Real examples · The standard format · Wording you can copy
See what a finished funeral program looks like, page by page, and copy wording for every section: the cover, the order of service, the obituary, the pallbearers and the family’s thank-you.
The same program for Eleanor Hastings on three designs. Each shows the front cover, the inside with the obituary, order of service and Psalm 23, and the back with a photo collage and a thank-you from the family.
Lily Cross Memorial
A Christian program: a gold cross and white lilies, the 23rd Psalm inside, and a photo collage on the back.
Use this design
Watercolor Roses
Soft watercolor roses for a mother or grandmother, with the same obituary, order of service and thank-you.
Use this design
Ocean Sunset
A sunset over the ocean, without religious symbols, for a calm and simple look.
Use this designA folded program is one letter-size sheet (8.5″ × 11″) printed on both sides and folded in half into a 5.5″ × 8.5″ booklet. That gives four pages, and almost every program uses them the same way.
Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
For a short service, a flat 5″ × 7″ card printed on both sides works well: the photo, name, dates and service details on the front, and the order of service with a short tribute or poem on the back. Every FuneralFolio design comes in both formats.
Full wording for a church funeral, front to back. The person and names are invented; change every line to fit your service.
In Loving Memory
Eleanor Rose Whitaker
June 12, 1942 – October 3, 2026
Saturday, October 10, 2026
11:00 a.m.
St. Andrew's Church
Springfield, Ohio
Eleanor was born in Dayton, Ohio, the second of four children. She taught third grade at Lincoln Elementary for 31 years, and former students still stopped her at the grocery store to say hello. She married Robert Whitaker in 1964, and together they raised Anne, Michael and Robert Jr. She loved her garden, the church choir and Sunday dinners with whoever happened to stop by.
May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
the rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
may God hold you
in the palm of His hand.
James Lee · Daniel Whitaker · Thomas Whitaker · Ryan Moore · Kevin Lee · Paul Grant
The family of Eleanor Whitaker thanks you for your prayers, flowers, cards and visits. Your kindness has carried us through these days.
Please join us for lunch in the fellowship hall after the service. Interment will follow at Woodland Cemetery.
A Memorial Service for
Eleanor Rose Whitaker
June 12, 1942 – October 3, 2026
Sunday, November 1, 2026
2:00 p.m.
Riverside Community Center
Springfield, Ohio
Eleanor was born in Dayton, Ohio, the second of four children. She taught third grade at Lincoln Elementary for 31 years, and former students still stopped her at the grocery store to say hello. She married Robert Whitaker in 1964, and together they raised Anne, Michael and Robert Jr. She loved her garden, the church choir and Sunday dinners with whoever happened to stop by.
Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea.
But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
Turns again home.
Thank you for being here to remember Eleanor with us. Your cards, calls and stories have meant more than we can say.
Coffee and dessert will be served after the service. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that gifts be made to the Springfield Public Library.
Celebrating the Life of
Eleanor Rose Whitaker
June 12, 1942 – October 3, 2026
Saturday, November 7, 2026
2:00 – 5:00 p.m.
The Garden Room, Riverside Park
Springfield, Ohio
Eleanor was born in Dayton, Ohio, the second of four children. She taught third grade at Lincoln Elementary for 31 years, and former students still stopped her at the grocery store to say hello. She married Robert Whitaker in 1964, and together they raised Anne, Michael and Robert Jr. She loved her garden, the church choir and Sunday dinners with whoever happened to stop by.
May the rains sweep gentle
across your fields,
may the sun warm the land,
may every good seed you have planted
bear fruit,
and late in summer
may you find some calming wind.
Thank you for coming to celebrate Mom with us. She would have loved seeing all of you in one place.
Please stay for food, drinks and stories. Bring a photo for the memory table if you have one.
Pick a design and the editor starts you with an order of service, a prayer and a thank-you that you can change line by line. Add the photos, preview it free, and download a print-ready PDF.
Copy any block and replace the highlighted parts. Everything here is free to use in any program.
The line above the name on the front cover.
List each part on its own line, with the person leading it after a dash.
A church or chapel service with hymns and readings.
Prelude
Processional
Welcome and Opening Prayer — officiant
Hymn — "hymn title"
Old Testament Reading — reference — reader
New Testament Reading — reference — reader
Obituary
Eulogy — name
Musical Selection — "song title"
Message of Comfort — officiant
Closing Prayer and Benediction
Recessional
The parish usually helps choose the readings and music.
Introductory Rites
Greeting, Sprinkling with Holy Water and Placing of the Pall
Entrance Hymn — "hymn title"
Liturgy of the Word
First Reading — reference — reader
Responsorial Psalm — psalm
Second Reading — reference — reader
Gospel — reference
Homily — priest
Prayers of the Faithful — reader
Liturgy of the Eucharist
Presentation of the Gifts — names
Communion Hymn — "hymn title"
Words of Remembrance — name
Final Commendation and Song of Farewell
Recessional Hymn — "hymn title"
Usually held without the body present, often after a cremation.
Gathering Music
Welcome — name
Reading — poem or scripture — reader
Life Story — name
Song — "song title"
Tributes from Family and Friends
Photo Slideshow
Closing Words — name
Less formal, often at a home, hall or park.
Welcome and Thank You — name
Stories About first name — names
Their Favorite Song — "song title"
Photo Slideshow
Open Microphone: Share a Memory
A Toast to first name — name
Food and Conversation
Often used on a small card when the whole service is at the cemetery.
Words of Welcome — officiant
Scripture or Poem — reader
Remembrance — name
Committal and Prayer
Placing of Flowers
About 150 to 300 words fits the inside page. If you haven’t written it yet, the free obituary writer drafts one from a few answers.
Sample, 107 words
Eleanor Rose Whitaker, 84, of Springfield, Ohio, passed away peacefully on October 3, 2026, surrounded by her family. She was born in Dayton on June 12, 1942, the second of four children. Eleanor taught third grade at Lincoln Elementary for 31 years, and former students still stopped her at the grocery store to say hello. She married Robert Whitaker in 1964, and together they raised three children. She loved her garden, the church choir and Sunday dinners with whoever happened to stop by. Eleanor is survived by her husband of 62 years, Robert; her children Anne (James) Lee, Michael (Susan) Whitaker and Robert Jr.; and seven grandchildren.
The family’s thank-you usually goes on the back cover, under the pallbearers.
The family acknowledges with deep appreciation your kind expressions of sympathy.
The family of name thanks you for your prayers, cards, flowers and visits. Your kindness has been a comfort to us.
Thank you for the meals, the phone calls and the quiet support of these past weeks. Your love has carried us.
We are deeply grateful for every kindness shown to our family. Thank you for being here today to remember first name with us.
Our special thanks to the doctors, nurses and staff of hospice or hospital for the gentle care they gave first name in his/her/their final days.
Our heartfelt thanks to pastor or priest and the members of church for their prayers, their visits and their love.
Thank you for coming to celebrate first name with us. He/She/They would have loved seeing all of you in one place.
With heartfelt thanks for your love and support. The family name Family
Thank you for joining us today to remember first name. Your presence means so much to our family.
Pallbearers
Name · Name · Name · Name · Name · Name
Honorary Pallbearers
Names or group, such as "Members of the Springfield Rotary Club"
Interment will follow at cemetery, address.
Please join the family for a repast in place immediately following the service.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to organization in memory of name.
For those unable to attend, the service will be streamed at link.
For the poem or prayer, see our prayers for a funeral program and funeral poems, or choose one of the prayers and poems built into the program editor.
Pick a design, paste in the wording or start from ours, add the photos, and download a print-ready PDF.
Most funeral programs are a letter-size sheet folded in half into a 5.5" x 8.5" booklet with four pages: the front cover with the photo, name, dates and service details; the obituary inside on the left; the order of service and a poem or prayer inside on the right; and the back cover with photos, pallbearers, a thank-you and the burial or reception details. A smaller service can use a flat 5" x 7" card printed on both sides.
A title such as "In Loving Memory" or "Celebrating the Life of", a photo, the full name, the dates of birth and death, and the day, date, time and place of the service.
About 150 to 300 words fits the inside page of a folded program at a readable size. Longer text prints smaller, so a long newspaper obituary is often shortened for the program.
One to three sentences from the family thanking everyone for their prayers, flowers, food, visits and support. Some families also thank the hospice or hospital staff, the church, or the pallbearers by name. The examples above can be copied and changed.
Cover first, then the life story, then the order of service and a reading, and finally the pallbearers, acknowledgments and details about the burial, reception or donations on the back.
It is never required. Most programs leave it out; the obituary can say "after a long illness" or nothing at all.
