
Sam Roberts, our late patriarch, held the belief that everyone should be able to enter and leave this world without charge. Our newspaper is dedicated to preserving the history of this community, including the memories of those who live in it. We offer free publication of obituaries, detailed below, to help preserve the remembrances of loved ones and provide notification of services.
Obituaries must be received at the newspaper office prior to 9 a.m. on Wednesday and should be provided by a funeral home. In the event the obituary is not submitted by a funeral home, a copy of the death certificate will be necessary.
Obituaries can be emailed to info@lcnme.com, submitted at lcnme.com/submit-other, faxed to 207-563-3127, called into The Lincoln County News at (207)563-3171, or dropped off at the office at 116 Mills Road in Newcastle. We reserve the right to edit all obituaries for accuracy and adherence to newspaper standards.
Free Obituaries
Free publication of obituaries is provided in print and online at lcnme.com. The free service is for deceased individuals who have a direct connection to Lincoln County, Maine. It includes a headshot photo of the deceased individual and up to 300 words.
For free obituary photos, only a headshot of the deceased individual can be used; other people or pets in the image will be cropped out. For non-compliant photos, please refer to the offerings below. In order to ensure a quality reproduction, the photo should be a digital picture with a minimum 300 dpi or a direct scan of an original photograph.
Free obituaries include up to 300 words that describe the individual; additional words can be included but will result in a fee as outlined below. Obituaries should be written in the third person and cannot include thank you statements. If thank you statements are desired to be included in the obituary, the entire wording is subject to the fee below or an ad of thanks can be purchased (typical size of a thank you ad is one column by 2 inches and costs $19.50).
Other Offerings
Obituaries in excess of 300 words can be lengthened at a cost of $0.28 per word.
Pictures that do not comply with the free service can be included for a fee of $25 for a black and white photo up to 3 inches tall and one column (about 2”) wide. In order to ensure a quality reproduction, the photo should be a digital picture with a minimum 300 dpi or a direct scan of an original photograph.
Additional pictures of the same size can be included for $25 per picture; this will drive the obituary to be placed in a box.
Obituaries can be placed on a color page with color photograph(s) for a fee of $40 each for a one column photo plus $0.28 for every word as there is no free option in color. This may cause the obituary to appear on a page without other obituaries and is available as space permits.
Please contact us if you have any special requests by e-mailing info@lcnme.com or calling 207-563-3171. Cards of thanks can be purchased at the rate of $11.50 per column-inch. Pictures can be added to service announcements for a fee of $25 as outlined above.
Guide for Obituary Preparation
This guide is intended to help prepare an obituary with key information in a consistent manner. Free obituaries may have up to 300 words, while a paid obituary can be the length the family sees fit.
The Lincoln County News reserves the right to edit for accuracy, libelous claims, and adherence to newspaper standards. Following this guide will provide the information most commonly found and in the typical order of most obituaries.
Name, Age, Place of Residence, and Cause of Death
“John A. Doe, 79, of Damariscotta, died Jan. 21, 2019 peacefully at his home in Damariscotta, surrounded by family.”
The deceased’s full name is published with middle initial and maiden name, if applicable. Nicknames will be placed in quotes after the middle initial.
Listing the length, type of illness, or cause of death is up to the family. The terms “suicide” or “taking one’s life” are discouraged.
Birth, Education
“He was born in Newcastle on May 6, 1939 to Paul and Betty Doe. He attended high school at Lincoln Academy, from which he graduated in 1957.”
Degrees may also be listed.
Elementary and middle schools are only listed if the deceased is under the age of 18 or if this was the highest level of education received.
Marriage
“He met the love of his life, Jean Brooks, at a dance at Dyer’s Valley Grange Hall in 1960 and married her on Feb. 20, 1961.”
If a marriage ends in divorce or death, and the deceased has remarried, that can be included as follows: “He married Jean Brooks in Alna on Feb. 20, 1961. She died in 1975. He married Deborah Jones on July 17, 1983.”
Employment/Organizations/Military Service
“Mr. Doe served in the Marines during the Vietnam War.
He then went to work for Central Maine Power Co. and retired in 2006. He was a past Master of the local Masonic Lodge and a member of the Lions Club.”
Prior short-term employment may be included, but dates should not.
“Mr. Doe was a clerk at Price Chopper before starting his own construction business. He also operated a daycare center.”
All organizations can be listed, however, dates should not be. Leadership positions should also be noted. Volunteer experiences can be listed.
Hobbies/Church Affiliation
“After retirement, he traveled the country with his wife, Deborah, and visited such sites as Niagara Falls, Las Vegas, and the Grand Canyon.”
Hobbies and activities like gardening, hunting, bowling, stamp collecting, etc., may be included. However, general comments that apply to all human beings, like an appreciation for morning, evening, the sun, children, grandchildren, animals, etc., should be avoided.
“He was a member of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church for 28 years.”
Church membership may also be included.
Predeceased
“He was predeceased by his wife, Jean (Brooks) Doe in 1975 and his sister, Jane in 1982.”
In general, the rules of survivors apply to whose name will be listed here. For example, a deceased sister’s name will be listed but a cousin’s name will not.
If the deceased is under the age of 65, parents’ names may be listed as predeceased. After 65, it is presumed the parents are deceased and it is not necessary to list them.
Survivors
“Survivors include his wife, Deborah (Jones) Doe, of Damariscotta; three sons, James Doe and William Doe, both of Nobleboro, and John Doe Jr., of Damariscotta; two sisters, Betty Dakes of Burlington, Vt. and Marion Hall of Granville, N.Y.; two grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews.”
Names of spouses, parents, siblings, and children are listed. A companion or close friend may be included if a domestic partner, a fiancée/fiancé, or a close caregiver.
Former spouses are listed if the family desires.
Sons, daughters, brothers, or sisters are typically grouped together. All the sons or all the daughters who live in the same towns are also grouped.
The names of grandchildren are sometimes included but can amount to many names, while nieces, nephews or cousins are typically not included.
Pets are typically not included.
Calling Hours/Funerals/Funeral Homes/Contributions
“Relatives and friends are invited to join the family for a time of visitation from 1-2 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 22 with a funeral to follow at Funeral Home in Damariscotta.”
“In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Community Energy Fund of Lincoln County, P.O. Box 40, Bristol, ME 04539.”
“Arrangements are under the direction of Funeral Home, 123 Main St., Waldoboro, ME 04578. Condolences, and messages for his family, may be expressed by visiting funeral.com.”
The address of the funeral home is listed only if there are calling hours or the funeral home is handling memorial contributions.
If two funeral homes are involved, the obituary will note who is in charge of local arrangements and out-of-town arrangements.
If the funeral home has not been mentioned earlier in the obituary, it is included at the conclusion of the notice. If it already has been mentioned, it is not listed again.
If there are no visiting hours or services are private, the obituary should indicate that. “There will be no visiting hours. Services are private.”
