Eulogy
One of twenty-three terms in the resource centre
A eulogy is the speech given at a funeral or a memorial service about the person who has died. A family member, a friend or the person leading the service gives it, and it usually takes between three and eight minutes.
A eulogy is not a biography. The ones people remember pick a few true things about the person: how they spoke, what they cared about, a story that shows them as they were. It can be read from a page, and most are. If you are asked to give one and are not sure you can get through it, ask the celebrant or minister to read it if you have to stop; that is common, and nobody minds.
A direct cremation has no service and so no eulogy at the crematorium. Families who choose one often hold their own gathering afterwards, and the eulogy is given there.
Read next
Words other people have found, for a card or an order of service, are in ten quotes about grief and loss. If the eulogy is for a memorial rather than a funeral, read planning a memorial service, and for what to say to the family, what to say when someone dies.
Related terms: Memorial service and Wake. Every term, explained.
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