- HOME ›
- Sample eulogies ›
- Eulogy for my grandmother
Eulogy for My Grandmother: Bertha
An example funeral speech for a beloved Grandma
Contributed by: Craig Curran-Morton | Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada
How do you write a eulogy for a grandmother?
The writer of the eulogy below went looking for answers to help him prepare the speech he had to give at his much-loved grandma's funeral. He found what he needed: examples of eulogies, practical tips and suggestions, and most importantly, understanding and support.
As a thank you, he contributed his eulogy for his grandma to help, inspire, and encourage others, just as he had been. Since then, it's had thousands and thousands of readers from all over the world.
Example eulogy for a grandmother
"Hello. My name is Craig, and I am Bertha’s grandson.
I want to thank you all for coming. Your attendance here speaks volumes about the impact that this wonderful woman had on all of us."
"Some of you knew her as Mom, Great Grandma, GG, and GG Bert or simply as Bertha. Some you may have even called her other names, and I am thinking specifically of her children on this one. I am sure they called her many things over the years.
To me and her 14 other grandchildren she was simply Grandma and to all of us, she was a pretty amazing lady.
To highlight this, I reached out to my cousins and asked them a pretty simple and straightforward question: “What are the 3 words that you would use to describe Grandma?”
Their responses, while simple, begin to paint a detailed portrait of the woman we all knew and loved. I will read them out to you and highlight a few of them.
- Considerate
- Loving
- Selfless
- Nurturing
- Thoughtful
- Generosity
- Compassionate
Grandma was unbelievably compassionate. Her heart and her generosity knew no bounds. Her door was always open - literally. She rarely locked it. You could just walk in, and people often did.
Neighbors, friends, immediate family and relatives, cousins 6 times removed all knew they had a place to stay for a few minutes, a few hours or for a few days, to enjoy her hospitality and her generosity and, her infamous, uh...coffee!
The door was always open, and the food was always plentiful.
Moreover, she donated much of her time to others. Knitting, crocheting, and working on her award-winning liquid embroidery that she loved to do; the items she made and were often donated to organizations to support a charitable cause. She loved to give her time and her focus to others and was always willing to give just a little bit more. She was truly selfless.
I particularly remember that she always made sure to send us her notes of love. Every birthday, every Christmas and each Valentine’s Day, Grandma made sure we received one from her. It was something that we all looked forward to and got excited about. Especially those homemade valentine cards!
Fun and games
- Fun
- Painting Rocks
- Games
- Cards
Grandma was fun! As children, we loved to go and visit her because we always had a good time. In fact, she was the epitome of fun.
She loved to play games and was a phenomenal card and game player. As children, then as teenagers, and then as adults we always looked forward to and enjoyed playing those games: Canasta, Yates, Horse Racing, 65, 5 of a Kind, Connect 4, Around the World, Kings in the Corner, and so many others.
Games were part of her life and many of those same games are now part of our lives. When the deck of cards, the bag of dice, the game board came out, or the call went out for a water fight, or a game of hide and seek, the outside world melted away. We became enthralled in the world of the game and in our grandmother who made it all possible.
The icing on this “fun” cake were the candies that were always plentiful. There were scotch mints, peanuts, humbugs, chicken bones, ju jubs, and jellybeans. It was like entering our very own Willy Wonka Candy Factory. She was fun!
Grandma: determined, strong, stubborn
- Determined
- Strong
- Stubborn
Now some of you would say Grandma was strong. Other might refer to her as determined. Some may even go as far as to say, stubborn. But if you asked her, she'd say, “I am not stubborn. I am independent!”
And independent she was. If she had a viewpoint and a perspective on a given topic, nothing you could do or say would alter that. She would budge but only when she was good and ready, and on her terms.
Pushing a point with Grandma was like swimming against a very strong current. The harder you swam, the more she opened up the floodgates against you!
But in many ways, she had to be independent. Raising her children after Grandpa Joe’s early passing forced her into a position where she had to fight for what she needed. And fight she did. She had to look out for the interests of her children. So, we will give her a pass on this one. She was independent.
Grandma: perfect. Perfect in every respect
- Gregarious
- Creative
- Resourceful
- Inspirational
- Warmth
- Perfect
She was perfect. Perfect in every respect.
- Her laugh
- Her smile
- Her big kisses
- Her hugs
They were perfect, and she was the perfect grandmother. And we are all a little closer to perfection to have had her in our lives.
I love you grandma. You will be missed.
Thank you for the tips and suggestions, for the example eulogies...
With Craig's permission, here's the covering note he wrote when he submitted his eulogy for publication.
Susan,
My grandmother passed away at the beginning of June and I was asked to write her eulogy. I had no idea of where to start and so I reached out to the internet. I came across your site and found it extremely helpful in the tips and suggestions you provided, the examples of other people's eulogies I had access to, and in recognizing that the task I was going to undertake had been difficult for many others. The struggle I was having was near universal.
I was looking for the "right" way to write a eulogy and realized after reading through material on your site that there is no right, or one, way. It is up to me and what I wanted for my eulogy. What I wrote should reflect my own style.
As a thank you, I have submitted the eulogy I delivered in hope it might help others and give them the confidence they need to do this unbelievably difficult thing.
So, thank you.
Regards,
Craig
Comments from readers
Here's a sampling of comments received from readers. Some of them Craig has responded to with a comment of his own.
Mady says: Thank you. My great Grandma is slowly dying of cancer, and I'd like to write her a speech, but I had no idea where to start. Your Eulogy helped me so much!! Thank you. I am so sorry to hear about your Grandmother Bertha.
Clare says: Thank you. My grandmother passed away last Monday and as I'm the eldest grandchild, I was asked to write her eulogy. I am not good at finding the right words to describe her the way I see her in my mind, but you did. Thank you for the loving words you shared. I followed your example and was able to express myself as I wanted to.
Craig's response to Clare: Thank you for your comment. I am sorry for the loss of your grandmother. Know that the words you chose were the words she would have wanted to hear.
Craig
Kate says: Thank you. My mom asked me to do the eulogy for my Nan's celebration of life, next week. It's such an honor, yet a major challenge emotionally. You did an AMAZING job with yours to your grandma and it has helped me spark the ideas to make mine a memorable one for everyone present.
Craig's response to Kate: Kate, I am sorry to hear about your Nan's passing. I'm sure your honored her well.
Craig
Timothy says: Dear Craig, I am having a hard time writing a eulogy for my own grandma who has passed recently, and I found yours was very well written.
Craig's response to Timothy: Thank you for your comment, Timothy. I am sorry to hear about your grandmother. I am glad you liked my eulogy, and I hope it helped you.
Michelle says: I have just lost my great grandmother, and I have to write a speech for the funeral. I was on a total mind blank and then I found this. It was really helpful, and I would like to thank you so much.
Jelisa says: Firstly, my condolences for your loss. Today makes a week since I have lost my own grandmother who had many similarities to your own, I must say. I want to thank you for sharing this as it has given me so much inspiration on what I am expected to say. It takes great courage to share in a difficult time and I commend you for that. Thank you.
Craig's response to Jelisa: Jelisa, I am sorry for the loss of your grandmother. I am glad the eulogy for my grandmother gave you inspiration and I hope your own words bring you comfort in days ahead.
Craig
Jill says: Sadly, I've used this to inspire three of my grandparents' eulogies. I lost both of my grandmothers two years ago and my grandfather this past Tuesday. I don't know that I would have been able to coherently piece something together in such a short amount of time without this to use as a guide. Not only have the eulogies I wrote for them been well thought out, they have also been well received and seconded by family and friends in attendance. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Craig.
Best,
Jill
Craig's response to Jill: I am sorry for your losses Jill. To lose 3 grandparents in such a short time must have been difficult. Your words would have brought much comfort to those friends and family mourning with you. I am glad to hear my writing provided helpful guidance.
Craig
Mike Vanel says: Thanks to your site cuz it made me write the best of all eulogy for my Grammy for her burial.
Alexis says: Thank you for sharing. I really didn't know where to begin but after reading this I now know where to start and where to finish. I can't thank you enough.
Michael says: Thank you! This is a huge help for me. Writing a eulogy is one of the hardest things I've had to do, and this really helped me out.
Larry says: That was beautiful. You truly loved your Grandma. I'm sorry for your loss.
Greg says: Well done! I want to thank you for writing this and posting it to help us. I drew a blank and couldn't bring myself to write. But seeing what you have done for Grandma has helped me tremendously.
Craig's comment on the comments: Thank you all for your comments. For me, they serve a dual purpose. I am always happy to hear that the eulogy for my grandmother is useful and I appreciate the feedback. Moreover, each time a comment is posted, it gives me an opportunity to return to this site and her eulogy and to reread it and reflect on this amazing woman just a little bit more. So, thank you.
Craig
Would you like to comment on this eulogy?
If you'd like to add a comment, please let me know what you want to say through the submission form on my about me page. Be sure to tell me it's Craig's eulogy for his grandmother Bertha you are commenting on, so I know where to post it. Thank you.
Resources to help write a funeral speech
- Read more sample eulogies for family members, (mothers, fathers...) friends, and colleagues. (Like the eulogy you have just read, these too have been contributed by site visitors.)
- Find out how to write a eulogy: step by step guidelines, with examples, and a printable eulogy planner/template to use which will make the writing process so much easier.
- Find a poem or a quotation you'd like to use: 6 pages of poems and quotations suitable for funeral readings, some with audio and printables.
- and...
From fear to fun in 28 ways
A complete one stop resource to scuttle fear in the best of all possible ways - with laughter.
