Eulogies that Make People Smile

That was the observation and the best commendation after my sisters and I had teamed up to share the eulogy for our mother-Olwyn: “Everybody came out of the funeral service with a smile on their faces.”

Theirs was a knowing smile—the stories told captured the person they knew, leaving them to think, “That was Ollie!”

Theirs was a smile borne of laughter. Olwyn had a wonderful sense of humour and she had written many funny stories in her Memoirs which made it easy for us to recall these in her eulogy.

In many ways the eulogy sets the mood for the entire funeral. Olwyn had stated that she would like her funeral to be marked by joy, humour, celebration and thanksgiving. And, so it was.

Whenever, in the preparation of a funeral I have asked members of the grieving family about the style and the mood of the service that they hope for, I have never heard people say, “We want a solemn, sombre and mournful occasion.” On the contrary, even when loved ones have been taken suddenly or tragically, people have wanted the service to centre on gratitude for the person and the way they had lived and to celebrate the life of the person they had loved.

Make sure the eulogy for you and your loved one leaves a smile on people’s faces.

Image: Photo by Joel Muniz on Unsplash.