Eulogy and 3 examples

Eulogy is a writing or speech delivered in praise or honor of something, loved one, who had passed away or retired. It is a way of bidding farewell to a deceased person thereby bringing the person to life in the minds of the audience.

One doesn’t need to be a good orator or proficient in writing to be able to give a meaningful and heartfelt eulogy which captures the essence of the deceased. Irrespective of the fact that you may have been a public speaker for a long time, finding the right words to say can be challenging, as you will be battling with your own grief and the burden of knowing the right tone and what to say and how to say it.

How to Write A Meaningful Eulogy

In preparing a talk, the toughest task is usually anchor on making a decision on how to organise our talk into a structure that has a beginning, middle and end and not usually what you are going to say. Below are tips on how to write and organise a meaningful eulogy.

Also Read: Concord -13 Common rules of concord in English Language

1.Always have the deceased family and loved ones in mind as you write the eulogy.
Try to be positive, but honest. Avoid talking about the negative traits of the deceased or tactfully gently allude to them so as not to upset the deceased loved ones. Do not many jokes or comments that will be hard for the audience to comprehend.

2.Decide on the tone
A meaningful and good eulogy does not need to be dull and gloomy, just appropriate. We usually find most eulogy writers taking a serious and rigid approach while others try to make theirs humorous. If carefully applied, we see that humor can play a very important role in helping to convey the personality of the deceased and also illustrating some of the deceased loving qualities.

The tone used in the eulogy can partly be determined by the manner in which the deceased died. The tone used when writing about a teenager who met an untimely death is not the same tone you use when writing about a grandparent who lived happily to see his or her eightieth birthday.

The tone used with the teen would be more serious as compared to that use with the grandparent.

3. Begin with a Brief Introduction of Yourself
Even if most of the viewers know you, just include your name and a few words that describe your relationship with the deceased. If it’s a small amount, you can begin with the phrase “For anyone who doesn’t know me …”. If you had a close relationship with the deceased, describe how; If not, say a few words about how and when you met.

Avoid stereotypes like “We are gathered here today…” and start as you intend, with something unique for that person. After introducing yourself, it may be best to get straight to your point as everyone knows why they are gathered there. For instance: “There are a lot of things she will remember, but what we will never forget is her sense of humour.

Examples of Eulogy

1.On behalf of Michael’s family, friends and most of all his lovely wife Vivian,I would like to welcome you to Michael’s Celebration of life. For that is exactly what this gathering is. Michael wouldn’t want us to be sad for he was always a joy and a light in all of our lives.

Even while fighting the terrible cancer he never fit once lost her infectious positive attitude. The aura that surrounded his personified hope. He never gave up that hope knowing how much he was loved by friends and family who supported him through her long and difficult battle.

Many thanks for the prayers, kind words and comforting chats with him that kept his and the family going.
He was a strong man who did not want to be felt sorry for. Always thinking of others first, that was his nature…

2. Our mother was born in Florida. Her parents Jasmine and Sophia came to live in England from Ireland.
She was brought up by her older siblings as her parents passed away when she was a young child.

Throughout her working life she worked hard to provide for her children. She went on to have 5 children and over 12 grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Our mother was proud of her big family and loved family parties, dancing,humor and singing. She was a strong woman and a survivor throughout her life and illnesses.

She had a great sense of humour and a cheeky smile which endeared her to everyone…

3. Firstly, on behalf of my family,y and myself, I would like to thank you all for abandoning your various endeavors to be here, and for all your thoughts, prayers, and kindness we have received over the past few weeks. It’s a real comfort to know Glory was loved by so many of you and had a place in each of your hearts.

I remember being furious when my mum came back from Forth Park with another brother. I craved for a sister to play with and thought it was only fair to level the playing field. I had a fall out with my mum for weeks and wanted nothing to do with this boy she brought back…