Eulogy examples and a simple way to write one
Short answer
A good eulogy is about 5 minutes long (roughly 600–750 words when read at a calm pace) and follows a simple shape: who they were, a story only you can tell, what they loved, what they gave the people in the room, and a goodbye. The three examples below show that shape in different tones.
If you have been asked to give the eulogy, you are probably staring at a blank page with very little time. Humanist celebrant Alex Collis, writing for Humanists UK, suggests aiming for around five minutes and speaking from the heart; there is no right or wrong way. What follows is a structure that makes the page less blank, and three examples written for this guide.
A five-part structure
- Open with who they were in one or two sentences — the version of them everyone in the room recognises.
- Tell one specific story. A single, concrete memory is worth more than a list of qualities.
- Walk briefly through their life: where they grew up, work, family, the things they loved. A timeline helps.
- Say what they gave others: a habit, a saying, a lesson, the way they made people feel.
- Close with a goodbye — speaking to them directly, a line they used to say, or an invitation to the wake.
Example 1: a eulogy for a mother
If you ever went to Mum's house, you were fed. It didn't matter if you were the plumber, my friend from school, or a stranger who had knocked on the wrong door — you left with a slice of lemon cake wrapped in a napkin. Mum was born in Swansea in 1948, the youngest of five, and she never stopped being the one who looked after everyone else. She trained as a nurse, met Dad at a dance in 1969, and raised three of us in a house that was always too small and always full. When I was nine I broke my arm falling off the garage roof. She didn't shout. She drove me to hospital, held my good hand, and on the way home bought me the biggest ice cream in the shop. Then she shouted. That was Mum: care first, opinions later. She loved her garden, Welsh rugby and anything with Tom Jones in it. She taught us that you show love by turning up. So thank you, Mum, for turning up, every single time. We'll keep the cake tin full.
Example 2: a eulogy for a father
Dad was a man of few words, and most of them were “Have you checked the oil?” He worked at the same engineering firm in Coventry for thirty-eight years and could fix anything with a screwdriver, a roll of tape and a lot of patience. What he couldn't fix, he kept in the shed in case he could later. He wasn't one for speeches, so I'll keep this short, the way he'd like it. When I passed my driving test, he didn't say well done. He handed me a box with a torch, a blanket, a tyre gauge and a twenty-pound note, and said, “For emergencies.” I still have the box. I still have the twenty. That was his love — practical, quiet, always ready. Dad, the oil's checked. We'll take it from here.
Example 3: a eulogy for a friend
I met Sam on our first day at university, when she knocked on my door to ask if I had a corkscrew. I didn't. She came in anyway and stayed for twenty-two years. Sam was the friend who remembered your birthday, your exam dates and the name of your first cat. She ran three marathons, badly, and finished all of them laughing. She made a playlist for every occasion, including, she told me once, this one — so if the music today seems a bit cheerful, that is entirely her fault. Sam, you taught us to say yes to things. Yes to the trip, yes to the party, yes to the second slice. We'll keep saying yes. And we'll raise a glass to you tonight — with a corkscrew, finally.
Opening and closing lines
- Opening: “Thank you all for being here. Looking around this room, I can see how many lives Dad touched.”
- Opening: “Most of you knew Mum as… To us, she was…”
- Opening: “I've been asked to sum up eighty-seven years in five minutes. Gran would have done it in two and then put the kettle on.”
- Closing: “Goodbye, Dad. Thank you for everything.”
- Closing: “Please join us afterwards at… and bring your stories of her.”
- Closing: finish with a line they always said.
On the day
- Print it in large type, double-spaced, with page numbers.
- Read it aloud at least twice beforehand and time it.
- Give a copy to the celebrant, who can take over if you cannot continue.
- Pause and breathe. Silence feels longer to you than to the room.
- It is fine to cry. Everyone there understands.
Questions people ask
How long should a eulogy be?
Around 5 minutes is a common guide (Humanists UK suggests this). At a calm reading pace that is roughly 600–750 words — our rule of thumb, so time yourself.
What is the best opening line for a eulogy?
Something simple and true: thank people for coming, then say who the person was to you in one sentence. A specific detail works better than a general compliment.
What should you not say in a eulogy?
Avoid private family disputes, in-jokes only two people will understand, and anything the person would have hated being said in public.
Can someone else read my eulogy?
Yes. Celebrants and ministers often read eulogies written by the family, or step in part-way through.
Sources
- What is a eulogy and how do I write one?, Humanists UK (read October 5, 2026)
- How long is a cremation service?, Simplicity Cremations, 2026-06-25 (read October 5, 2026)
How we wrote this
Written by the In Memoriam Film team with AI assistance for research and drafting, then checked against the sources above. Figures come only from those sources; where a number is our own rule of thumb we say so. We make memorial films, so where a guide mentions our product, that is why.