Funeral eulogies are often one of those things that either people remember for a long time after they are given or that people forget right away.  Of course, sometimes they aren’t remembered for the right reasons.  A bad eulogy or a eulogy that upsets someone will be remembered much longer than a eulogy that perfectly praised and remembered the deceased.  This is why it’s very important to know exactly what you want to say in a eulogy before you start speaking.  If you say the wrong thing and hurt someone’s feelings, it can be disastrous.

Another thing to note about funeral eulogies is that not every religion allows them.  The Catholic religion, for example, has a homily, or commentary on the scripture, that church rules say cannot be replaced by a eulogy during a funeral mass.  Some other churches replace the eulogy with a reading from the Bible or with a short sermon.  At other funerals, there may not be a eulogy per se.  Instead, a number of people close to the deceased may get up and speak about his or her life.  Sometimes, the eulogy will be delivered by two or three people either taking turns at the front of the church or standing together.

If you find yourself asked to deliver a funeral eulogy at any point, you should be ready to put a good amount of thought and feeling into your speech.  Funeral eulogies are meant to do more than just summarize the life of the deceased, although that is what many end up doing.  If you want to really touch people, however, and speak about your loved one in a way that would make them proud, you need to do more than just recount their life.  Many of the best funeral eulogies incorporate personal stories, touching moments, and sometimes even a bit of humor.  It’s OK to tell funny stories or talk about light hearted things that your loved one enjoyed.  Funeral eulogies do not always have to be serious or deeply reflective.  Sometimes, a little humor actually helps the grieving process.

Funeral eulogies are very difficult to both write and deliver.  Some people find themselves emotionally overcome while trying to speak of their loved one, while others find it more difficult writing down their thoughts in an organized way.  In the end, no matter what happens, funeral eulogies are about speaking of your loved one, and as long as you do that in the best way you can, you will have made him or her proud.