A guide for families
How to place an obituary in the Santa Cruz Sentinel
Place a Santa Cruz Sentinel obituary online. Bring family memories into one tribute, review the wording and photograph, and choose your print dates.
When several people help write an obituary, each brings a different version of the person they loved: a parent, a sibling, a friend, a neighbor. Bringing those memories together can be an act of care in itself.
For a life connected to Santa Cruz County, a Sentinel notice offers a local place to share the finished remembrance. This guide helps you organize a family draft and submit it yourself through the online ordering process.
Start a Santa Cruz Sentinel obituaryBring family drafts together
- Santa Cruz County
- Remember the relationships and places that made a life feel like home.
- One final draft
- Collect family corrections before approving the notice.
- Daily print dates
- Choose an available date and review the deadline.
How to submitBring family drafts togetherAbout the newspaperCommon questions
How to submit the family’s Sentinel notice
- 01
Select the Sentinel
Go to the obituary type and publication screen. Choose Place an Obituary and Santa Cruz Sentinel, then review the package features.
- 02
Add the agreed wording
Enter the required information and paste the family’s final draft. Include a photograph if your selected option supports one, and check the layout for cropping and extra spaces.
- 03
Choose your publication dates
The Sentinel is listed for daily printing. Select open dates in the calendar and consult the current deadlines before relying on a particular edition.
- 04
Make a final check and place the order
Review the proof, newspaper, dates and price together. Complete checkout, then check the confirmation email and status under Orders.
Turn several memories into one clear tribute
Before everyone starts editing, agree on who will collect the wording. Ask each contributor for one short memory and any facts they can verify. This helps you gather different perspectives without ending up with several competing versions.
A simple family review process
- Create one working draft with the full name, key dates and family relationships.
- Add selected memories that show different sides of the person.
- Ask relatives to send corrections to the same person.
- Read the combined version aloud and remove repeated details.
- Approve one final copy for the notice builder.
Keep the voice recognizable
A tribute does not have to sound formal to be respectful. Use language the family is comfortable with. A specific memory of a shared activity, friendship or small kindness can carry more meaning than a string of broad compliments.
When choosing a photo, agree on the image before uploading. Use the clearest original file available, with room around the face for cropping. Check how it looks beside the text in the notice preview.
Complete a separate pass just for names, dates and service details. Reading for accuracy is a different task from deciding whether the tribute feels right.
The Sentinel in Santa Cruz’s community memory
Santa Cruz Public Libraries includes the Santa Cruz Sentinel and Pacific Sentinel in its Historical Newspaper Index, a collection covering early local newspaper records primarily from 1856 to 1960.
Those records show the value of putting community life into words. For today’s family, an obituary can offer a similar point of connection: a name, a story and a way for friends to remember someone whose life touched theirs.
Local newspaper resource: Santa Cruz Public Libraries’ Historical Newspaper Index.
Questions while preparing a Sentinel tribute
Can I pause the order for a family review?
Yes. While signed in, use Save draft and reopen it through Orders. Keep the family’s corrections together, then recheck the final notice and date availability before submitting.
How can I avoid copying the wrong version?
Give the approved document a clear name and have one person enter it. Compare the notice preview with that final copy, including the last paragraph and service information.
What photo files can I use?
The upload control supports common formats such as JPG and PNG. Review the uploaded image in the preview and use another supported format if the file will not display correctly.
How much does a Sentinel obituary cost?
Pricing depends on the chosen package, notice size, photographs, dates and extras. The order summary shows the calculated total for your selections before payment.
A Santa Cruz story, shared
Make a place for the memories you hold together.
Choose Santa Cruz Sentinel and turn the family’s words into a notice you can review and place online.