How to Write a Eulogy
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I’m in Winnipeg today for my Father’s funeral. As the family has been remembering and planning a tribute, I have been struck at how difficult it is to summarize the life of a close family member into just a few minutes. We’ve prepare the remarks as a family and that makes things easier, from the perspective of the mechanics of the writing process.
I first post this a couple of years ago, but here it is again, a simple template for giving a eulogy.
- Introduce yourself and your connection to the deceased. “For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Ian and Mavis was my aunt.”
- Briefly summarize the life of the deceased:
- When they were born
- Where they were born
- Growing up
- Marriage, family, etc
- Briefly summarize the accomplishments of the deceased:
- Education
- Skills
- Career
- Hobbies
- Share happy memories. Mix in tasteful humorous memories, but be careful. Only talk about the good times if the final years have been sad. For example, cite a characteristic expression or an activity that everyone will recognize.
- Talk about something(s) you learned from this person:
- Their motivation or passion
- How they changed someone’s life
- Tell why you’ll always remember the person.
- End with a final goodbye.
Keep it flowing. A eulogy should have a beginning, a middle, and an end. It should have one theme. It shouldn’t jump around from topic to topic, but rather stay tightly focused. In other words, while the occasion is sad, a eulogy is still a speech. Treat it like one.
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