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A eulogy is a great way to pay tribute to and share your love for a friend or family member who has died. But it’s not always easy to know what to say — so why not reach for a quote?
A well-chosen quote can resonate with mourners and help you express sentiments when you can’t articulate the words.
A simple quote can evoke pain, sadness, or joy so you and others at a funeral or memorial service can share and support one another.
If writing a eulogy is just one of your responsibilities following the loss of a loved one, our post-loss checklist can help you figure out what to do next.
Jump ahead to these sections:
- Eulogy Quotes for a Friend
- Eulogy Quotes for a Father
- Eulogy Quotes for a Mother
- Eulogy Quotes for a Sibling
- Eulogy Quotes for a Son or Daughter
- Eulogy Quotes for a Grandparent
- Eulogy Quotes for a Spouse or Partner
Quotes can also be used to express sentiments in a condolence note, memorial, or obituary guest books. Quotes and short poems are perfect for prayer cards or sympathy cards. Not sure where else you can insert your perfect quote? Learn more about what to expect at a funeral.
Virtual funeral tip:Choosing the right quote is just as important for a virtual funeral. If the funeral is taking place over Zoom with a service like GatheringUs, make sure you know how much time you'll have for your eulogy and when you'll be asked to speak. You should also test your mic and video quality before the service to make sure everything works.
Eulogy Quotes for a Friend
We often get to know our friends in ways they may not have even been known by their families.
Think of eulogizing a friend as an opportunity to provide a window into the heart of the deceased. Here are a few quotes that can help you convey that special relationship:
- “Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints on your heart.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
- “We can’t know why the lily has so brief a time to bloom in the warmth of sunlight’s kiss upon its face before it folds into its fragrance and bids the world good-night to rest its beauty in a gentler place.” — Ellen Brenneman, poet
- “The comfort of having a friend may be taken away, but not that of having had one.” — Seneca, Roman Stoic philosopher
- “No matter where I am/Your spirit will be beside me/For I know that no matter what/You will always be with me.” — Tram-Tiara T. Von Reichenbach
- “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” — Maya Angelou
Eulogy Quotes for a Father
Losing a parent can feel like losing part of yourself, and the quotes below attempt to capture the love you have for your father:
- “Deeply, I know this, that love triumphs over death. My father continues to be loved, and therefore he remains by my side.” — Jennifer Williamson
- “In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” — Abraham Lincoln
- “I fall asleep in the full and certain hope that my slumber shall not be broken; and that, though I be all-forgetting, yet I shall not be all-forgotten, but continue that life in the thoughts and deeds of those I have loved.” — Samuel Butler
- “A father’s love is forever imprinted on his child’s heart.” — Jennifer Williamson
- “My Father didn’t tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.” — Clarence Budington Kelland
Eulogy Quotes for a Mother
Guardian columnist David Ferguson recently wrote, “Our mothers were our first firmament, literally, our first homes, the universe from whose substance we were formed. It feels raw and fundamental, a pain that reaches all the way down to your ligaments and bones.” Use these quotes if you need the perfect quote for your mother’s eulogy.
- “Love as powerful as your mother’s for you leaves its own mark. To have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever.” — J.K. Rowling
- “Motherhood: All love begins and ends there.” — Robert Browning
- "Mothers never really die, they just keep the house up in the sky, They polish the sun by day and light the stars that shine at night, keep the moonbeams silvery bright and in the heavenly home above they wait to welcome those they love." — Helen Steiner Rice
- “A man never sees all that his mother has been to him until it’s too late to let her know he sees it.” — William Dean Howells
- “Grace was in all her steps, heaven in her eye, in every gesture, dignity, and love.” — John Milton
Eulogy Quotes for a Sibling
These quotes would be appropriate in a eulogy for a brother or sister. Some convey a sibling connection, others reflect pain and loss.
- “Our brothers and sisters are there with us from the dawn of our personal stories to the inevitable dusk.” — Susan Scarf Merrell
- “To the outside world, we all grow old. But not to brothers and sisters. We know each other as we always were. We know each other’s hearts. We share private family jokes. We remember family feuds and secrets, family griefs and joys. We live outside the touch of time.” — Clara Ortega
- “You don’t choose your family. They are God’s gift to you, as you are to them.” — Desmond Tutu
- “The sorrow we feel when we lose a loved one is the price we pay to have had them in our lives.” — Rob Liano
- “But how can I learn to live in a world that doesn’t include my brother? All my life, I’ve always been my brother’s sister; it’s part of my identity, part of who I am. My brother is part of my past; we share a common history. And we had plans for the future.” — T.J. Wray
Eulogy Quotes for a Son or Daughter
The pain of losing a child of any age is excruciating. Several of these quotes reflect on the impact even a short life can have on you. Others celebrate the pure beauty of childhood.
- “Grace was in all her steps, heaven in her eye, in every gesture, dignity, and love.” — John Milton
- “How lucky am I to have something that makes saying good-bye so hard.” — Winnie the Pooh, A.A. Milne, author
- “The morning glory blooms but for an hour/and yet it differs not at heart/from the giant pine/that lives for a thousand years.” — Teitoku Matsunaga, Japanese poet
- “Every day my love for you grows higher, deeper, wider, stronger. It grows and grows until it touches the tip of where you are and comes back to me in the loving memory of you, and my heart melts with that love and grows even more.” — Maureen Hunter
- “As you danced in the light with joy, love lifted you. As you brushed against this world so gently, you lifted us.” — T.C. Ring
Eulogy Quotes for a Grandparent
These quotes celebrate the unique and valuable role that grandparents have in their grandchildren’s lives.
- "A grandmother is both a sword and a shield." — Fredrik Backman
- “Nobody can do for little children what grandparents do. Grandparents sort of sprinkle stardust over the lives of little children.” — Alex Haley
- “What children need most are the essentials that grandparents provide in abundance. They give unconditional love, kindness, patience, humor, comfort, lessons in life. And, most importantly, cookies.” — Rudy Giuliani
- “Every house needs a grandmother in it.” — Louisa May Alcott
- "We should all have one person who knows how to bless us despite the evidence. Grandmother was that person to me." — Phyllis Theroux
Eulogy Quotes for a Spouse or Partner
A eulogy for your spouse can be one of the most difficult things you can endure — yet can also be incredibly touching as you describe what your loss means to you. Let these quotes remind you of the incredible power of love.
- “Goodbyes are only for those who love with their eyes. Because for those who love with heart and soul there is no such thing as separation.” — Rumi, Sufi mystic
- “Only people who are capable of loving strongly can also suffer great sorrow, but this same necessity of loving serves to counteract their grief and heals them.” — Leo Tolstoy
- “Grief is the price we pay for love.” — Queen Elizabeth II
- “What we once enjoyed and deeply loved we can never lose, for all that we love deeply becomes part of us.” — Helen Keller
- “May each tear and each fond memory be a note of love rising to meet you.” — Jennifer Williamson
When You Can’t Find the Words: Remembrances for Family and Friends
You might think it’s impossible to express what the person you lost meant to you — luckily, others may have captured what you’re feeling.
Poetry and other writing can help you bridge that gap. Use these quotes, verses, poems, and other sentiments to communicate your feelings — you might even see other mourners smiling and nodding through their tears.
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Quotes about death
