A guide for families
How to place an obituary in the East Bay Times
Submit an East Bay Times obituary online. Connect a life across Alameda and Contra Costa counties, prepare your tribute and choose available print dates.
Perhaps they grew up in one East Bay neighborhood, raised a family in another and kept friends across the region. An obituary can bring those places together without losing sight of the person at the center of the story.
For families choosing the East Bay Times, this guide explains how to submit a notice online and how to make it recognizable to people from different chapters of a life. You can start the order yourself and check the complete notice before paying.
Begin an East Bay Times noticeConnect the chapters
- The East Bay
- Remember connections across Alameda and Contra Costa counties.
- Daily schedule
- Available print dates appear during ordering.
- A clear invitation
- Share confirmed memorial details with the people who knew them.
How to submitConnect the chaptersAbout the newspaperCommon questions
How to submit your East Bay Times obituary
- 01
Select East Bay Times
Go to the obituary type and publication screen. Select Place an Obituary, choose East Bay Times and check the package details.
- 02
Bring the details together
Enter the required information and the family’s approved wording. If including a photograph, choose one with a clear, recognizable face and review its crop in the preview.
- 03
Choose when it will run
East Bay Times is listed for daily publication. Select open dates in the calendar and review the publication cutoffs. Allow time for friends to make arrangements if a service is announced.
- 04
Check the whole order
Verify the names, service details, preview, newspaper, print dates and price. Submit at checkout and look for the confirmation email and updated order status.
Help old friends find their place in the story
A useful obituary gives readers a few points of recognition. Instead of listing every address, mention the communities and connections that mattered most. A school, congregation, team or workplace can help someone remember how their paths crossed.
Three questions for the family
- Where did this person feel most at home?
- Which people or activities remained important through the years?
- What memory would a friend from an earlier chapter recognize?
Use the answers to build a connected story. Check place names and years, and explain a move only when it helps the reader follow the life.
Make service information easy to use
Write the venue’s full name, city, date and start time. Distinguish a visitation from a memorial if both are planned. State clearly when arrangements are private, and publish only details confirmed by the family and venue.
Before submitting, have one person compare all family names against the final draft. A shared surname or nickname can be familiar within the family but confusing to a reader without that context.
A regional newspaper for East Bay connections
East Bay Times serves the East Bay, including Alameda and Contra Costa counties. Its newspaper heritage includes the Oakland Tribune and Contra Costa Times; the East Bay Times staff won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for breaking news reporting.
A regional notice can be useful when a loved one’s friendships extend beyond a single town. The obituary gives those relationships a common place to meet, while preserving the specific memories that make the story personal.
Publication history: Bay Area News Group’s newspaper profiles.
Planning an East Bay Times placement
Can I place the notice myself?
Yes. Start with the obituary type and publication selection, then complete the text, photo and scheduling steps online. Review the preview and total before checkout.
What if the date I hoped for is unavailable?
Choose another open date in the calendar. Only dates still accepting submissions are selectable. Check the deadline page early when coordinating a notice with a service.
Do I need a finished service announcement to begin?
You can begin drafting the life story before arrangements are final. Before submitting, remove any tentative times or locations, or wait until the details you plan to publish are confirmed.
How do I check the cost?
The order summary calculates pricing from your package, notice size, photos, dates and extras. Check the total again after editing the notice or changing the schedule.
Across the East Bay
Bring a lifetime of connections together.
Choose East Bay Times and begin a notice that helps friends, relatives and former neighbors remember the same person in their own way.