Eulogy for a Father: How to Write a Eulogy Your Dad Would Be Proud Of

Though mom is usually the glue that holds a family together, dad is the person who has to make sure that the family is O.K. For every dad there is a different way of doing this. The bottom line is that if you look for it, usually the love is there. You might not understand that love because it comes in a form that’s different than you think it should. Maybe his love is shown in ways you never imagined, such as working 12 hours a day or checking on you at night when he would come home long after you were asleep. It could be bringing you home a gift or taking you to throw the football, teaching you baseball or teaching you to fly a kite.

Whatever way your dad showed you his love this is the time to be able to use that love to help you at a most difficult task – writing his eulogy. Since a eulogy is a remembrance of the individual who died, find a quiet place to think about your dad and remember. This is a frantic time full of grief, but you have been chosen for this privilege and honor and you will be able to do it in a few steps.

First, think about the things that stand out most to you about your dad and write them down briefly. These – and memories from family members and close friends – will be the foundation and the body of your eulogy. Then all you need is a beginning and an ending.

The beginning of a eulogy usually starts with information about the person such as when they were born, where they were born, how long they were married, how many children, if their parents are alive (name them anyway), brothers and sisters, college, profession and community activities. Then you can continue with the thoughts you’ve gathered. Briefly write them as the example shows below:

• I remember dad teaching the 3 of us kids to fly kites. He bought us each our own and put our names on them. One day, we got tangled with each other and a tree. Dad worked over 2 hours to get everything untangled!
• Our trip to Yosemite – incident with bear
• Dad and me fishing
• Dad and Mom’s 50th Anniversary
• Even at age 70 he still played ball with us – and he was good!

There may be other points that you wish to put into the eulogy. You can put as many as time allows and you feel comfortable with.

A eulogy usually ends with some sentiment such as:

Dad was a pretty quiet man so a lot of people never knew about his great sense of humor, such as in some of the stories we talked about. He gave us a great life and made each of us kids and his grandkids feel special in our own way. He was a good man and a great dad and grandpa. We will all miss him dearly. Thank you for coming to remember him with our family.

Once you have put together the basic ideas, it is the feelings of love and respect you have inside that will help you to create – and deliver – a eulogy your dad would be proud of.