History Main / DeathNotification

** {{Subverted}}, the notices are delivered by a taxi cab driver, who ''really'' isn't enjoying the experience. [[ApronMatron Julia Moore]] and Barbara Geoghegan take it upon themselves to deliver the letters themselves, both to save the taxi driver from some of the anguish and out of a sense of responsibility to their neighbors.

* ''Series/TheCommish''. Two police officers spend the entire day stalling over one of these. When they finally work up the nerve ThereWasMuchRejoicing from the family of the dear departed, who wasn't well liked.

* ''Film/SavingPrivateRyan'' has a montage early on as Mrs. Ryan receives a series of death notices for all but one of her sons.
** Preceded by a scene showing a typing pool of a few dozen women producing those notices by the thousands.

Whenever a movie shows the folks at home while there is a war going on, you are very likely to see this: A pair of military personnel, in dress uniform, approaching the home of the soldier's family. [[GenreSavvy The family will almost always know]] [[HeDidntMakeIt what this means.]]

In some cases, this takes the form of a telegram, to the point where the GenreSavvy will immediately guess the contents of a telegram recieved by a character in a wartime setting.

* Sarah Jane Smith gets one of these visits from a UNIT colonel, accompanied by an entourage of armored trucks and gun-toting grunts (seriously, did they think Sarah Jane was going to ''eat'' them or something?), in ''Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures'' episode "The Death of the Doctor". [[GenreSavvy She doesn't believe it for a minute]].

While most common in war movies, it is also a trope tragically familiar to familes of firefighters and police officers as well. When the notice is (most commonly) delivered in person, it is closely related to DueToTheDead. It would be disrespectful for the deceased's loved ones to inform them of the death [[LearnedFromTheNews through the news media]] along with the general public, after all. Compare to [[HeDidntMakeIt He Didn't Make It]]. May feature a TragicKeepsake. If the notification is laced with white lies to spare the recipient pain or avoid tainting the deceased's memory, see ThePowerOfLegacy.

* The PSA [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-X_XY-vWzKs "Every Three Hours"]] from States United to End Gun Violence shows viewers how an ER doctor prepares to do this. The thoughts that race through her mind as she prepares to notify the kin in the waiting room are based on the New York Times Op-Ed [[https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/04/opinion/sunday/how-to-tell-a-mother-her-child-is-dead.html "How to Tell a Mother Her Child is Dead"]].

* The PSA [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-X_XY-vWzKs "Every Three Hours"]] from States United to End Gun Violence shows viewers how an ER doctor prepares to do this. The thoughts that race through her mind as she prepares to notify the kin in the waiting room are based on the New York Times Op-Ed [[https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/04/opinion/sunday/how-to-tell-a-mother-her-child-is-dead.html "How to Tell a Mother Her Child is Dead"]]

* A DreamSequence[=/=]ImagineSpot in the [[MilestoneCelebration 200th episode]] ("Life Before His Eyes") of ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' has Gibbs pose the question "What would have happened if my wife and daughter had not been killed?" The answer is in the form of the fateful knock on the door for Gibbs' wife Shannon.

* In the ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' episode "Life Before His Eyes," the ghost of Mike Franks shows Gibbs what would've happened if Shannon and Kelly hadn't been murdered and he'd remained a marine. What happens is Shannon and Kelly waiting for Gibbs to return home, until a cadre of marines appear at their front door...

While most common in war movies, it is also a trope tragically familiar to familes of firefighters and police officers as well. When the notice is (most commonly) delivered in person, it is closely related to DueToTheDead. Compare to [[HeDidntMakeIt He Didn't Make It]]. May feature a TragicKeepsake. If the notification is laced with white lies to spare the recipient pain or avoid tainting the deceased's memory, see ThePowerOfLegacy.

* ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'': We aren't shown the actual notifying but before the Survey Corps returns to the Walls, several families of (named) fallen soldiers are shown to be anticipating their return while [[DramaticIrony the audience knows what's to follow soon]]...

* Done for test pilots' families in ''Film/TheRightStuff''.

[[folder: Anime And Manga ]]

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

[[folder: Film ]]

[[folder: Jokes ]]

* A man gets a knock at the door, and it's a guy with a telegram. The man asks the delivery guy to sing it - he's never had a singing telegram before. The guy says he doesn't think he can. The man offers $100 to get the telegram in song. This convinces the guy. He clears his throat, reads the telegram and sings "''Your sister, Rose, is dead!''"

[[folder: Literature ]]

* Nobby Nobbs of the [[Literature/{{Discworld}} Ankh-Morpork City Watch]] is no longer allowed to deliver these after "that bet-you-a-dollar-you're-the-widow-Jackson nonsense." Carrot or Vimes usually handles it. (This is based on an urban legend that's probably as old as this trope.)
* Apparently [[Franchise/StarTrekNovelVerse Starfleet]] has a Casualty Notification Office to inform family members when someone is killed in the line of duty. Captain Kirk, though, still feels it appropriate that he should also send a personal letter when one of his crew dies.

* In ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' novel ''Literature/ADanceWithDragons'', Ramsay Bolton sends the Night Watch a false message stating Stannis Baratheon is dead to demoralize Stannis's forces.
** But did Ramsay send it, or did someone else...

[[folder: Live Action Television ]]

** After the death of [[spoiler: Nathan West's younger brother Neil]], Nathan is shocked to discover that the notification letter was sent to ''the wrong address''. He ends up writing a letter of his own home to inform [[spoiler: his mother]] himself. It is implied that rather than being hand-delivered, the notices are sent in the mail in "ugly yellow envelopes".

* Sarah Jane gets one of these visits from a UNIT colonel, accompanied by an entourage of armored trucks and gun-toting grunts (Seriously, did they think Sarah Jane was going to ''eat'' them or something?), in ''Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures'' episode ''The Death of the Doctor''. [[GenreSavvy She doesn't believe it for a minute]].

[[folder: Music ]]

-->It's not hard to reach back to the day\\

So change your blue star to gold

[[folder: Video Games ]]

[[folder: Web Comics ]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Thundercats 2011}}'' Prodigal general Grune, arriving home from a years'-long search for an AncientArtifact, delivers word of his comrade Panthro's loss to mutual friend King Claudus, while handing over one of the former's [[TragicKeepsake nunchucks]]. The details are [[HalfTruth suspiciously]] vague, not to spare Claudus emotionally, but to hide Grune's betrayal and defection to BigBad Mumm-Ra until their invasion forces are marshalled.
* One shows up in an episode of ''{{Pingu}}'', of all places. We aren't told the details, obviously, but during ''Pingu Delivers the Mail'', Pingu and his father deliver a black-edged envelope to one of their customers - who starts ''crying''.

* ''Film/SavingPrivateRyan'' has a montage early on as Mrs. Ryan receives a series of death notices for [[TearJerker all but one of her sons]].

** One episode has Radar writing a [[TearJerker heartwrenching]] letter for Colonel Potter to send to a deceased ambulance driver's folks. Made worse because before he knew the man was dead Potter was going to berate him for injuring patients with his careless driving.

* In ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', Shepard can deliver a death notification to an asari on the Citadel whose krogan husband died fighting the Reapers. [[spoiler:Only if you helped the two of them get together in the previous game, though.]] It's fairly [[TearJerker sad.]]

** This is seen again in the episode ''Never No More'': After someone's fighter gets locked with an enemy AceCustom and is sent spiraling into a planet, it is stated in the debriefing that the enemy ace survived. When asked about the friendly pilot, the CO drops a yellow envelope on the table.

** In the serial ''The Curse of Fenric'', Ace's friend Kathleen gets a telegram notifying her of the death of her husband.
** In ''The Doctor, The Widow, And The Wardrobe'', Madge, the widow mentioned in the title, also receives such a telegram. [[spoiler:Because of her messing with time by focusing on her husband, [[EverybodyLives her husband survives as does the plane he was piloting with the whole crew on board]].]]

* ''Series/SpaceAboveAndBeyond'': After the death of [[spoiler: Nathan West's younger brother Neil]], Nathan is shocked to discover that the notification letter was sent to ''the wrong address''. He ends up writing a letter of his own home to inform [[spoiler: his mother]] himself. It is implied that rather than being hand-delivered, the notices are sent in the mail in "ugly yellow envelopes".

* In the ''Series/DoctorWho'' serial ''The Curse of Fenric'', Ace's friend Kathleen gets a telegram notifying her of the death of her husband.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', a former street punk turned soldier named Armin Tamzarian delivers one of these to the mother of his MIA superior officer, [[spoiler: Seymour Skinner]], in a flashback. It's then subverted when he can't bring himself to tell her and pretends to be her son; he is the man now known as [[spoiler: Principal Skinner.]]
** Also an example of artistic license, since in the American military, the men who give the notification are traditionally at the same rank as the deceased or higher.

!These examples regret to inform you:

* Stephanie Brown receives one in ''[[ComicBook/RobinSeries Robin]] #107'' after her father's death in the pages of ''ComicBook/SuicideSquad''. [[spoiler:He gets better.]]

[[AC:AnimeAndManga]]

[[AC:ComicBooks]]

[[AC:{{Film}}]]

[[AC:Jokes]]

[[AC: {{Literature}}]]

[[AC:LiveActionTelevision]]

[[AC:{{Music}}]]

[[AC:VideoGames]]

[[AC:WebComics]]

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]

* One shows up in an episode of ''{{Pingu}}'', of all places. We aren't told the details, obviously, but during ''Pingu Delivers the Mail'', Pingu and his father deliver a black-edged envelope to one of their customers - who starts ''crying''.

* ''SaturdayMorningBreakfastCereal'' subverts this with "I'm afraid I'm the bearer of some bad news. [[http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=1200#comic Your husband is a hat]]."

* ''Series/ANZACGirls'': [[spoiler:Grace Wilson]], an Australian Army nurse (specifically, a Matron, aka in charge of the whole hospital's nursing staff) serving on the front lines of UsefulNotes/WorldWarOne, receives a telegram of this sort and her hands start shaking before she even opens it -- [[spoiler:her brother has been killed]]. Reading it only confirms her worst suspicions. Unfortunately, she has a whole convoy of wounded soldiers to treat, and so she [[TryingNotToCry soldiers on]] [[TheStoic without betraying her feelings any further]] until she's safely in her tent and can [[NotSoStoic break down sobbing]].