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Grandmother Eulogy: Examples and Help Writing a Eulogy for Grandma

Funerals · 12 min read · First published 2026 · Updated November 2026

Black and white close-up of an older person's clasped hands
Photo by Leandro Callegari on Unsplash

A grandmother eulogy is often a thank-you note read out loud. Your grandma may have been the one with the full cookie jar, the one who raised you, or the one you only really understood after she was gone. Whatever she was to you, your memories are worth sharing.

Below you'll find questions to help you gather those memories, three original sample eulogies for a grandmother, a short eulogy for a grandfather, and tips for the day itself, including help for younger grandchildren who want to speak.

Key points

  • A eulogy for your grandma can be as short as 1 minute or as long as about 5. If several grandchildren are speaking, 1 to 2 minutes each is plenty.
  • A spoken minute is about 125 to 150 words.
  • Use what you called her: Grandma, Nana, Abuela, Bubbe, Lola, Nani, Oma or a name only your family uses.
  • Ask older relatives about her life before you knew her. Those stories often surprise everyone.
  • Grandchildren of any age can take part, by speaking, reading a short letter, or having an adult read for them.

Not sure where to start? The eulogy workbook walks you through it on paper, page by page.

What to include in a eulogy for your grandmother

Most eulogies for a grandmother follow the same simple path: who she was, a story or two that shows it, and what she passed down. Take a few quiet minutes with the questions below. Answer only the ones that spark something.

Who she was to you

  • What did you call her, and how did she get that name?
  • What did her house smell like, sound like or look like when you walked in?
  • What did the two of you do together? Bake, garden, watch a show, take the bus downtown, do puzzles?
  • What did she always say to you, and what did she say about you to other people?

Who she was before you knew her

  • Where did she grow up, and what was her life like as a young woman?
  • What work did she do, at home or outside it?
  • Did she move to a new country, live through hard times, or start over somewhere?
  • What would her oldest friend or her sister tell you about her that you might not know?

Her everyday world

  • What was she known for in the family: a dish, a saying, a talent, a strong opinion?
  • Who were her people? Her church, temple, mosque or synagogue, her neighbors, her card club, her walking friends?
  • Did she have a cat on her lap or a bird singing in the kitchen? A grandmother's pet often belongs in her eulogy.

What she passed down

  • What do you do today because she taught you?
  • What do you have of hers: a recipe, a ring, a habit, her laugh?
  • What would she want her great-grandchildren to know about her?

Talk to your cousins, aunts and uncles too. Ask each for one memory. A grandmother belongs to many people, and her eulogy can carry all of them.

Eulogy for grandma: examples

These are original samples with made-up names. Use the shape, then fill in your own grandmother. Timings are approximate, at an easy speaking pace.

A very short, funny eulogy for grandma (under 1 minute)

Written for a teenager or young adult to read. Short, light and loving.

Hi. I'm Kayla, and Bev was my grandma.

Grandma Bev texted in all capital letters. Not because she was angry. She just thought it was easier to read. So every message felt like an emergency. "GOOD MORNING." "DID YOU EAT." "PEPPER SAYS HELLO." Pepper was her cat, and according to Grandma, Pepper had a lot to say.

She came to every one of my games with a folding chair and a bag of oranges for the whole team.

Grandma, I'll keep my phone on. I'll eat. And I'll take care of Pepper. I LOVE YOU.

A eulogy for a grandmother when the relationship was complicated (about 2 to 3 minutes)

For a grandmother who was hard to get close to. Honest, kind, and with some understanding found late.

Good morning. I'm Paul, Irene's grandson.

My grandmother was not a cuddly grandma. Many of you know that. She didn't do sleepovers or bake cookies. When we visited, we sat up straight on her good sofa, and she asked about our grades. If we got a B, she wanted to know why it wasn't an A. As a kid, I was a little afraid of her. As a teenager, I mostly stayed away.

It wasn't until a few years ago that I learned where some of that came from. My aunt told me about Grandma's childhood: losing her own mother young, leaving school at fourteen to work, raising her younger brothers while she was still a girl herself. Nobody ever made a fuss over her. Nobody sat her down to ask about her day. She learned to be tough because she had to be.

When I started visiting her again, as an adult, I brought my questions. And she answered them. She told me about the dress shop where she worked for forty years, and how she saved for a decade to buy her own sewing machine. She told me she had wanted to be a teacher. She showed me the drawer where she kept every report card any of her grandchildren ever sent her. Every single one. Even the ones with B's.

I realized that Grandma loved us the only way she knew how. She wanted us to have the chances she didn't. She just didn't have the words for it.

We weren't close for a long time, and I wish I'd asked my questions sooner. But I'm grateful I got to know her a little before she left us.

Grandma, I see you more clearly now. Thank you for wanting the best for us. I hope you're resting, finally, with nothing left to worry about.

A longer eulogy for a grandmother who raised me, with a touch of faith (about 5 minutes)

Tender and grateful, for a grandmother who was a parent too. Change the faith details to fit your own family.

Good morning, church family, and everyone who loved Dorothy. I'm Jasmine. Most of you knew her as Sister Dorothy or Miss Dot. I called her Grandma, and for most of my life, she was my mother too.

I went to live with my grandmother when I was six. My parents weren't able to take care of me then, and Grandma didn't hesitate. She was sixty-one years old. She had already raised four children. She had a bad knee, a small apartment and a job at the dry cleaner's, sewing hems and fixing zippers. And she made room. She gave me her bedroom and slept on the pull-out couch for two years until we could move somewhere bigger. She never once told me that. I found out from my uncle when I was grown.

My grandmother sewed every Halloween costume I ever wore. A pumpkin, a ladybug, a very complicated astronaut. She worked on them at the kitchen table after her shift, with her reading glasses on the end of her nose and a radio playing gospel music low. She hummed hymns while she ironed, while she cooked, while she waited at the bus stop. If you ever rode the number 14 bus with her, you know she also hummed to the driver.

She took me to the library every Saturday. She'd sit at a table with a mystery novel while I went through the children's section, and we'd each check out as many books as they'd let us carry. She said, "Nobody can take what's in your head." She had left school early, and she wanted more for me. When I graduated from college, she stood up and cheered so loudly that the man in front of us turned around. She told him, "That's my baby," and he said, "Yes, ma'am."

And she loved this church. She sang in the choir for thirty-eight years. She was here every Sunday, every Wednesday night, and most of the days in between, cooking for funerals and visiting the sick. Many of you have told me this week that she sat with you in a hospital, or brought a plate when you'd lost someone, or prayed with you on the phone late at night. That was Grandma. She didn't just believe. She showed up.

She also loved to laugh, mostly at herself. She once wore her church hat to the grocery store and forgot it was on until the cashier complimented it. She took it as a sign from above and wore it every Saturday for a month. And she had a little green parakeet named Deacon who rode on her shoulder while she ironed. Grandma said a bird had no business singing church music. Then she taught him three hymns anyway.

She could be strict. Lord, she could be strict. Homework before television, church clothes ironed on Saturday night, and you did not say "huh" to her. You said "ma'am." But every night, no matter how tired she was, she came to my door, said "Goodnight, baby. God's got you, and so do I," and turned out the light. I said it to my own daughter last night.

In her last weeks, Grandma couldn't sing anymore, so the choir came to her. They stood around her bed at home and sang her favorite hymns, and she moved her hand in time on the blanket. When they finished, she smiled and whispered, "Not bad." That was the highest praise she gave anybody.

Grandma, you made room for me when you didn't have to. You gave me your bed, your faith, your library card and your whole heart. Everything good in my life grew from what you planted. I'll keep humming. I'll keep showing up. Goodnight, Grandma. God's got you now, and we'll always have you with us.

A eulogy for a grandfather

Everything above works for a grandfather too. A few things to think about when you write about your grandpa:

  • Ask about his younger years. Many grandfathers didn't talk much about their own past. His siblings, old friends or army buddies may have the stories.
  • Look at what he made or kept. A workshop, a garden, a stack of crosswords, a coin collection or the birds at his feeder can open up a whole eulogy.
  • Mention his service if he was a veteran and the family is comfortable with it.
  • Remember his kinder side. Grandchildren often saw a softer man than his children did. It's lovely to say so.

A short eulogy for a grandfather (about 1 minute)

Warm and simple, with a light Hindu touch. Swap in your own family's words and customs.

I'm Priya, and I was lucky enough to call Raj my Dadaji.

Every morning, my grandfather did his puja at the little shrine in the corner of the living room. Then he went straight outside to fill the bird feeders. He said the birds were part of his prayers. He knew every cardinal in the yard and gave each one a name, mostly after cricket players.

When I visited, he let me hold the seed. "Be still," he'd say, "and they will come." Most of the time, he was right.

Dadaji, I'll fill the feeders. I'll try to be still. Thank you for teaching me to wait for good things. We love you.

Tips for grandchildren giving a eulogy

  • Keep it short if you need to. One or two minutes is plenty. If several grandchildren want to speak, consider one shared tribute where each person reads one memory.
  • Young children can take part. A child can draw a picture, write a few lines, or tell a memory that an adult reads aloud while the child stands beside them.
  • Teens can bring a phone or paper. Either is fine. Make the type big, turn on Do Not Disturb, and keep a printed copy just in case.
  • Practice out loud. Read it to a parent, a friend or the family dog. You'll find the words that trip you up.
  • Speak slowly and look up now and then. Find a friendly face in the room. Nerves make everyone rush.
  • Have a backup. Give a copy to an adult who can finish for you. Crying is normal, and everyone there understands.
  • Ask how much time you have. The officiant or funeral director can tell you, especially if other family members are also speaking.

Some families turn a grandmother's recipes or her favorite clothes into a keepsake for each grandchild. For more sample tributes and writing help, see Top 5 Eulogy Writing Books.

Still searching for the right words? Sit down with the eulogy workbook and go one page at a time.

Sources

Written by Words to Comfort

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