Vigil turns the intake notes you already collect into a complete, print-ready obituary draft — in minutes, not hours.
Already trusted by independent funeral homes in 4 states. No credit card required to start.
You filled out the intake form. You talked to the family. Now you’re opening a blank document and typing it all again from scratch. Every case, every time.
Submission deadlines don’t care that you have three services this week. And the family is refreshing their inbox, waiting to see a draft that still hasn’t been started.
You wrote something thoughtful. The family loved it — except for one section. Now you’re back at the beginning, watching the clock.
Vigil’s intake form maps to the information you’re already collecting. No new fields, no extra work, no learning a new system from scratch.
In the time it takes to pour a cup of coffee, Vigil produces a complete first draft — introduction, body, survivors, service details, and a closing — ready for your review.
Nothing leaves your hands without your sign-off. You’re in control of every sentence. Vigil drafts; you approve. The family receives work you stand behind.
Here’s an example of the kind of draft Vigil produces — based on a standard intake form, in the time it takes to pour a cup of coffee.
For thirty-four years, Dorothy Jean Harwell could tell you exactly how a nine-year-old sits when something finally clicks. She taught fourth grade at Millbrook Elementary until 2009 and kept a row of paper flowers along the classroom windowsill — made by students every September, replaced every June — so the room always held something living.
She was born in Millbrook on June 3, 1947, and never left. Her garden ran the length of the backyard fence: dahlias, sweet peas, tomatoes staked with strips of old pantyhose because she said wire was too hard on them. Every Sunday, she cut an armload and brought them to First Lutheran Church, where she had worshipped for more than fifty years.
Dorothy died at home on Tuesday, March 18. She was 78.
She is survived by her husband, Robert, married 54 years; her daughters, Carol Harwell-Norris of Millbrook and Susan Harwell of Portland; and five grandchildren who knew her as Dot.
Her service will be held at First Lutheran Church on Saturday, March 22, at 11:00 a.m. The family asks that donations be directed to the Millbrook Public Library children’s reading program — the kind of place Dorothy believed in.
This draft was produced from a 10-minute intake form. The director reviewed it, made two small edits, and sent it to the family the same afternoon.
Everything entered in Vigil is stored on encrypted servers and never shared, sold, or used for any purpose beyond producing the draft you asked for.
Vigil never sends anything directly to a family. Every draft is delivered to you for review, editing, and approval before anyone else sees it.
Vigil was designed from scratch for the specific task of drafting obituaries from funeral intake data. That specificity is what makes it actually useful.
When you email support@hellovigil.com, you’re talking to someone who worked on the product. No ticket queue. No canned responses.
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