Funeral Quotes to Read at a Service

Quotes to Open a Eulogy

A quote at the start gives you a steady first sentence and tells the room what kind of person you are about to describe. Say who wrote it, read it slowly, then move straight to your first memory.

His life was gentle, and the elements
So mix'd in him that Nature might stand up
And say to all the world, "This was a man!"

It is not growing like a tree
In bulk, doth make man better be;
Or standing long an oak, three hundred year,
To fall a log at last, dry, bald, and sere:
A lily of a day
Is fairer far in May,
Although it fall and die that night;
It was the plant and flower of light.
In small proportions we just beauties see;
And in short measures life may perfect be.

The growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs.

He has achieved success who has lived well, laughed often, and loved much; … who has always looked for the best in others and given them the best he had; whose life was an inspiration; whose memory a benediction.

Let us endeavor so to live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry.

Jonson's lines suit a life that ended too early. Eliot's suit someone modest who never wanted a fuss. Stanley's is often credited to Emerson; she wrote it for a magazine contest. Twain's works for someone who would have wanted the room to smile once.

For openings that don't start with a quote, see how to start a funeral speech.

Quotes to Close a Eulogy

The last line is the one people remember. A short quote, read after a pause, ends the speech without you having to find a final sentence of your own.

Now cracks a noble heart. Good night, sweet prince,
And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest!

They that love beyond the world cannot be separated by it. Death cannot kill what never dies.

Death is but crossing the world, as friends do the seas; they live in one another still.

Let life be beautiful like summer flowers and death like autumn leaves.

Peace, peace! he is not dead, he doth not sleep—
He hath awakened from the dream of life.

Thank you for every ordinary day. We will keep them for you.

You showed us how to live. Now we will show you we were listening.

Change "he" to "she" where it fits; nobody will mind, and it makes the line yours.

Short Funeral Quotes for a Program

The cover of a funeral program or the space under the photo holds one or two lines. These are short enough to read at a glance.

A life so beautifully lived deserves to be beautifully remembered.

Those we love don't go away; they walk beside us every day.

Forever in our hearts, always in our stories.

Loved deeply, missed always.

What a gift it was to know you.

All goes onward and outward, nothing collapses,
And to die is different from what any one supposed, and luckier.

A program usually has a quote on the cover, the order of service inside and a poem or verse on the back. If you are putting one together now, see what goes in a funeral program and the order of service guide.

Quotes About Grief

For a eulogy that admits how hard this is, or a reading for people still in shock. Grief quotes are honest rather than cheerful, and they tell the family it is all right to feel what they feel.

I sometimes hold it half a sin
To put in words the grief I feel;
For words, like Nature, half reveal
And half conceal the Soul within.

Though nothing can bring back the hour
Of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower;
We will grieve not, rather find
Strength in what remains behind.

Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

Grief is love with nowhere to go, so we will give it somewhere: to each other.

The hardest part is not the goodbye. It is learning to talk about you in the past tense.

We are sad because we were lucky. Not everyone gets a person like this.

Words of Comfort at a Funeral

Most of what you say at a funeral isn't from the front of the room. It is a sentence to a widow at the door, or a line in a card on the flowers. Simple and specific is better than clever.

I'm so sorry. She was one of the kindest people I've known.

I'm thinking of you today, and I'll keep thinking of you after today.

He talked about you all the time. He was so proud of you.

There are no right words. I just wanted you to know I'm here.

Your mother made everyone feel welcome. I'll never forget her kitchen.

Peace be with you and your family.

Avoid "everything happens for a reason" and "they're in a better place" unless you know the family believes it. "I'm sorry" and a memory are always enough. For written messages, see what to write on a memorial card and funeral card messages.

Quotes About Life and Death

For a reading, the end of the program, or a moment of silence. These are older words that people have been reading at funerals for a long time.

The hour of departure has arrived, and we go our ways—I to die, and you to live. Which is better God only knows.

Do not act as if thou wert going to live ten thousand years. Death hangs over thee. While thou livest, while it is in thy power, be good.

For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?

There is no Death! What seems so is transition;
This life of mortal breath
Is but a suburb of the life elysian,
Whose portal we call Death.

Because I could not stop for Death –
He kindly stopped for me –
The Carriage held but just Ourselves –
And Immortality.

Faith Quotes for a Funeral Service

For a church service, a verse often sits beside a quote, or replaces it. These are from the King James Version, which is in the public domain.

One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.

I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.

Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die.

Her children arise up, and call her blessed.

For full readings with timings, see Bible verses for funerals and funeral readings.

How to Use a Quote at a Funeral

• Pick one, not five. A eulogy needs one quote, at the start or the end. A string of quotes sounds like you didn't know what to say yourself.
• Say who wrote it. "Shakespeare wrote…" or "There's a line from George Eliot that Mom loved…" Then read it. If it has no author, just say it as your own words.
• Read it slower than feels natural. Pause before it and after it. A quote read quickly is lost.
• Tie it to them. Follow the quote with one sentence about the person: "That was Dad. He never needed anyone to notice."
• Print it where people can keep it. The quote from the eulogy often goes on the back of the program or on prayer cards, so guests take it home.
• Check the credit. Many quotes online are credited to the wrong person. Everything on this page has been checked; lines with no name under them are traditional or were written for FuneralFolio, and are free to use.

If you are still writing the speech, our funeral speech writer turns a few memories into a draft eulogy that you can open or close with any quote here, and the eulogy examples show how others did it. For more words, see quotes for loved ones who passed away, in loving memory quotes and funeral poems.

Questions Families Ask

What is a good quote about grief?

Tennyson wrote In Memoriam after his closest friend died, and its line that words "half reveal and half conceal" grief speaks to anyone who can't find the right thing to say. For something plainer: "We are sad because we were lucky. Not everyone gets a person like this."

What are words of comfort at a funeral?

Short and personal works best: "I'm so sorry. She was one of the kindest people I've known." Add one memory if you have one. You don't need to explain the loss or look on the bright side; being there and saying their name is the comfort.

What Bible verses are appropriate for a funeral for a woman?

Proverbs 31:28, "Her children arise up, and call her blessed," is the most chosen for a mother or grandmother. Psalm 116:15 and John 11:25 suit any faithful life. More are in our guide to Bible verses for funerals.

What are some thoughtful quotes about condolences?

For a card, William Penn's "They that love beyond the world cannot be separated by it" says a lot in one line. For a short note, "I'm thinking of you today, and I'll keep thinking of you after today" says you'll still be there next month.

Can I print these quotes in a funeral program?

Yes. Every credited quote here is in the public domain in the United States, and the uncredited lines are free to use. Copy the quote into your program and it is laid out on the design you choose.