Polish an obituary you wrote, in a short and a long version
In a LinkedIn post, Anthony DeShazor describes watching his 70-year-old mom, Gwen Davis, write her own mother's obituary with ChatGPT's help. She outlined her mother's life, wrote the draft herself, and asked it to proofread and edit. It offered a short version for the printed program and a longer one to read at the service.
What they did
She gave ChatGPT clear context and a sample, outlined her mother's life, and asked it to proof and edit what she had already written. She then finished the draft in Microsoft Word using Copilot.
How it went
Her son says she laughed when it offered two versions, one short and one long. He had been ready to help her write it, but she didn't need that kind of help; she told him this is how she writes everything for work and church.
Worth knowing
Keep it your words. Check every name, date, and place against family records, since AI can quietly change facts while editing. Use placeholders or first names in the chat and fill in full names, dates, and the service details yourself at the end. Don't include addresses or anything that could help a scammer target the family. Ask the funeral home about length limits for the printed program.
Try it yourself
Copy this into ChatGPT (or any AI assistant). Replace the parts in [brackets] with your own details.
I've written a draft obituary for my [relationship]. Please proofread it and gently edit for flow, but keep my words and tone, and don't add facts I didn't give you. I've used placeholders like [Name] and [Town], which I'll fill in myself. Then give me two versions: a short one (about [number] words) for a printed program, and a longer one to be read aloud at the service. Here is my draft: [paste draft].
Source: Anthony DeShazor (about his mom, Gwen Davis), LinkedIn, Feb 7, 2026. Read the original →
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