Never seeing your best friend again is scary; it fills your mind with anguish and sorrow. And when suffering a sudden loss, composing a eulogy for a friend sudden death is highly challenging. When going through a time like this, finding words to describe your feelings isn’t an easy task. However, it’s also crucial to share their imprint on the community and their impact on us.
By preparing an obituary or a eulogy for a friend, you can give a heartfelt tribute to a friend at a funeral for all the years of incredible bond you both have shared. The little memories that slipped out while growing up together. Reminiscing the life you both shared.
So, How do you write an obituary for your best friend? In this blog, let us try to understand what an obituary is and how we can write a heartfelt eulogy for a friend.
What is an Obituary?
Almost everyone has come across the term ‘Obituary‘ at some point in their lives. Let it be in the tiny side articles of the Newspaper we read daily or radio announcements or Television broadcasts. If asked what Obituary means, one can say, “It’s the way of communicating to the world through your words on paper that your loved one has passed on to the afterlife.”
Eulogy
A eulogy, in simpler words, is like a life sketch or tribute speech read out at the funeral of a loved one. One can also express it in the form of a song or a poem, or it even can be presented in the form of symbolic items placed on or near the coffin, like something the beloved deceased has enjoyed or treasured, for example, their favorite flowers, their favorite hockey stick or toys and similar stuff.
You can get a basic idea of what to say or write by reading a few short eulogy examples for a friend.
- An obituary is not the same as a eulogy, usually presented at a funeral or memorial service. An Obituary is writing, while a eulogy is a speech delivered at the memorial of a loved one. Deciding on a speaker (or more than one) is a part of funeral planning.
- A well-written obituary can provide a great starting point for the person delivering the Eulogy, at your friend’s funeral or memorial service. You can also use it as part of the death notice or the funeral program.
Tips for Writing a Eulogy for a Friend
People might often wonder how to write a eulogy for a friend. Or How do you write a tribute to a friend? From examining numerous obituaries written by families and friends, it is clear that an excellent tribute to a friend at a funeral tells the stories of the beloved one’s life in their tone, using their language, thoughts, points of view, and similar.
So, if you ever wish to write a eulogy for your loved one, then take their thoughts and opinions to the soul. Think about what they would say to you if you were sitting down and having a chit-chat together.
- How would your friend wish to be remembered?
- What was utmost crucial to your friend?
- What didn’t matter to them at all?
- What was that one thing that was unique about your friend?
- Why would you always remember them fondly?
- How did your friend influence others?
- What inspired your friend the most?
Photographing someone in the final stage of their life requires pondering these vital questions. And there is no “correct way” to write an obituary. Thus you’re free to keep it as accurate as you desire, humorous or creative, whichever way you see fit. Keeping these in mind, you can manage to write a touching eulogy for friend.
Pro tip: It’s always better to have at least two people (including one family member) look over your Obituary for any spelling, grammar, or factual inaccuracy. Family members may be upset if something erroneous gets published.
Touching Eulogy for Friend
The efficient way to start writing an obituary/eulogy for a friend sudden death is to write what you know first about your friend. Begin with how you came to know the person, how you became friends with the person, how your friendship blossomed, and every little detail that made a difference for you, write it down. Describe some of your personal favorite experiences, memories, and moments you shared and what your friendship meant to you.
Once you have all of your facts collected and sorted, decide on a theme or vision statement to create a narrative of your friend’s life journey. You may provide a chronological account of your friend’s life, or you can choose another theme related to their philosophy, values, and expertise. You also can connect with clergy members who provide pastoral care in your friend’s faith tradition.
Writing Eulogy for a friend’s sudden death is tricky; having a word with the funeral home director for other suggestions can also be helpful.
Take the time to suffuse the speech with your beloved friend’s personality. Your Obituary doesn’t have to read like a boring history lesson from your old textbook. Adding life experiences, humor, and your friend’s point of view to the Obituary makes it an honest, personal, and forthcoming narrative of their life.
For a Christian tribute to a friend who died, you can take references from the bible readings such as the Lord bless you and keep you: Numbers 6.24-26, Faith in action: Hebrews 11.13-16, or maybe I go to prepare a place for you: John 14.1-6.
Finally, consider including one or more ways to open or close your obituary/eulogy.
- Inspirational quote
- Scripture passage
- Famous saying
- Song lyric
- Good poem
- Anything meaningful to your deceased friend
If you’re still unsure where to begin, we’re here to help.
Eulogy for Friend who Died of Cancer
The sudden death of a loved one is an unimaginable tragedy. Due to this, there will be changes in our lives that we never anticipated. The term “Cancer” itself sounds like a synonym for death, and imagining losing some dear to us because of that, is a living nightmare.
To honor a brave soul who kept fighting until their very last day, here are a few starters for a Eulogy for friend who died of cancer.
- It would have been nice to say a proper goodbye to you; you showed me what being strong and resilient truly means. You’ll always live on in my heart.
- Even while I mourn your sudden loss, dear friend, I am grateful for the love we continue to share.
- I wasn’t ready for you to leave, dearest friend.
- I hope that as the pain fades away, your sudden demise will be a reminder for me to live every little and beautiful moment to its fullest. And be as strong as you were.
Short Eulogy for a Friend
Numerous writers have written a sufficient number of references over the internet, beautifully expressed in the maximum natural flow. Taking account of all those writings, let’s look at these eulogy examples for a friend, which we sorted especially to help you figure out how you want to express your emotions for the friend you lost.
You can also refer to some Sample eulogy for unexpected death from online memorial sites, social media, and newspaper articles. The following examples might provide you with some ideas on where to start.
- Thank you all for attending my friend’s memorial today for a proper send-off to my classmate. I met him seven years ago at a middle school inter-school soccer match. I never thought a day that I would be losing you this soon. He was brave and had an adventurous spirit. All of us could see how much joy you brought each other; I hope you can find comfort in your memories.
- He did me the honor of being the best man at my wedding – one of the happiest days of my life. I’m glad he decided to be a part. He always stood along with me and believed in me even on the days when I was in the worst form of myself. For all of this a ludicrous word like ‘thank you won’t be enough to show my gratitude towards him. He believed in me at that time when I didn’t believe in myself, and for that, I cannot ever thank him enough. I want you to know, my friend, that I love you with all my heart and that I will never forget you. You will always live through my memories.
Conclusion
Let it be preparing an obituary or a eulogy for a friend; the purpose of assembling these is to reconcile the glimpses of the beloved one we lost, to give tribute to a friend at a funeral.
Deaths are sudden and inevitable components of life. All that is left behind are the memories of the person who lived—cherishing them through the snippets of the world we shared with them. Thus composing a goodbye funeral speech for a friend is crucial for preserving the essence of the deceased in the words of their beloved family and friends.
We at Clocr provide an excellent way to commemorate your loved one’s life. Through Clocr, you can upload photos, images, and videos and record the places where your loved one lived or went on vacation, along with an account of any or all parts of their life, and safeguard them using Clocr’s digital vault.
With Family Vault Services, you can create a permanent, digital vault for your loved ones and their memories. The owner’s nominated beneficiaries can always access this vault after their demise. Throughout generations, people close to them will always be able to revisit their life history and will be able to reminisce about their life from the owner’s perspective. Join Clocr today!
