Quotes for loved ones who passed away, grouped by need: short lines, comfort, missing someone, remembering them, faith, and rest in peace messages.
Short Quotes for Loved Ones Who Passed Away
One line is often enough. These fit a social media caption, the front of a memorial card, a candle or a headstone.
Gone from our sight, but never from our hearts.
Death leaves a heartache no one can heal; love leaves a memory no one can steal.
Not lost, but gone before.
Your life was a blessing, your memory a treasure.
Missed beyond words, loved beyond measure.
We carry you with us, in everything we do.
The love stays. It only changes shape.
Home now, and at peace.
Until we meet again.
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Comforting Quotes About Losing a Loved One
For the first days, when you need something steady to hold on to. Several of these are read at funerals and memorial services.
What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us.
There is a land of the living and a land of the dead and the bridge is love, the only survival, the only meaning.
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.
When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.
Life is eternal, and love is immortal, and death is only a horizon; and a horizon is nothing save the limit of our sight.
What the heart has once owned and had, it shall never lose.
The ache is the size of the love, and both are ours to keep.
Nothing loved is ever lost. It lives on in the people who loved it.
Quotes About Missing Someone Who Died
Missing someone doesn't follow a schedule. These are for the ordinary moments when it catches you.
I still reach for the phone to tell you things.
Every room you filled still holds your laugh.
Missing you comes in waves, and every wave brings back a good day.
Give sorrow words; the grief that does not speak
Whispers the o'er-fraught heart and bids it break.
Farewell to thee! but not farewell
To all my fondest thoughts of thee:
Within my heart they still shall dwell;
And they shall cheer and comfort me.
Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice; but for those who love, time is not.
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Quotes for Remembering Someone
Remembrance quotes speak to the people left behind: what they keep, and what they owe to the person they lost. They suit a memorial service, an anniversary or a guest book.
To live in hearts we leave behind
Is not to die.
Our dead are never dead to us, until we have forgotten them.
The life of the dead is set in the memory of the living.
Unable are the Loved to die
For Love is Immortality.
Better by far you should forget and smile
Than that you should remember and be sad.
We remember you in the small things: your coat on the hook, your name in our stories, your recipe on the counter.
Say their name. It is the sweetest sound we have left.
Quotes About Loved Ones in Heaven
For a family of faith, scripture is often the first comfort. These verses are from the King James Version, which is in the public domain, followed by two original lines for a card.
Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart.
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.
You were ours for a lifetime, and you are God's forever.
Until the morning, when we see you again.
For more readings, see our collection of prayers for a funeral and funeral readings.
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Rest in Peace Messages
Short messages for a comment, a card on the flowers or the guest book.
Rest in peace. You were loved more than words can say.
Rest easy now. We'll take it from here.
Sleep well. We will carry your stories.
Rest in peace, and thank you for everything.
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.
How to Choose a Quote for Someone You Love
A quote works best when it sounds like the person, or like the way your family talks about them.
- Match the length to where it goes. A headstone or the front of a card holds one short line. The back of a memorial card fits four to six lines. A program or a eulogy can carry a longer passage.
- Think about who will read it. A verse suits a church service. A line about a laugh or a recipe suits a celebration of life. You know which one they would have liked.
- Credit the author. Put the name under the quote, as on this page. Lines with no name need no credit.
- Make it theirs. Change "they" to "she" or "he", or add their name: "Mom, we carry you with us, in everything we do."
- Pair it with a memory. In a eulogy or a post, a quote lands better after one specific memory than on its own.
If you are writing a tribute rather than choosing one, our free obituary writer turns a few answers into a full obituary you can end with any quote above, and the funeral speech writer helps with a eulogy that opens with one.
Putting a Quote on a Memorial Card or Program
Most families give guests something to keep. Memorial and prayer cards carry the photo, name and dates on the front and a quote, verse or short poem on the back, and a funeral program has room for a longer passage next to the order of service. Copy the quote, paste it into the card or program, and FuneralFolio lays it out on the design you choose. Download a print-ready file, or add printed cards to a printed program order.
Looking for more words? See celebration of life quotes for an uplifting service, in memoriam quotes for anniversaries, and funeral poems when a quote isn't enough.
Questions Families Ask
What is a good short quote for someone who passed away?
"Gone from our sight, but never from our hearts" is the most used, and it fits almost anywhere. For something less familiar, try "The love stays. It only changes shape," or Helen Keller's "All that we love deeply becomes a part of us."
What do you write in memory of a loved one?
Their name and dates, then one line: a quote, a verse or a sentence of your own. "In loving memory of Rose Alvarez, 1941–2026. Your life was a blessing, your memory a treasure."
Can I use these quotes on a printed card?
Yes. Lines with no name under them are traditional or were written for FuneralFolio, and are free to use. Every credited quote is in the public domain in the United States; the most recent, Helen Keller's, was published in 1929.