Eulogy for grandma: two full examples, a short version and a template

• Her kitchen: the dish, the smell, the cookie jar.
• Holidays and traditions she kept: the Christmas Eve menu, the Fourth of July picnic.
• Her stories about the past: the farm, the war years, coming to America.
• Her hands: knitting, gardening, cards, quilting.
• The things she let you do that your parents did not.
• What she taught you: a skill, a prayer, a saying.
• The tradition you will carry on.

This example was written for this guide by the Notre Livre team. The names and details are invented: use the shape, and replace every detail with your own.

"Hi everyone. I'm Olivia, Dorothy's granddaughter. Grandma had nine grandchildren and she told every one of us we were her favorite. I've compared notes. She meant it every time.

Grandma was born on a dairy farm in Wisconsin in 1934. She milked cows before school, married Grandpa Earl at nineteen, and raised five children in a house with one bathroom, which she said taught everyone patience.

To me, Grandma was her kitchen. Every summer, my cousins and I spent two weeks at her house, and every morning started the same way: oatmeal with brown sugar, a glass of milk and a list of jobs. Weed the beans. Pick the raspberries. Shell the peas. We complained, and then we spent the afternoon eating everything we had picked, and that was the point.

She taught me to make pie crust when I was eight. Cold butter, cold hands, and don't overwork it. She said that about pie crust, and also about people.

Grandma wrote a letter to every grandchild on every birthday, by hand, until she was eighty-eight. I have twenty-six of them. They all end the same way: 'Be kind, be useful, come visit.'

Grandma, I'll make the pie crust this Thanksgiving. Cold butter, cold hands. I'll be kind, I'll try to be useful, and I promise I'll come visit."

This example was written for this guide by the Notre Livre team. The names and details are invented: use the shape, and replace every detail with your own.

"I'm Daniel, Rosa's grandson, the one who broke her window with a baseball in 2004. She never let me forget it, and she never let me pay for it.

Abuela came from Puerto Rico to the Bronx in 1959. She worked in a garment factory for twenty-two years, raised four kids, and somehow found time to feed half the building every Sunday.

Sunday at Abuela's was rice and beans, a radio playing salsa, and at least one cousin asleep on the couch. You did not leave hungry, and you did not leave without a container of leftovers, even if you lived alone and had a full fridge.

She was the strongest person I've ever known. She lost Abuelo young and kept going. When I asked her once how she did it, she said, 'Mijo, you get up, you make the coffee. Then you see.'

Abuela, I'm going to get up tomorrow and make the coffee. Then we'll see. Thank you for every Sunday."

This example was written for this guide by the Notre Livre team. The names and details are invented: use the shape, and replace every detail with your own.

"I'm Chloe, June's granddaughter. Grandma taught me to play gin rummy, to bake snickerdoodles and to never leave the house without lipstick. She cheated at cards, she burned the first batch every time, and she was the most loving person in any room. Grandma, I'll keep the deck of cards in my purse. Deal me in, wherever you are."

"I'm [name], [grandmother's name]'s [granddaughter / grandson]. Grandma grew up in [place], [one detail]. She [work or role] and raised [number] children.

To me, Grandma was [her kitchen / her garden / her stories]. I think of [short story].

She taught me [skill or saying]. [Short story.]

Grandma, I'll [tradition you will keep]. Thank you."

• "She told every one of her grandchildren they were her favorite, and she meant it every time."
• "Nobody ever left her house hungry, or without leftovers."
• "Her recipe cards don't have measurements. They say 'enough' and 'until it looks right.'"
• "She wrote to me on every birthday, by hand, until the very end."
• "She let us stay up late, eat dessert first and never told our parents."
• "Her advice was always short and always right."

It is common for grandchildren to share the eulogy: each tells one story, in two minutes or less. Agree on the order in advance, avoid telling the same story twice, and let the youngest go first while their courage holds. A short poem read by a teenager or a drawing held up by a small child can be just as moving as a speech.

A eulogy holds a life in a few minutes. The memories you gathered for it are often the beginning of something longer. Notre Livre writes the life story of your grandmother as a book of 100 to 250 pages, from the memories you and your family share in a guided conversation with an AI interviewer. Nothing is invented, you review every chapter, and the hardcover is printed in the US ($69 to $119, US shipping included).

Many families give a copy to each grandchild, or read a chapter at the first anniversary. There is no deadline: you can start weeks or months after the funeral, when you are ready.