10 short eulogy examples, by relationship, and what makes each one work
These ten short eulogies show the shape that works: one true thing about the person, shown through a specific story, ending with a goodbye. We wrote them for this page; none is about a real person. Use them for the shape, then fill it with your own stories, because the details only you know are what make a eulogy land.
On this page
1. For a mother
"My name is Claire, and I'm Ruth's daughter. If you knew my mother, you know nobody left her house hungry. Not the mailman, not the boys who came to fix the roof, not my college roommate who stayed one Thanksgiving and came back for eleven more. When I was nine I asked her why she always made too much food. She said, 'It's not too much. It's for whoever shows up.' Mom, a lot of people showed up today. I think you'd say there's room for all of them. Thank you for teaching me to set an extra place."
Why it works: one trait, one remembered line in her own words, and an ending that ties the trait to the room.
2. For a father
"Dad was not a talker. He showed up. When I broke my arm at the county fair, he carried me to the truck and drove forty minutes without saying a word, holding my good hand the whole way. When I got my first job, he didn't make a speech. He washed my car the night before. I used to wish he would say more. I understand now that he was saying it all the time. Dad, I heard you."
Why it works: it names his quietness honestly, then turns it into love with two small, concrete scenes.
3. For a grandmother
"Grandma kept every card any of us ever sent her, in a shoebox under her bed. After she died we found it. Birthday cards, crayon drawings, a letter my brother wrote from camp asking for more socks. She never told us she kept them. That was Grandma. She never needed you to know how much she loved you. She just quietly kept it. We'll keep you, too, Grandma."
Why it works: a single object carries the whole eulogy, and the closing line echoes it.
4. For a grandfather
"Pop taught all eight of his grandchildren to fish, and none of us ever caught much. That wasn't the point. The point was the hour before sunrise in his boat, the thermos of cocoa, and the stories about growing up on the river that he told a little differently every time. I don't remember a single fish. I remember every one of those mornings. Pop, I'll take my kids out on the river. I'll tell your stories. I'll probably tell them a little differently, too."
Why it works: gentle humor, a shared ritual everyone in the room recognizes, and a promise to carry it on.
5. For a husband
"Mark and I were married for thirty-four years, and he made me coffee every single morning of them. Even the mornings we weren't speaking. Especially those mornings. He'd set the cup down next to me without a word, and that was the apology, or the forgiveness, or both. I made my own coffee this week. It wasn't the same. Mark, thank you for every cup."
Why it works: a daily habit holds a whole marriage, and the honesty about hard mornings makes it believable.
6. For a wife
"Anna could walk into a room of strangers and leave with three new friends and a recipe. I was the one standing by the wall. For twenty-eight years, she brought me into rooms I would never have entered on my own. Most of you are here because Anna walked up to you once and said hello. Look around: this room is full of the people she brought into our life. Anna, I'll try to say hello for both of us now."
Why it works: it points to the people in the room as proof of who she was.
7. For a brother
"Danny was three years older than me and spent most of our childhood telling me to get out of his room. Then, when I was fifteen and in real trouble, he was the first person I called, and he came at two in the morning and never told our parents. That was my brother: a pain about small things, and completely there for the big ones. Danny, you can have your room back. I'll never stop calling you first."
Why it works: sibling humor up front, then one serious story that shows what lay under it.
8. For a sister
"My sister Liz believed every problem could be solved with a list. When I got divorced, she made a list. When Mom got sick, she made a list. When she got her own diagnosis, she made a list, and at the top it said, 'Make sure Kate is OK.' I found it last week. Liz, I'm not OK yet. But I'm working on your list."
Why it works: a quirk repeated three times, then turned at the end into something heartbreaking and true.
9. For a friend
"I met Theo on the first day of college when he knocked on my door to borrow a stapler. He kept it for thirty years. Every birthday, he sent me a card: 'Still have your stapler. Happy birthday.' It became the longest-running joke of my life. Theo was like that: he turned small things into traditions, and traditions into friendships that lasted. Theo, I hope wherever you are, you finally have a reason to give it back."
Why it works: a running joke lets the room laugh, and the laugh makes the goodbye bearable.
10. For a colleague
"For fifteen years Maria sat at the desk next to mine, and for fifteen years every new hire was sent to her first. Not because it was her job; it wasn't. Because she was the one who explained things twice without making you feel slow, and remembered your kids' names by Friday. Half the people in this room learned how to do their jobs from Maria. All of us learned how to be kinder at work. Maria, we'll keep sending them to your desk, in spirit."
Why it works: it stays with what colleagues actually saw, and speaks for the group.
Write your own
Every example above follows the same steps:
- Name one true thing about them: the trait people will recognize.
- Show it with a specific story: a place, a moment, something they said.
- Connect it to the people in the room or to what you will carry forward.
- End with a short goodbye spoken to them.
For gathering stories, a simple structure and a fill-in template, see how to write a eulogy. If you also need the written notice, see how to write an obituary.
Start here: finish this sentence about the person: "If you knew them, you know..." Then write down the first story that proves it.
Common questions
What is a good example of a eulogy?
A good eulogy names one true thing about the person, then shows it with a specific story: a place, a moment, something they said or did. The examples on this page each follow that pattern in under 200 words, so you can see the shape and write your own.
Can I use a eulogy example as my own?
Use them for the shape, not the words. The power of a eulogy comes from details only you know. Borrow the structure, then replace every story with one from the person you are honoring.
How do you start a eulogy?
Say who you are and how you knew them, then go straight to who they were: "If you knew my mother, you know she never let anyone leave hungry." A specific opening line works better than a general one about life or loss.
How do you end a eulogy?
With a short goodbye spoken to them, a line they used to say, or what you will carry forward. Keep it brief; the last line is the one people remember.
Sources: all ten eulogies and the notes on them were written by Scribe Media for this page; the people in them are invented. Published by Scribe Media.