EulogyApp

How to write a eulogy for your husband

Written by the person with the least distance from it.

The short answer

How long:
A eulogy for your husband usually runs three to five minutes spoken, which is about 500 to 800 words.
Structure:
Open by saying who you were to them, carry the middle with two specific stories, and close on one line you can say and then stop.
The one thing:
Specific beats comprehensive. One story told properly does more than a list of virtues, every time.
If you cannot finish it:
Asking someone else to read it for you is common and entirely acceptable. Tell the funeral director beforehand.

Start with your husband

Free to start. No account needed. Your draft saves as you type.

What makes this one hard

You are the one who knew him best and the one least able to speak. The practical question is not what to say but whether you can get through it - and there is no shame in asking someone else to read what you wrote.

Questions worth answering first

Answer these on paper, badly, before you try to write anything that sounds like a eulogy.

  • How did you meet, and what did you think of him at first?
  • What was an ordinary Tuesday with him like?
  • What did he do that only you ever saw?
  • What did he call you, and what did he mean by it?

The shape that works

  1. Gather specifics, not adjectives. Write down concrete details before you write a single sentence of the eulogy. One real moment is worth a paragraph of praise.
  2. Choose a tone and a length. Decide how it should sound and how long you can speak for. Four to six minutes, around 500 to 800 words, suits most services.
  3. Shape it into three parts. An opening that says who you are to them, a middle carrying the stories, and a closing line you can say out loud and then stop.
  4. Read it aloud and cut. Read it standing up. Anything you stumble over, cut. Print it in large type, or use a reader that scrolls at your pace.

Questions people ask

What if I cannot get through it?

Plan for it. Give a copy to someone in the front row and tell them beforehand that they may need to finish. Knowing there is a net makes it far more likely you will not need one.

Should I talk about how he died?

Only as much as the room already knows and only if it tells us something about who he was. The illness is not the story. He is.