Short Eulogy Examples: 10 Brief Tributes You Can Make Your Own

A short eulogy can still hold a whole life. When you only have a minute or two, or when you aren't sure you can get through more, a few true words are enough. Below are short eulogy examples for a mother, a father, a grandparent, a spouse, a sibling, a friend, a coworker, a neighbor you didn't know well, a young person and a pet, plus a fill-in-the-blank template.

Key points

A short eulogy runs about 1 to 2 minutes. At a calm speaking pace, that's about 125 to 300 words.
One clear picture of the person, one small story and a goodbye are all a short eulogy needs.
Short is often best when several people are speaking, when a faith service asks for brief remarks, or when grief is very new.
These samples are original, and the names are made up. Borrow the shape and fill in your own person.

Short on time, or on words? If you'd rather write by hand, the eulogy workbook is coming soon.

What makes a short eulogy work

Say who you are. One line is enough: "I'm Lena, Joe's youngest."
Choose one quality. Generous, stubborn, funny, steady. Let everything else wait.
Tell one small story that shows it. Small and specific is stronger than big and general.
End with a goodbye. Speaking to them directly gives you a clear last line.
Time it out loud. If it runs long, cut a story, not the feeling.

For longer samples, see Eulogy Examples. For step-by-step help, see Tips for Writing a Eulogy.

Short eulogy for a mother (about 2 minutes)

For a mom who worked hard and showed her love in small ways. For more, see Eulogy for Mom.

Good morning. I'm Ivy, and Paulette was my mom.

For most of my childhood, my mother worked nights cleaning offices downtown. She'd come home just as we were waking up, and there would be pancakes keeping warm in the oven and a note on the table. The notes said things like "Wear your coat," "Proud of you," and once, "Do not feed the dog the pancakes." We fed the dog the pancakes.

I found a shoebox of those notes in her closet this week. She kept the ones we wrote back. Every single one.

Mom was tired a lot, and she never once let us feel like that was our fault. She came to school plays on no sleep. She signed permission slips at six in the morning. She listened to every long, rambling story we told her as if it were the most interesting thing she'd heard all day.

I don't think she knew how much those small things added up. They added up to everything.

Mom, I'll keep the shoebox. I'll wear my coat. I'm proud of you too. I love you.

Short eulogy for a father (about 2 minutes)

For a dad whose memory faded near the end of his life. For more, see Eulogy for Dad.

Hello, everyone. I'm Owen, Gil's son.

My father was the band director at the high school for thirty-one years. Some of you here today marched for him, in the rain, at seven in the morning, while he yelled "Pick up your feet!" through a megaphone. He meant it lovingly. Mostly.

In the last two years, Dad's memory slipped away from him a little at a time. Some days he didn't know my name. But I want you to know something. Even on those days, if I hummed the first few notes of the school fight song, he'd sit up straight and hum the rest. Every note. Then he'd tap the beat on the arm of his chair and smile like he'd just won the state competition.

The music stayed with him when other things didn't. I think that's because it was never just music to him. It was all of you. It was every kid he ever taught to keep time.

Dad, we'll keep time for you now. Pick up your feet, everybody. I love you, Dad.

Short eulogy for a grandparent (about 1 minute)

For a grandparent with a quiet hobby they loved. For more, see Eulogy for a Grandmother.

Hi. I'm Lily, and Clem was my grandpa.

Grandpa Clem kept a rain gauge on the back fence and a calendar by the kitchen door. Every morning for fifty-one years, he wrote down the high, the low and how much rain fell. Nobody asked him to. He just liked knowing.

If a storm was coming, he called every one of us. "Lily, it's going to hail at four. Park under something." He was right more often than the TV.

He taught me to read the sky from his porch, and to do the Sunday crossword in pen, "because pencil is for people who plan to be wrong."

Grandpa, it rained this morning. I checked the gauge for you. A quarter inch. I wrote it down. I love you.

Short eulogy for a husband or wife (about 1½ minutes)

Warm, with a little humor. Change the details to fit your own marriage.

Thank you all for coming. I'm Teo, and I was married to Marisol for forty-four years.

My wife owned a label maker, and she was not afraid to use it. Our pantry was labeled. The garage was labeled. One year she labeled the remote control "REMOTE," which I thought was a little pointed.

But underneath the labels was the most generous person I've ever known. When the family next door lost their house to a fire, she had our whole block organized before the trucks had left. Meals, clothes, a place to sleep. Then she labeled the boxes.

Marisol, I don't know where anything is now. You'll have to keep an eye on me. Thank you for forty-four years. I loved you the day I met you, and I love you more today.

Short eulogy for a brother or sister (about 2 minutes)

For siblings in a blended family. It works just as well for siblings who grew up together from the start.

Hi, everyone. I'm Bea, and Kit was my sister.

We weren't born sisters. We became sisters when I was eight and she was ten, the summer our parents got married. For the first month, we split our bedroom down the middle with a strip of masking tape. By the end of that summer, the tape was gone, and we were whispering after lights out about everything.

Kit was the brave one. She went first at everything: the high dive, the first job, the first apartment in a city where she didn't know a soul. Then she'd call me and tell me exactly what to expect, so I could be brave too.

When people asked how we were related, Kit always answered before I could. "Sisters," she'd say. "The tape came down years ago."

Kit, you went first again, and I wish you hadn't. But I know you'll save me a spot, and I know you'll tell me what to expect. Thank you for taking down the tape. I love you.

Short eulogy for a friend (about 1 minute)

With a light Jewish touch at the end. Change or leave out the faith line to suit your friend.

Hello. I'm Sam, and Avi and I were friends for fifty-two years, since the first day of seventh grade, when he lent me a pencil and never asked for it back.

Avi sent postcards. From every trip he ever took, even trips to the next town over. "Weather fine. Food terrible. Wish you were here." I have a drawer full of them.

He could argue about baseball for three hours and forgive you in three seconds. He taught my kids to play chess and let them believe they'd figured it out on their own.

I'm going to miss checking the mailbox. Avi, I still have your pencil. May your memory be a blessing, my friend.

Short eulogy for a coworker (about 1½ minutes)

For a colleague, when you knew them mostly through work.

Good morning. I'm Luis, and I worked beside Glenda for eleven years at the county clerk's office.

If you've ever renewed anything at that office, there's a good chance Glenda helped you. She knew every form by its number, and she knew most of the people in line by name. When someone came to the counter upset, she'd say, "Okay. Let's fix it together." And somehow, she always did.

She kept a spare cardigan on the back of her chair for anyone who got cold, and a box of tissues for anyone who needed one. I borrowed both, more than once.

The office is very quiet this week. We've left her mug on her desk for now. Glenda, thank you for fixing things together with us. We'll keep doing it the way you taught us.

Short eulogy for someone you didn't know well (about 1 minute)

For when you're asked to speak but only knew the person a short time. It's fine to lean on what others have told you, and to say so.

Hello. I'm Ellen. I've only been Vernon's neighbor for two years, so I asked his family to help me with what to say today.

What I can tell you is what I saw. Every morning at seven, Vernon walked to the end of his driveway, picked up his paper, and waved at every car that went by, whether he knew them or not. Most of them waved back.

His daughter told me he'd done that at every house he ever lived in. "He thought a wave was the least you could do," she said.

I didn't know Vernon long, but I knew him long enough to miss him. Tomorrow morning I'll be at the end of my driveway, waving. Thank you, Vernon.

Short eulogy for a young person (about 2 minutes)

For a teenager or young adult. There's no need to say how they died. Share only what the family is comfortable with.

Hi, everyone. I'm Tessa. Jamie was my cousin, and for most of our lives, my best friend.

Jamie was twenty, and that is not nearly enough. But I want to tell you about the twenty years we got.

Jamie was the kid who brought home every stray: cats, dogs, one very confused turtle, and a lot of people who needed a friend. If you sat alone in the cafeteria, Jamie sat down next to you. If you were the new kid, Jamie made sure you got invited.

Jamie made terrible playlists with great names. Jamie could fall asleep anywhere, including once, standing up, at a concert. Jamie was going to study animal science and had already picked out a name for the farm.

I don't have a lesson for you today, because I don't understand any of this. All I know is that Jamie made the world feel bigger and kinder, and now it's up to us to keep it that way.

So sit with the person who's sitting alone. Bring home the stray. Make the terrible playlist.

Jamie, I love you. I'll keep your playlists. I'll miss you every day.

Short tribute for a pet (about 1 minute)

For a family goodbye at home, in the yard, or wherever your pet loved best. A pet's life deserves to be remembered out loud.

We're here to say goodbye to Juniper.

Juniper was a gray cat with opinions. She came to us from the shelter at nine years old, the age when most people walk past, and she gave us eight more years.

She slept on whatever paper you needed most. She sat in the front window every afternoon to supervise the birds. When anyone in this house was sick or sad, she found them, curled up close, and purred until it got a little better.

Juniper, thank you for choosing us back. The window is empty without you. You were a very good cat, and we will love you always.

If you'd like a lasting reminder, some families read a pet tribute aloud while placing a memorial stone in the garden. More ideas are in Pet Memorial Ideas.

A fill-in-the-blank short eulogy template

Use this as a starting point. Fill in the blanks, read it out loud, then change any word that doesn't sound like you.

Hello. I'm ________, and ________ was my ________.

If I had to describe [name] in one word, it would be ________. You could see it in the way [name] ________ (something they always did).

One memory I'll always keep is ________ (a small, specific story: where you were, what they said, how it ended).

[Name] taught me ________. I'll carry that with me every time I ________.

[Name], thank you for ________. I'll miss ________. I love you.

Filled in, the template runs about 1 minute. To stretch it to 2 minutes, add a second small story or a line they always used to say.

Many families print a short eulogy in the service program or on a memorial card, so people can take the words home.

Getting through it

Print it in large type, double-spaced, with a breath marked after each paragraph.
Give a copy to someone who can finish reading it for you if you need them to.
It's okay to stop, cry and start again. Everyone in the room is on your side.

If you've been asked to give a welcome, a reading or the thank-you instead of the eulogy, see Funeral Speech. If you're wondering what a eulogy is meant to do in the first place, What Is a Eulogy? answers the most common questions.

Want a head start on your first draft? Take it slowly, page by page, with the eulogy workbook.

Sources

The sample eulogies and the template are original writing. Times are estimates based on a speaking pace of about 125 to 150 words per minute.
University of Minnesota Libraries, Communication in Practice, Vocal Delivery - https://open.lib.umn.edu/commpractice/chapter/vocal-delivery/