How to Write a Eulogy for Your Great Grandmother - Eulogy Examples & Tips

You want to honor her life with words that feel true and not forced. You want something that family will remember and that you can actually deliver even if your voice shakes. This guide gives you structure, examples, and templates you can adapt. It explains funeral terms in plain language and gives performance tips so you can get through the moment with clarity and respect. Everything here is written for people who want to do it right and keep it real.

Your great grandmother is a big presence even if she lived quietly. A eulogy is a chance to map her life for listeners and to point at the moments that explain who she was. We will cover choosing what to say, organizing the speech, writing words that sound like you, and practical tips for reading in public. You will find multiple example eulogies you can borrow from and fill in. At the end there is a FAQ with quick answers and a structured FAQ schema for search engines.

What Is a Eulogy

A eulogy is a short speech that honors a person who has died. It summarizes the life story, highlights key qualities, and shares personal memories that help listeners understand the person and why they mattered. A eulogy is not a legal document. It is a personal reflection that can be serious, warm, funny, or a mix. The tone depends on the deceased, the audience, and your relationship with them.

Related term explained: obituary. An obituary is a written notice of death often printed in newspapers or posted online. It contains basic facts such as name, dates, funeral details, and sometimes a short life summary. The eulogy is the spoken tribute during a service or gathering.

Decide Who You Are Speaking To

Before you start writing ask who will be listening. Is the crowd mostly family and old friends who knew her as a public figure or is it a mix of distant relatives and neighbors who knew only the surface details? Are there kids in the room? Is the setting a formal church service or a casual celebration at a community hall?

Knowing the audience helps you pick details and the tone. For family heavy rooms a deeper emotional memory is appropriate. For mixed crowds include a clear timeline so listeners have context. For young children pare back heavy language and use simple images they can understand.

How Long Should a Eulogy Be

A good eulogy is usually between three and seven minutes when read at a calm pace. That is about 400 to 900 words depending on your voice. If you have multiple speakers coordinate with family so total speaking time feels balanced. Longer speeches can work if the audience expects it. Shorter speeches can be powerful if they are tightly focused and sincere.

Essential Structure for a Great Grandmother Eulogy

Use a simple structure to keep your thoughts clear under pressure. A reliable and memorable format is this four part approach.

• Opening acknowledge the gathering, name the deceased, and state your relation. Offer a one line promise of what you will share. Example promise: I want to tell you three things she taught me about life.
• Biographical sketch present a concise life timeline. Where she was born, major moves, family highlights, work or roles she chose.
• Personal memories and character pick two to four short stories or images that show her personality, values, habits, and humor.
• Closing summarize a lesson or legacy, thank the listeners, and provide a gentle farewell line or reading suggestion such as a favorite poem or song lyric.

Why this structure works

It gives listeners context before you layer emotion. The biographical sketch keeps strangers in the room from feeling lost. The memory section is where you humanize the details. The closing gives everyone a sense of completion and a thing to hold onto after they leave.

Choose the Tone That Fits Her

Your great grandmother might have been solemn, fierce, goofy, religious, or a mix. Let her personality guide the tone. If she loved jokes include brief, tasteful humor. If she was deeply spiritual keep the language reverent. If she was a rebel include the stories that show that edge. Being honest about the person respects their life and helps listeners feel the truth.

Examples of tones and when to use them

• Warm and funny use when she loved to laugh and made others laugh.
• Quiet and reflective use when she preferred routine and small acts of care.
• Inspirational use when she overcame hardship or lived as an example of values you admire.
• Faith centered use when religion was central to her life. Include scriptures or hymns the family knows.

How to Start Writing: Prompts That Break the Blank Page

Start with memory prompts. Set a timer for ten minutes and write fast. Don’t edit. Use these prompts to get started.

• What is the first memory you have of her?
• What was a thing she did that felt like she was speaking without saying words?
• What object in your house most reminds you of her?
• What is one thing she cooked or fixed that is impossible to replicate?
• What advice did she repeat? How did you break it or follow it?

After you have several memories pick the two to four that provide the clearest image and say the most about her. Those will be your core stories. Keep supporting details short so you do not lose the audience.

Write Like You Speak

Your eulogy should sound like you. If you write in too formal a tone you may freeze when you read it. Write conversationally and then practice reading out loud. Write shorter sentences and use natural pauses. Use contractions if you say them in real life. If you have an accent that affects cadence leave it in. Authenticity is more powerful than polished rhetoric.

Example edit

Before: It is with a profound sense of loss and gratitude that I stand before you to commemorate the life of my great grandmother.

After: I am here because of my great grandmother. I want to tell you a story about her laugh and what it taught me.

What to Include in the Biographical Sketch

Keep the life facts short and relevant. People want story more than a resume. Still include key facts so the memory pieces land where they should.

• Full name and any nicknames she preferred.
• Birthplace and date only if it helps context.
• Key roles like mother, immigrant, veteran, teacher, seamstress, baker, volunteer.
• Major moves or life changes such as immigration, long marriage, career pivot.
• Survivors briefly listed by relation such as children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.

Example phrase: She was born in 1928 in the small town of Riverbend. She moved to the city in her twenties to take a job as a seamstress. She married Thomas in 1950 and raised three children. She was the quiet center of family holidays for as long as anyone can remember.

Choose Two to Four Stories That Show Who She Was

Each story should have a small scene, a detail, and a feeling. Aim for sensory details that make the story tangible. Names, objects, places, and short dialogue lines help listeners visualize the memory.

Example memory framework

1. One line summary of the moment
2. Concrete detail such as an object or a sound
3. Why it mattered to you or what it taught you

Example: She would wake at five and make coffee. The coffee jar rattled like a tiny drum. Those mornings became our time. She never asked about success. She asked if you had eaten and if you slept enough. That taught me that care is showing up every day in small ways.

How to Handle Tough Topics in a Eulogy

Lives are complicated. If there were difficult parts do not feel forced to gloss over them. You can acknowledge imperfection without diving into family disputes. A useful technique is to name complexity and then show what the person did despite it or how the family learned from it.

Example phrasing for complexity

She was not perfect. She made mistakes like all of us. What I remember more than any mistake is the way she tried again and kept loving us through messy times.

Include Humor Wisely

Humor can be a relief and a tribute when it respects the person. Use short anecdotes that show her wit or quirky habits. Avoid sarcasm that could be misread by people who held different relationships with her. If you use self deprecating jokes about your own grief people will often smile and relax into the story.

Safe humorous example

Great grandmother taught me to iron like a pro. She also taught me that you can never have too many towels. If you ever visited in July you left with a towel, unsolicited advice, and a full stomach.

Closing Lines That Stick

Your closing should return to a single thought or image. It can be a short lesson, a line of gratitude, or a final goodbye. End with a line that listeners can repeat. Closing with a single sentence that feels like a benediction gives the room a chance to exhale.

Examples of closing lines

• She taught me to put people first. Let us do the same for each other.
• Carry her laugh with you. It is louder than sorrow when it comes back in a room.
• Thank you for loving her. We will honor her by living with generosity the way she did.

Practical Tips for Delivery

Writing is half the work. Delivering is the other half. Here are practical steps to make sure you get through it.

• Print the speech on paper in a readable font size. Electronic screens can glare and cause delays.
• Mark natural pauses and breaths in the text with a small dot or bracket. Reading slowly helps listeners absorb details.
• Practice aloud at least five times. Practice in front of one friend if possible. Time yourself and trim if needed.
• Use water. Keep a glass or bottle near you in case your throat tightens.
• If you cry pause. Take a breath. Say I need a moment and continue. The room will let you.
• Consider reading with another family member if you want support on stage. They can hand off to you at a natural point.
• Ask the officiant where to stand and whether a microphone will be provided. Test audio if possible.

How to Prepare When You Are Emotional

Being emotional is normal. Plan for it. Write more than you will likely read and mark the lines you intend to read. Tell a close family member or the officiant you might need help. If you stop because of tears a person nearby can step in to finish or offer to read the last paragraph for you. Another option is to pre record part of the speech. A recording can be played if the live reading is interrupted.

Recording and Sharing the Eulogy

Decide early if the family wants the eulogy recorded and posted. Some families prefer privacy. Others want the audio or video to be shared with distant relatives. If you allow sharing make sure you speak clearly and avoid naming private family disputes on the recording. Ask permission before posting photos or full videos online.

Tech tip for millennials: Record a high quality audio backup on your phone as you practice. Use the phone microphone close to your mouth but not so close that breaths spike the levels. This gives you a fallback in case amplification fails.

Templates and Fill In The Blank Eulogies You Can Use

The following templates are ready to customize. Replace bracketed text with names and details. Use your own voice and adjust the tone.

Short and Simple Template

Hello. My name is [Your name]. I am [relation] of [Great grandmother name]. Thank you for being here today to celebrate her life. She was born in [place] and her life was defined by [one short phrase such as her work, her family, her generosity]. A memory I always carry is [short memory]. It shows how she lived and what she valued. She taught me [one lesson]. I will miss her voice, her laugh, and her hands when she made [favorite thing]. Thank you for loving her. Please hold her close in your stories and in your actions.

Warm and Funny Template

Good afternoon. I am [Your name], one of the many great grandchildren who were pretty sure she loved us for our manners but not our fashion sense. [Great grandmother name] had a law that Sundays were for food and naps and that rule was sacred. She could spot the best produce in a market from a block away and she could tell you the exact day a pot roast would be ready. Once she taught me how to mend a shirt and then took the stitches out because she said I was doing it wrong. That is love. She reminded us that small things add up to a full life. Thank you for being here to remember her. When you leave please eat something she would approve of and tell one story about her that makes you smile.

Faith Based Template

Thank you for gathering. I am [Your name]. [Great grandmother name] believed that service mattered more than recognition. Her faith was visible in the way she welcomed strangers and in the quiet prayers she whispered each night. One memory I keep is [short memory of service or faith]. It teaches me that faith is not always loud. Sometimes it is staying at the bedside of a neighbor or bringing soup to someone in need. We trust that her spirit rests in peace. Let us honor her by living the charity she modeled.

Detailed Longer Template for Family Services

Hello everyone. I am [Your name] and I stood on the shoulders of [Great grandmother name]. She was born in [year] in [place], the daughter of [parents names if you want]. She moved to [city] when she was [age], worked as a [job if relevant], and married [spouse name] in [year]. They raised [number] children and welcomed [number] grandchildren and [number] great grandchildren. For me the clearest image is her kitchen table. It was where political debates were softened by tea and where birthdays always included a slice of her lemon cake. She had a rule about never leaving without saying goodbye and she meant it. She taught me resilience by living through [one hardship] and kindness by donating her time to [volunteer work]. If I ever need a compass I look back at how she showed up. We will miss her steady hands and her stories. Thank you for carrying those stories forward with us.

Example Eulogies You Can Use as Starting Points

The following are full sample eulogies with different tones. Use them as templates. Replace names and details with your own and give yourself permission to shorten or alter sentences so they sound like you.

Example 1 Warm and Simple

Hello. My name is Anna and I am one of the great grandchildren of Margaret Lewis. Thank you for joining us to remember her. Margaret was born in 1931 in Cedar Grove. She married Frank in 1952 and they built a life that always had room for people. Margaret ran a small bakery for many years. She did not advertise much. Her business worked because neighbors recommended her pies and because she remembered birthdays without a calendar. When I was a kid I learned how to roll dough at her elbow. She would hum under her breath while we worked which made the kitchen feel like a safe place even when the rest of the world was loud. She taught me how to slow down. For her slowing down meant listening, noticing the small victories, and making sure everyone had enough. I miss her advice and her pies. I am grateful for the way she loved and for the way she taught me to greet mornings. Thank you for loving Margaret and for sharing her stories with us today.

Example 2 Funny and Affectionate

Hi. I am Michael. My great grandmother Jessie had a rule about cake. She believed that there was always room for cake and she would argue it until you gave in. Jessie had a laugh that started in her chest and finished in your face. When she visited she would sit down and ask you where you were in life and then tell you about the time she rode a bus to a job interview with unmatched socks. She never pretended to be perfect and she expected the same from everyone else. If you made a mess she would fix it and then tell you a story about how she once fixed something far worse. She taught me the value of getting up again. The last year of her life taught me the value of patience. Thank you, Jessie, for the stories, the cake, and the perfect stubbornness we will all miss.

Example 3 Reflective and Faith Centered

Good afternoon. My name is Ruth. Our great grandmother Esther had faith in practical things. She believed in the dignity of work and in the power of prayer. Her faith did not keep her from grief. It helped her hold it. I remember her hands folded each morning at the kitchen window and how she would say a small blessing before bread. She lived life as a quiet ministry. When neighbors needed rides she offered them. When the church asked for volunteers she was there. She taught us that faith is visible in action. I am grateful for her witness and I am comforted by the community she helped build. May we honor her by living with the same generosity she taught us.

Remember to Explain Terms for the Audience

If you use terms that might be unfamiliar explain them briefly. For example

• Pallbearer. The people who carry the coffin or casket during a funeral. If you are naming pallbearers check with them first.
• Visitation or viewing. A time before the funeral when people come to see the body and offer condolences. Not all families hold viewings.
• Officiant. The person leading the ceremony. They might be a clergy member or a friend chosen to guide the service.
• Order of service. A printed program that lists the sequence of events in the funeral. It helps guests follow along.

What Not to Say

There are common traps to avoid when you write a eulogy.

• Avoid lengthy lists of accomplishments without stories. Names and dates matter, but listeners want scenes more than a laundry list.
• Avoid airing family grievances. A funeral is not the place to settle disputes even when you feel justified.
• Avoid comparing suffering. Each person grieves differently. Keep the focus on honoring the person who died.
• Avoid over explaining. If you must share a complicated detail use simple language and a short context sentence.

Practice Checklist Before You Speak

• Have a printed copy in large font. Keep a spare with a friend or the officiant.
• Time your reading and trim if it goes over the allotted time.
• Check the microphone and its placement. Ask for a test run if possible.
• Tell one person that you might need help on stage. Name that person if possible.
• Bring tissues. Bring water.
• Identify a quiet phrase for yourself to start if you feel overwhelmed such as This is for her and take a breath.

After the Eulogy: What Comes Next

People often expect that once the speech ends everything returns to normal. It does not. Give yourself permission to sit down and let others come to you. Family and friends will likely want to say thank you. Decide ahead if you want to speak privately with people or offer a general thank you after the service. If you are exhausted consider stepping outside for a short break and then rejoining the gathering for food and memories if you can.

How to Share the Eulogy Text With Family

Some families like to keep a written copy for archives. Offer to send a digital copy to a designated family member or the family email. If you prefer privacy let the family know. If you adapt the eulogy into a printed order of service confirm right away since printing schedules can be tight.

Sample Closing Lines to Borrow

• Go with love. Go with our stories. We will carry you with us.
• May we be kinder because we knew her.
• She taught us how to show up. Let us show up for each other now.
• Rest easy. We will tell your story until our voices are tired.

Eulogy Examples Summary That You Can Steal

Pick a template, insert personal details, practice it aloud, and cut any line that does not sound like you when you speak. If you are short on time write one paragraph bio, two small memories, and one closing sentence. That will create a three minute eulogy and it will land because it is focused.

FAQ

Who usually gives a eulogy

Traditionally a close family member such as a child or spouse gives the main eulogy. Great grandchildren and grandchildren often give readings or short tributes. Friends, clergy, and community members sometimes speak. Coordinate with the family and the officiant so no one is surprised and so the order of speakers makes sense.

What if I can only read a short speech

Short can be powerful. If your speech is one to two minutes focus on a clear memory and a single closing line. Say what you meant to say and leave space for others to share. Being concise shows respect for the audience time and for the variety of people who will want to speak.

Can I include a poem or song lyric

Yes. If you include a poem or song lyric check copyright if the service will be recorded or posted online. Use short excerpts if needed and name the author. Choose a poem or lyric that the family recognizes and agrees with.

Should I publish the eulogy online

Ask the family before posting. Some families want privacy. Others welcome an online memorial. If published consider adding photos and a short caption that invites shared memories in comments for relatives who cannot attend.

What if I forget my lines

If you lose your place take a breath and look up. The audience wants you to succeed. You can say I am sorry I lost my place and then continue from the last line you remember. If you prefer bring note cards with just the first line of each paragraph to jog memory. Keep a helper near the lectern if possible.