EULOGY

Kevin Costner Eulogy for Whitney Houston

2012-02-18T21:06:00.000-08:00

Kevin Costner Eulogy for Whitney Houston
Kevin Costner delivered a moving, often humorous, but ultimately heartbreaking eulogy for his old friend today.

The 57-year-old recalled the close relationship he developed with the late star when they worked together on 1992's smash hit movie, The Bodyguard.

He talked about how much the twosome had in common, despite appearances to the contrary.
'We had more in common than you think': Kevin Costner talked movingly about his friendship with Whitney Houston as he delivered a eulogy for his friend

'We had more in common than you think': Kevin Costner talked movingly about his friendship with Whitney Houston as he delivered a eulogy for his friend

He started by telling the congregation that the song I Will Always Love You 'almost wasn’t. She was meant to sing What Becomes of the Broken Hearted.'

Before adding: 'So what becomes of OUR broken hearts? Whitney returns home today to the place where it all began, and I urge us all, inside and outside, across the nation and around the world to dry our tears, suspend our sorrow - and perhaps our anger - just long enough, just long enough to remember the sweet miracle of Whitney.'

‘Your mother and I had a lot in common,’ he said to Bobbi Kristina. ‘He’s a boy, she’s a girl. I’m white, she’s black. You’d think we had nothing in common but we did.’

‘We both grew up in a Baptist church. My grandmother led the choir and played the piano.’

Kevin then recounted stories of his childhood in church that Whitney enjoyed him telling her when they worked together.
'I can see her running around as a skinny child': Costner obviously found delivering the eulogy difficult

'I can see her running around this church as a skinny little girl': Costner obviously found speaking about his beloved friend difficult at times

'You weren't just pretty, you were as beautiful as a woman could be': Costner addressed his friend, and her fears of not being good enough as a singer

'You weren't just pretty, you were as beautiful as a woman could be': Costner addressed Whitney, and discussed her fears of not being good enough as a singer

He recalled: 'The church was the centre of our social life and Whitney and I would laugh, knowing it was also the place where we could really get into big trouble, especially when you were allowed to sit with your friends and not your parents in the big church. I remember more than once being pulled from the pew for whispering and passing notes. I don't believe my feet ever hit the floor as my father hauled me outside in front of everyone. I believed even the preacher prayed for me.'

'It was easy for us to laugh. The church was what we knew. It was our private bond. I can see her in my own mind running around here as a skinny little girl knowing everyone, everyone's business, knowing every inch of this place. I can also see her in trouble, too. Trying to use that beautiful smile, trying to talk her way out of it, and Cissy not having any of it,' he added.

    Whitney's going home: Stars and family gather at church where Houston's career began for emotional funeral service
    'I was your pretend bodyguard once... and now you're gone too soon': Kevin Costner delivers heartbreaking eulogy for his friend Whitney Houston
    'I'm committed to getting my high notes back, no cigarettes!' Whitney's mentor Clive Davis reveals how she was planning a comeback just days before she died
    A shoulder to cry on: Alicia Keys's tears for Whitney as she hugs Bobbi Kristina and Cissy after heartfelt performance
    'I am so sorry': Whitney Houston's ailing godmother Aretha Franklin cancels funeral appearance to rest up for concert tonight
    Whitney Houston's daughter headed to rehab? Family 'wants Bobbi Kristina to enter live-in facility'

Kevin continued: ‘As I’m sure of Whitney’s place in musical history. I’m also sure of how she felt about her mother.'

‘Was she good enough. Could I have done better. Did they really like me or were they just being polite because they’re scared of you Cissy?’

He spoke about how there was initial anxiety about having Whitney, a black woman, to play against Kevin Costner.

But he said for him that there was a sigh of relief when it turned out that Whitney was going to be able to do The Bodyguard because she was going to be on tour and he felt so strongly about it that he would wait a year for so she would be available.
Fond memories: Costner recalled how he and Whitney used to share stories about their upbringings around the Baptist church

Fond memories: Costner recalled how he and Whitney used to share stories about their upbringings around the Baptist church

Protection: Costner seemed sad that he played Britney's bodyguard yet failed to save her in real life

‘Whitney was nervous and scared that she wasn’t good enough for the role. But I told her I would be with her every step of the way.

‘I wanted to tell her that the fame was rigged. That I didn’t care how the test went, that she could fall down and start speaking in tongues. That somehow it was a kind of acting method.

‘The Whitney I knew despite her worldwide fame, always worried. Am I good enough? Am I pretty enough? Will they like me?’ Costner shared.

‘The part that made her great and the part that made her great was also the part that made her stumble.’
'Only Whitney could've played the part:' Costner admits his role could've been played by anyone but Houston made the film

The real bodyguard: Whitney's protector of eleven years, Ray Watson, spoke after Costner at the funeral

‘A lot of men could have played that role. But you Whitney were the only person who could have played Rachel Marron.

‘People didn’t just like you Whitney. They loved you.

‘I was your pretend bodyguard once. And now you’re gone too soon.

‘What you did was the rarest of achievements. You set the bar so high. That your colleagues don’t even sing that little country song. What’s the point.’

‘I think Whitney would tell you, little girls wanting to become singers. Guard your bodies and guard the precious miracle you have.

‘Off you go Whitney, off you go. Escorted by an army of angels to your heavenly father,’ Costner said.

‘When you sing before him. Don’t you worry. You will be good enough.’
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Edward Kennedy's Eulogy for Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

2012-02-15T20:29:00.000-08:00

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Edward Kennedy's Eulogy for Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

Last summer, when we were on the upper deck on the boat at the Vineyard, waiting for President and Mrs. Clinton to arrive, Jackie turned to me and said: "Teddy, you go down and greet the President."

"But," I said, "Maurice is already there."

And Jackie answered: "Teddy, you do it. Maurice isn't running for re-election."

She was always there--for all our family--in her special way.

She was a blessing to us and to the nation-and a lesson to the world on how to do things right, how to be a mother, how to appreciate history, how to be courageous.

No one else looked like her, spoke like her, wrote like her, or was so original in the way she did things. No one we knew ever had a better sense of self.

Eight months before she married Jack, they went together to President Eisenhower's Inaugural Ball. Jackie said later that that's where they decided they liked Inaugurations.

No one ever gave more meaning to the title of First Lady. The nation's capital city looks as it does because of her. She saved Lafayette Square and Pennsylvania Avenue.

Jackie brought the greatest artists to the white House, and brought the Arts to the center of national attention. Today, in large part because of her inspiration and vision, the arts are an abiding part of national policy.

President Kennedy took such delight in her brilliance and her spirit. At a white House dinner, he once leaned over and told the wife of the French Ambassador, "Jackie speaks fluent French. But I only understand one out of every five words she says--and that word is DeGaulle."

And then, during those four endless days in 1963, she held us together as a family and a country. In large part because of her, we could grieve and then go on, She lifted us up, and in the doubt and darkness, she gave her fellow citizens back their pride as Americans. She was then 34 years old.

Afterward, as the eternal fame she lit flickered in the autumn of Arlington Cemetery, Jackie went on to do what she most wanted--to raise Caroline and John, and warm her family's life and that of all the Kennedys.

Robert Kennedy sustained her, and she helped make it possible for Bobby to continue. She kept Jack's memory alive, as he carried Jack's mission on. Her two children turned out to be extraordinary, honest, unspoiled, and with a character equal to hers. And she did it in the most trying of circumstances. They are her two miracles.

Her love for Caroline and John was deep and unqualified. She reveled in their accomplishments, she hurt with their sorrows, and she felt sheer joy and delight in spending time with them. At the mere mention of one of their names, Jackie's eyes would shine brighter and her smile would grow bigger.

She once said that if you "bungle raising your children nothing else much matters in life." She didn't bungle. Once again, she showed how to do the most important thing of all, and do it right.

When she went to work, Jackie became a respected professional in the world of publishing. And because of her, remarkable books came to life. She searched out new authors and ideas. She was interested in everything.

Her love of history became a devotion to historic preservation. You knew, when Jackie joined the cause to save a building in Manhattan, the bulldozers might as well turn around and go home.

She had a wonderful sense of humor--a way of focusing on someone with total attention--and a little girl delight in who they were and what they were saying. It was a gift of herself that she gave to others. And in spite of all her heartache and loss, she never faltered.

I often think of what she said about Jack in December after he died: "They made him a legend, when he would have preferred to be a man.' Jackie would have preferred to be just herself, but the world insisted that she be a legend, too.

She never wanted public notice, in part I think, because it brought back painful memories of an unbearable sorrow, endured in the glare of a million lights.

In all the years since then, her genuineness and depth of character continued to shine through the privacy to reach people everywhere. Jackie was too young to be a widow in 1963, and too young to die now.

Her grandchildren were bringing new joy to her life, a joy that illuminated her face whenever you saw them together. Whether it was taking Rose and Tatiana for an ice cream cone, or taking a walk in Central Park with little Jack as she did last Sunday, she relished being Grand Jackie and showering her grandchildren with love.

At the end, she worried more about us tan herself. She let her family and friends know she was thinking of them. How cherished were those wonderful notes in her distinctive hand on her powder blue stationery!

In truth, she did everything she could--and more--for each of us.

She made a rare and noble contribution to the American spirit. But for us, most of all she was a magnificent wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend.

She graced our history. And for those of us who knew and loved her--she graced our lives.
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Edward Kennedy's Eulogy to JFK j.r.

2012-01-15T20:30:00.000-08:00

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Edward Kennedy's Eulogy to JFK j.r.

Thank you, President and Mrs. Clinton and Chelsea, for being here today. You've shown extraordinary kindness through the course of this week.

Once, when they asked John what he would do if he went into politics and was elected president, he said, "I guess the first thing is call up Uncle Teddy and gloat." I loved that. It was so like his father.

From the first day of his life, John seemed to belong not only to our family, but to the American family. The whole world knew his name before he did. A famous photograph showed John racing across the lawn as his father landed in the White House helicopter and swept up John in his arms. When my brother saw that photo, he exclaimed, "Every mother in the United States is saying, 'Isn't it wonderful to see that love between a son and his father, the way that John races to be with his father.' Little do they know, that son would have raced right by his father to get to that helicopter."

But John was so much more than those long ago images emblazoned in our minds. He was a boy who grew into a man with a zest for life and a love of adventure. He was a pied piper who brought us all along. He was blessed with a father and mother who never thought anything mattered more than their children.

When they left the White House, Jackie's soft and gentle voice and unbreakable strength of spirit guided him surely and securely to the future. He had a legacy, and he learned to treasure it. He was part of a legend, and he learned to live with it. Above all, Jackie gave him a place to be himself, to grow up, to laugh and cry, to dream and strive on his own.

John learned that lesson well. He had amazing grace. He accepted who he was, but he cared more about what he could and should become. He saw things that could be lost in the glare of the spotlight. And he could laugh at the absurdity of too much pomp and circumstance.

He loved to travel across the city by subway, bicycle and roller blade. He lived as if he were unrecognizable, although he was known by everyone he encountered. He always introduced himself, rather than take anything for granted. He drove his own car and flew his own plane, which is how he wanted it. He was the king of his domain.

He thought politics should be an integral part of our popular culture, and that popular culture should be an integral part of politics. He transformed that belief into the creation of "George." John shaped and honed a fresh, often irreverent journal. His new political magazine attracted a new generation, many of whom had never read about politics before.

John also brought to "George" a wit that was quick and sure. The premier issue of "George" caused a stir with a cover photograph of Cindy Crawford dressed as George Washington with a bare belly button. The "Reliable Source" in The Washington Post printed a mock cover of "George" showing not Cindy Crawford, but me dressed as George Washington, with my belly button exposed. I suggested to John that perhaps I should have been the model for the first cover of his magazine. Without missing a beat, John told me that he stood by his original editorial decision.

John brought this same playful wit to other aspects of his life. He campaigned for me during my 1994 election and always caused a stir when he arrived in Massachusetts. Before one of his trips to Boston, John told the campaign he was bringing along a companion, but would need only one hotel room. Interested, but discreet, a senior campaign worker picked John up at the airport and prepared to handle any media barrage that might accompany John's arrival with his mystery companion. John landed with the companion all right < an enormous German shepherd dog named Sam he had just rescued from the pound. He loved to talk about the expression on the campaign worker's face and the reaction of the clerk at the Charles Hotel when John and Sam checked in. I think now not only of these wonderful adventures, but of the kind of person John was. He was the son who quietly gave extraordinary time and ideas to the Institute of Politics at Harvard that bears his father's name. He brought to the institute his distinctive insight that politics could have a broader appeal, that it was not just about elections, but about the larger forces that shape our whole society. Short Eulogy Examples

Michael Jackson's Eulogies: A Memorable Memorial

2011-12-15T20:40:00.000-08:00

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Michael Jackson's Eulogies: A Memorable Memorial

On Tuesday, July 7, 2009, the funeral of Michael Jackson, dubbed the "king of pop", took place in Los Angeles, CA at Staples center. It is the place where the singer
had been rehearsing rigorously in preparation for a series of concerts in London in which he was scheduled to perform as part of what was to be an unprecedented revival and promotion of his popularity.

Jackson's intimate friends and family members gathered to bid him farewell in a private ceremony that took place earlier in Forest Lawn cemetery of Hollywood Hills. Unfortunately, the request for privacy on behalf of the family by Jermain Jackson was not respected. The paparazzi
made their un-welcomed presence known as did various television stations when their helicopters appeared in flight overhead.

Nevertheless, Michael Jackson's funeral contained elements that others may want to take as an example in planning memorial services for themselves or loved ones. What are some of these elements? First, one fan of the pop music star commented on how powerfully Jackson's 11 year
old daughter, Paris, affected the ceremony in her eulogy. Seldom do adults encourage the deliverance of eulogies by children, especially if they are having a difficult time with the loss of a loved one. However, if the child is old enough to understand what death is, they should not
automatically be denied the opportunity to say goodbye to their deceased relative or friend in their own special way. Paris' words revealed what no one else could say for her--that she considered Michael Jackson to be the best father anyone could imagine.

Although many have found it incredible to believe that the singer's three children are his biological offspring, they said it simply didn't matter after hearing Paris' eulogy.

Another unique feature of Michael Jackson's funeral is that it actually took place twice-- a "private" memorial service for close family and friends, and another for the adoring public. Again, this is something that can be implemented in funerals for non-celebrities, allowing the family and chosen friends a final time to be together before their loved one's burial and the final goodbye.

Stevie Wonder, expressed the wishes of so many when he said, "This is a moment I wish I'd never lived to see." He gave tribute to Michael Jackson in his singing of the theme song, "Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer."

Jackson's fans, whether they could attend his funeral or not, were not left out when it came to giving tribute to the star. The web site, MichaelJackson.com, gave his followers the opportunity to give their eulogies in cyber space. The element that made this type of homage unique is that some fans addressed Jackson personally in statements such as, "I will always love you Michael. Your music will live forever." It was impossible to allow every fan, friend, and family member the opportunity to eulogize Jackson at his funeral. However, the Internet has made it possible for every admirer of his to not only offer their tribute, but also to have it heard and read by others who identify with their words.
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Winston Churchill's Eulogy for King George VI

2011-11-11T23:19:00.000-08:00

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Winston Churchill's Eulogy for King George VI

When the death of the King was announced to us yesterday morning there struck a deep and solemn note in our lives which, as it resounded far and wide, stilled the clatter and traffic of twentieth-century life in many lands, and made countless millions of human beings pause and look around them. A new sense of values took, for the time being, possession of human minds, and mortal existence presented itself to so many at the same moment in its serenity and in its sorrow, in its splendour and in its pain, in its fortitude and in its suffering.

The King was greatly loved by all his peoples. He was respected as a man and as a prince far beyond the many realms over which he reigned. The simple dignity of his life, his manly virtues, his sense of duty - alike as a ruler and a servant of the vast spheres and communities for which he bore responsibility - his gay charm and happy nature, his example as a husband and a father in his own family circle, his courage in peace or war - all these were aspects of his character which won the glint of admiration, now here, now there, from the innumerable eyes whose gaze falls upon the Throne.

We thought of him as a young naval lieutenant in the great Battle of Jutland. We thought of him when calmly, without ambition, or want of self-confidence, he assumed the heavy burden of the Crown and succeeded his brother whom he loved and to whom he had rendered perfect loyalty. We thought of him, so faithful in his study and discharge of State affairs; so strong in his devotion to the enduring honour of our country; so self-restrained in his judgments of men and affairs; so uplifted above the clash of party politics, yet so attentive to them; so wise and shrewd in judging between what matters and what does not.

All this we saw and admired. His conduct on the Throne may well be a model and a guide to constitutional sovereigns throughout the world today and also in future generations. The last few months of King George's life, with all the pain and physical stresses that he endured - his life hanging by a thread from day to day, and he all the time cheerful and undaunted, stricken in body but quite undisturbed and even unaffected in spirit - these have made a profound and an enduring impression and should be a help to all.

He was sustained not only by his natural buoyancy, but by the sincerity of his Christian faith. During these last months the King walked with death as if death were a companion, an acquaintance whom he recognized and did not fear. In the end death came as a friend, and after a happy day of sunshine and sport, and after "good night" to those who loved him best, he fell asleep as every man or woman who strives to fear God and nothing else in the world may hope to do.

The nearer one stood to him the more these facts were apparent. But the newspapers and photographs of modern times have made vast numbers of his subjects able to watch with emotion the last months of his pilgrimage. We all saw him approach his journey's end. In this period of mourning and meditation, amid our cares and toils, every home in all the realms joined together under the Crown may draw comfort for tonight and strength for the future from his bearing and his fortitude.

There was another tie between King George and his people. It was not only sorrow and affliction that they shared. Dear to the hearts and the homes of the people is the joy and pride of a united family. With this all the troubles of the world can be borne and all its ordeals at least confronted. No family in these tumultuous years was happier or loved one another more than the Royal Family around the King.

No Minister saw so much of the King during the war as I did. I made certain he was kept informed of every secret matter, and the care and thoroughness with which he mastered the immense daily flow of State papers made a deep mark on my mind.

Let me tell you another fact. On one of the days when Buckingham Palace was bombed the King had just returned from Windsor. One side of the courtyard was struck, and if the windows opposite out of which he and the Queen were looking had not been, by the mercy of God, open, they would both have been blinded by the broken glass instead of being only hurled back by the explosion. Amid all that was then going on, although I saw the King so often, I never heard of this episode till a long time after. Their Majesties never mentioned it or thought it of more significance than a soldier in their armies would of a shell bursting near him. This seems to me to be a revealing trait in the royal character.

There is no doubt that of all the institutions which have grown up among us over the centuries, or sprung into being in our lifetime, the constitutional monarchy is the most deeply founded and dearly cherished by the whole association of our peoples. In the present generation it has acquired a meaning incomparably more powerful than anyone had dreamed possible in former times. The Crown has become the mysterious link, indeed I may say the magic link, which unites our loosely bound, but strongly interwoven Commonwealth of nations, states, and races....

For fifteen years George VI was King. Never at any moment in all the perplexities at home and abroad, in public or in private, did he fail in his duties. Well does he deserve the farewell salute of all his governments and peoples.

It is at this time that our compassion and sympathy go out to his consort and widow. Their marriage was a love match with no idea of regal pomp or splendour. Indeed, there seemed to be before them only the arduous life of royal personages, denied so many of the activities of ordinary folk and having to give so much in ceremonial public service. May I say - speaking with all freedom - that our hearts go out tonight to that valiant woman, with famous blood of Scotland in her veins, who sustained King George through all his toils and problems, and brought up with their charm and beauty the two daughters who mourn their father today. May she be granted strength to bear her sorrow.

To Queen Mary, his mother, another of whose sons is dead - the Duke of Kent having been killed on active service - there belongs the consolation of seeing how well he did his duty and fulfilled her hopes, and of knowing how much he cared for her.

Now I must leave the treasures of the past and turn to the future. Famous have been the reigns of our queens. Some of the greatest periods in our history have unfolded under their sceptre. Now that we have the second Queen Elizabeth, also ascending the Throne in her twenty-sixth year, our thoughts are carried back nearly four hundred years to the magnificent figure who presided over and, in many ways, embodied and inspired the grandeur and genius of the Elizabethan age.

Queen Elizabeth II, like her predecessor, did not pass her childhood in any certain expectation of the Crown. But already we know her well, and we understand why her gifts, and those of her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, have stirred the only part of the Commonwealth she has yet been able to visit. She has already been acclaimed as Queen of Canada.

We make our claim too, and others will come forward also, and tomorrow the proclamation of her sovereignty will command the loyalty of her native land and of all other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire. I, whose youth was passed in the august, unchallenged and tranquil glories of the Victorian era, may well feel a thrill in invoking once more the prayer and the anthem, "God save the Queen!"
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Bill Clinton's Eulogy for Richard Nixon

2011-10-15T23:20:00.000-07:00

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Bill Clinton's Eulogy for Richard Nixon

President Nixon opened his memoirs with a simple sentence: "I was born in a house my father built." Today we can look back at this little house and still imagine a young boy sitting by the window of the attic he shared with his three brothers, looking out to a world he could then himself only imagine. From those humble roots, as from so many humble beginnings in this country, grew the force of a driving dream. A dream that led to the remarkable journey that ends here today, where it all began beside the same tiny home, mail-ordered from back East, near this towering pepper tree, which back then was a mere seedling.

President Nixon's journey across the American landscapes mirrored that of his entire nation in this remarkable century. His life was bound up with the striving of our whole people, with our crises and our triumphs.

When he became President, he took on challenges here at home on matters from cancer research to environmental protection, putting the power of the Federal Government where Republicans and Democrats had neglected to put it in the past, and in foreign policy. He came to the Presidency at a time in our history when Americans were tempted to say we had had enough of the world. Instead, he knew we had to reach out to old friends and old enemies alike. He would not allow America to quit the world.

Remarkably, he wrote nine of his ten books after he left the Presidency, working his way back into the arena he so loved by writing and thinking and engaging us in his dialogue. For the past year, even in the final weeks of his life, he gave me his wise counsel, especially with regard to Russia. One thing in particular left a profound impression on me. Though this man was in his ninth decade, he had an incredibly sharp and vigorous and rigorous mind. As a public man, he always seemed to believe the greatest sin was remaining passive in the face of challenges, and he never stopped living by that creed. He gave of himself with intelligence and energy and devotion to duty, and his entire country owes him a debt of gratitude for that service.

Oh, yes, he knew great controversy amid defeat as well as victory. He made mistakes, and they, like his accomplishments, are a part of his life and record. But the enduring lesson of Richard Nixon is that he never gave up being part of the action and passion of his times. He said many times that unless a person has a goal, a new mountain to climb, his spirit will die. Well, based on our last phone conversation and the letter he wrote me just a month ago, I can say that his spirit was very much alive to the very end.

That is a great tribute to him, to his wonderful wife, Pat, to his children and to his grandchildren, whose love he so depended on and whose love he returned in full measure. Today is a day for his family, his friends, and his nation to remember President Nixon's life in totality. To them, let us say: may the day of judging President Nixon on anything less than his entire life and career come to a close.

May we heed his call to maintain the will and the wisdom to build on America's greatest gift, its freedom, and to lead a world full of difficulty to the just and lasting peace he dreamed of.

As it is written in the words of a hymn I heard in my church last Sunday, "Grant that I may realize that the trifling of life creates differences, but that in the higher things we are all one." In the twilight of his life, President Nixon knew that lesson well. It is, I feel, certainly a fate he would want us all to keep.

And so, on behalf of all four former Presidents who are here - President Ford, President Carter, President Reagan, President Bush - and on behalf of a grateful nation, we bid farewell to Richard Milhous Nixon.
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Charles Spencer's Funeral Speech for Diana

2011-09-15T23:22:00.000-07:00

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Charles Spencer's Funeral Speech for Diana

The Funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales occurred at Westminster Abbey on Saturday the 6th of September 1997 at 11.00 a.m. Her brother Charles Edward Maurice Spencer, the 9th Earl Spencer delivered the following Tribute for his sister Diana.

I stand before you today the representative of a family in grief, in a country in mourning before a world in shock.

We are all united not only in our desire to pay our respects to Diana but rather in our need to do so. For such was her extraordinary appeal that the tens of millions of people taking part in this service all over the world via television and radio who never actually met her, feel that they too lost someone close to them in the early hours of Sunday morning. It is a more remarkable tribute to Diana than I can ever hope to offer her today.

Diana was the very essence of compassion, of duty, of style, of beauty.

All over the world she was a symbol of selfless humanity. All over the world, a standard-bearer for the rights of the truly downtrodden, a very British girl who transcended nationality. Someone with a natural nobility who was classless and who proved in the last year that she needed no royal title to continue to generate her particular brand of magic.

Today is our chance to say thank you for the way you brightened our lives, even though God granted you but half a life. We will all feel cheated always that you were taken from us so young and yet we must learn to be grateful that you came along at all. Only now that you are gone do we truly appreciate what we are now without, and we want you to know that life without you is very, very difficult. We have all despaired at your loss over the past week and only the strength of the message you gave us through your years of giving has afforded us the strength to move forward.

There is a temptation to rush to canonise your memory; there is no need to do so. You stand tall enough as a human being of unique qualities not to need to be seen as a saint. Indeed, to sanctify your memory would be to miss out on the very core of your being, your wonderfully mischievous sense of humour with a laugh that bent you double. Your joy for life transmitted wherever you took your smile and the sparkle in those unforgettable eyes. Your boundless energy which you could barely contain.

But your greatest gift was your intuition, and it was a gift you used wisely. This is what underpinned all your other wonderful attributes and if we look to analyse what it was about you that had such a wide appeal we find it in your instinctive feel for what was really important in all our lives. Without your God-given sensitivity we would be immersed in greater ignorance at the anguish of AIDS and HIV sufferers, the plight of the homeless, the isolation of lepers, the random destruction of landmines. Diana explained to me once that it was her innermost feelings of suffering that made it possible for her to connect with her constituency of the rejected. And here we come to another truth about her. For all the status, the glamour, the applause, Diana remained throughout a very insecure person at heart, almost childlike in her desire to do good for others so she could release herself from deep feelings of unworthiness of which her eating disorders were merely a symptom. The world sensed this part of her character and cherished her for her vulnerability whilst admiring her for her honesty.
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Oprah Winfrey's Eulogy for Rosa Parks

2011-08-15T23:23:00.000-07:00

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Oprah Winfrey's Eulogy for Rosa Parks

"...God uses good people to do great things."

Reverend Braxton, family, friends, admirers, and this amazing choir:

I -- I feel it an honor to be here to come and say a final goodbye. I grew up in the South, and Rosa Parks was a hero to me long before I recognized and understood the power and impact that her life embodied. I remember my father telling me about this colored woman who had refused to give up her seat. And in my child's mind, I thought, "She must be really big." I thought she must be at least a hundred feet tall. I imagined her being stalwart and strong and carrying a shield to hold back the white folks. And then I grew up and had the esteemed honor of meeting her. And wasn't that a surprise. Here was this petite, almost delicate lady who was the personification of grace and goodness. And I thanked her then. I said, "Thank you," for myself and for every colored girl, every colored boy, who didn't have heroes who were celebrated. I thanked her then.

And after our first meeting I realized that God uses good people to do great things. And I'm here today to say a final thank you, Sister Rosa, for being a great woman who used your life to serve, to serve us all. That day that you refused to give up your seat on the bus, you, Sister Rosa, changed the trajectory of my life and the lives of so many other people in the world. I would not be standing here today nor standing where I stand every day had she not chosen to sit down. I know that. I know that. I know that. I know that, and I honor that. Had she not chosen to say we shall not -- we shall not be moved.

So I thank you again, Sister Rosa, for not only confronting the one white man who[se] seat you took, not only confronting the bus driver, not only for confronting the law, but for confronting history, a history that for 400 years said that you were not even worthy of a glance, certainly no consideration. I thank you for not moving.

And in that moment when you resolved to stay in that seat, you reclaimed your humanity and you gave us all back a piece of our own. I thank you for that. I thank you for acting without concern. I often thought about what that took, knowing the climate of the times and what could have happened to you, what it took to stay seated. You acted without concern for yourself and made life better for us all. We shall not be moved. I marvel at your will. I celebrate your strength to this day. And I am forever grateful, Sister Rosa, for your courage, your conviction. I owe you to succeed. I will not be moved.
Short Eulogy Examples
eulogy-funeral-poem

Eulogy - Funeral Poem

2011-07-15T23:35:00.000-07:00

Short Eulogy Examples
Eulogy - Funeral Poem

How Can I Manage, Now That She's Gone?

Grandma was there when I needed an ally -
If I wanted to talk - or felt like a cry.
When no one else seemed to understand -
She was there - with a helping hand.
How can I manage now that she's gone?
Without her advice I can't carry on!
She was wise and witty and one-of-a-kind;
I feel so lost since she left me behind.
I know she told me she wanted to go -
Her body was tired and hurt her so...
Maybe now is the time for me to resume -
Carry on her tradition and break this gloom -
To impart her wisdom to family and friends,
And face life with a smile while my heart slowly mends.
Grandma, I miss you. You'll always be near -
In my thoughts, in my heart - I have you right here.
Short Eulogy Examples

The perfect eulogy: Short, sweet and honest

2011-06-15T23:37:00.000-07:00

Short Eulogy Examples
The perfect eulogy: Short, sweet and honest
When hundreds gather for Christopher Reeve's memorial service at The Juilliard School in New York on Friday, eloquent, moving eulogies no doubt will be delivered. As they should. He was an amazing human being who showed that being a superhero in the movies was a minor role compared to being a superhero in real life.

But eulogies can be a tricky business. They're either so beautiful and elegant they show that death can be a marvelous passage, or they're so pompous and untrue — and lengthy — you're glad the person isn't around to sit through the damn thing.

I've given only one eulogy in my life. It was for my friend Vicki, who died a few years ago.

In her case, I took a gamble and told the truth. As someone once said, nothing astounds people more. For me, it paid off.

The second I saw her daughter and father laughing from their front-row seats, I knew I had made the right decision. I was pretty sure I could hear Vicki laughing, too.

With Halloween only a few days away, it seemed a good time to take a look at the art of eulogies. At least that's what Cyrus Copeland hinted in an e-mail the other day. No big surprise there. He edited the new Farewell, Godspeed: The Greatest Eulogies of Our Time.

I know it sounds ghoulish, but it's a great read. John F. Kennedy on Robert Frost. Madonna on Gianni Versace. Phil Donahue on Erma Bombeck.

Listen to Charlie Matthau eulogize his father, actor Walter Matthau, in August 2000:

"My father taught me to have a sense of humor about everything, no matter how sad — not to take life too seriously because none of us is getting out of here alive, and little of what we do is going to matter in a few years. I remember him telling me about the funeral where everyone hated the deceased and nobody knew what to say, so the eulogist got up there and said, 'Well ... his brother was worse.' It's the opposite of the situation we have today."

I didn't give the eulogy at my dad's funeral. I couldn't rise to the occasion, no matter how much I wanted to. I saw no purpose in standing up there and blubbering away, making everyone uncomfortable, so I let the minister do the honors while I sat in silence, thinking of everything I should have been saying. I regret that decision now, but I still believe it was the right one at the time.

After the funeral, I was going through my father's wallet and found a scrap of paper folded between his driver's license and credit cards. It was a small note written by me years ago, a note I stuck into a Father's Day card. I had no idea he had carried it around in his back pocket for 30 years.
"Dad — When I succeeded you stood back and took no credit, and when I failed you were by my side. What more could a son ask? Love, Craig."
Short Eulogy Examples

Techniques for Writing a Great Eulogy

2011-05-15T23:41:00.000-07:00

Techniques for Writing a Great Eulogy
By John Morris

Before you start to write a eulogy, think about the person and his or her life. You might want to include a memorable event you shared or mention his or her passions in life - or not. It is up to you. No matter how you choose to write the eulogy, remember to paint a picture of the dearly departed in a positive light rather than a negative one.

1. Where Should You Start?

In order to write a good eulogy, you should start by thinking about what it is that you want to say. Chances are, if you have been tasked with writing the eulogy, you were very close to the deceased and know him or her very well. You should think about what that person held as important in life, what they chose as their profession, and how they affected the world around them.

2. Decide On a Theme

In the end, it will not matter what theme you choose, so long as it you select one in good taste. The most common themes include a narrative story, a comical outlook upon the life of the deceased, or even a collection of memories and poems.

3. Get Involved

One of the most overlooked aspects of writing a eulogy is making sure that it remains pertinent to not just you, but the audience. For example, recounting a great time just the two of you had together will not have as much impact as one that included more people. For this reason, mentioning events in the person's life that were experienced by more people will have greater effect than mentioning an experience that only you and the departed had together. Your audience will get more involved this way.

4. Pace Your Speech Appropriately

Unless you are writing a narrative type of eulogy that goes over the life of the individual chronologically (something that most people are advised not to do anyways, because those kinds of eulogies can become quite dull and are often seen as unemotional) you should stick to a series of points or stories connected in logical fashion. Be sure to have a first draft of your eulogy proofread by a friend or family member before you move on to writing your final draft.

5. Make Sure It Is Perfect

Finally, be sure that your eulogy, like any public speech, has points connected in a logical order; because it is not just what you say, but how you say it. For this reason, you should practice several times beforehand. Some people feel that memorizing a eulogy is necessary, but this is not the case. You are free to bring a flash card along to help you remember what you want to say.

Eulogies for Malcolm X

2011-04-15T23:44:00.000-07:00

Eulogies for Malcolm X
Short Eulogy Examples
The following eulogy was delivered by Ossie Davis at the funeral of Malcolm X on 27 February 1965 at the Faith Temple Church Of God

Here—at this final hour, in this quiet place—Harlem has come to bid farewell to one of its brightest hopes—extinguished now, and gone from us forever. For Harlem is where he worked and where he struggled and fought—his home of homes, where his heart was, and where his people are—and it is, therefore, most fitting that we meet once again—in Harlem—to share these last moments with him.

For Harlem has ever been gracious to those who have loved her, have fought for her and have defended her honor even to the death. It is not in the memory of man that this beleaguered, unfortunate, but nonetheless proud community has found a braver, more gallant young champion than this Afro-American who lies before us—unconquered still.

I say the word again, as he would want me to: Afro-American—Afro-American Malcolm, who was a master, was most meticulous in his use of words. Nobody knew better than he the power words have over minds of men.

Malcolm had stopped being a "Negro" years ago. It had become too small, too puny, too weak a word for him. Malcolm was bigger than that. Malcolm had become an Afro-American, and he wanted—so desperately—that we, that all his people, would become Afro-Americans, too.

There are those who will consider it their duty, as friends of the Negro people, to tell us to revile him, to flee, even from the presence of his memory, to save ourselves by writing him out of the history of our turbulent times.

Many will ask what Harlem finds to honor in this stormy, controversial and bold young captain—and we will smile. Many will say turn away—away from this man; for he is not a man but a demon, a monster, a subverter and an enemy of the black man—and we will smile. They will say that he is of hate—a fanatic, a racist—who can only bring evil to the cause for which you struggle! And we will answer and say to them:

Did you ever talk to Brother Malcolm? Did you ever touch him or have him smile at you? Did you ever really listen to him? Did he ever do a mean thing? Was he ever himself associated with violence or any public disturbance? For if you did, you would know him. And if you knew him, you would know why we must honor him: Malcolm was our manhood, our living, black manhood!

This was his meaning to his people. And, in honoring him, we honor the best in ourselves. Last year, from Africa, he wrote these words to a friend: "My journey," he says, "is almost ended, and I have a much broader scope than when I started out, which I believe will add new life and dimension to our struggle for freedom and honor and dignity in the States."

"I am writing these things so that you will know for a fact the tremendous sympathy and support we have among the African States for our human rights struggle. The main thing is that we keep a united front wherein our most valuable time and energy will not be wasted fighting each other."

However we may have differed with him—or with each other about him and his value as a man—let his going from us serve only to bring us together, now.

Consigning these mortal remains to earth, the common mother of all, secure in the knowledge that what we place in the ground is no more now a man—but a seed—which, after the winter of our discontent, will come forth again to meet us.

And we will know him then for what he was and is—a prince—our own black shining prince!—who didn't hesitate to die, because he loved us so.
Short Eulogy Examples
eulogy-for-bob-hope

Eulogy For Bob Hope

2010-08-15T23:58:00.001-07:00

Eulogy For Bob Hope

Short Eulogy Examples
On the desk of the Oval Office, President Truman kept under glass the one-word telegram Bob sent him following his dramatic upset of Tom Dewey. It read: "unpack."

When another President - Abraham Lincoln - died in the house across the street from Ford's Theater, his Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton, standing at Lincoln's side, said "Now he belongs to the ages."

The same is equally true of Bob Hope.

He is not America's - he is the world's

He belongs not to our age, but to all ages.

And yet, even though he belongs to all time and to all peoples, he is our own, for he was quintessentially American.

— U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein Aug. 27, 2003
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Short eulogy examples-Rev-dr-Martin-Luther-King-funeral

Senator Edward Kennedy - Eulogies from the White House

2010-08-15T20:26:00.000-07:00

Short Eulogy Examples
Senator Edward Kennedy - Eulogies from the White House

The funeral eulogy of Senator Edward Kennedy was delivered on August 29th, 2009, at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica in Roxbury, Massachusetts, by President Barack Obama. Edward Kennedy (often called Ted) died after a long battle with a malignant brain tumor. His death was seen as the end of the political era that was marked by the Kennedy vision for the Democratic Party and for the future of America.

Senator Kennedy served in his position for forty seven years, and at the funeral there were many people who attended to say farewell to the man. Among these were former presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and George Bush. The marked presence of all those who came to pay their respects attested to his diligence and service as a member of the Senate.

Before the service Vice-President Joe Biden gave a speech memorializing his long time friend. In it the emotional Biden stated that Ted Kennedy was “never defeatist, he never was petty – never was petty. He was never small. And in the process of his doing, he made everybody he worked with bigger, both his adversaries as well as his allies.”

During the eulogy, President Obama commented on Senator Kennedy’s work in the Senate when he said that the world would remember “Edward as the heir to a weighty legacy; a champion for those who had none; the soul of the Democratic Party; and the lion of the United States Senate – a man whose name graces nearly one thousand laws, and who penned more than three hundred laws himself.”

The Kennedy family tragedies were also highlighted when President Obama spoke in the eulogy about Edward’s good spirit and humor and how “That spirit of resilience and good humor would see Teddy through more pain and tragedy than most of us will ever know. He lost two siblings by the age of sixteen. He saw two more taken violently from a country that loved them. He said goodbye to his beloved sister, Eunice, in the final days of his life. He narrowly survived a plane crash, watched two children struggle with cancer, buried three nephews, and experienced personal failings and setbacks on the most public way possible.”

“It is a string of events that would have broken a lesser man. And it would have been easy for Ted to let himself become bitter and hardened; to surrender to self-pity and regret; to retreat from public life and live out his years in peaceful quiet. No one would have blamed him for that. But that was not Ted Kennedy.”

President Obama went on to say that Ted Kennedy was the type of man who helped to be the father figure for both John and Bobby Kennedy’s children after their deaths. This included doing everything from camping and sailing to walking Caroline Kennedy down the aisle when she was married. He summed this up by saying that “not only did the Kennedy family make it because of Ted’s love – he made it because of theirs.”

President Obama closed the eulogy by saying that “Ted Kennedy has gone home now, guided by his faith and by the light of those that he has loved and lost. At last he is with them once more, leaving those of us who grieve his passing with the memories he gave, the good that he did, the dream he kept alive, and a single, enduring image – the image of a man on a boat; white mane tousled, smiling broadly as he sails into the wind, ready for whatever storms may come, carrying on toward some new and wondrous place just beyond the horizon.”
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stanley-kubricks-eulogy-by-edward.

Stanley Kubrick's Eulogy by Edward Champion

2010-08-15T20:21:00.000-07:00

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Stanley Kubrick's Eulogy by Edward Champion

"Uncompromising. Meticulous. Control freak. Reclusive. These were all words that were attached to Stanley Kubrick throughout his life. But they were also words that described a man who changed the rules of filmmaking. Kubrick merged the artistic film with the commercial, melding his stark independent vision with the coffers of Hollywood in a way that no other filmmaking genius -- not even Welles -- has managed to accomplish and may never succeed at doing again.

The death of Kubrick came as a shock to me. His legacy -- the twelve films that he created (including the forthcoming Eyes Wide Shut) -- impacted me personally and made me see film in a completely different way. In 1987, I saw my first Kubrick film, Full Metal Jacket, and discovered that film was more than just a medium that entertained. As I became engrossed with the moral disintegration of Private Gomer Pyle, as I watched raw recruits turn into seasoned veterans without remorse or morality, I realized that film had the ability to transcend mere storytelling and become an unforgettable visceral and visual experience.

I soon found myself renting every Kubrick film I could get my hands on, and became captivated with every frame, every character, and every painstakingly crafted allegorical touch that Kubrick embellished his films with. The giddy lunacy of Dr. Strangelove, the evolutionary epic of 2001: A Space Odyssey, and the moral philosophizing of A Clockwork Orange. I was amazed that the man could move seamlessly from one genre to another.

I watched these films over and over. Who was the man that created these images?

I began to read books. I collected an arsenal of magazine articles and clippings and learned that he had moved to England to maintain control of his films after he had become disappointed with the way Hollywood had attempted to wrestle control of Spartacus away from him. Through Kubrick, I learned that directing a film was more than just an artistic challenge. It was, above all, a relentless battle with the people who gave you the money.

I soon found myself experimenting with a video camera, hoping to recapture the visual poignancy of 2001's bone being tossed up into the air and becoming a spaceship, trying to reproduce the visual beauty of Barry Lyndon's candlelit imagery. And I soon moved on to Super 8 and 16mm formats, all the while keeping a mental checklist of all the true Kubrickean moments that I remembered.

There were other filmmakers that inspired me, who showed me how to work with the film form in the way in which they executed a scene or accomplished a shot. But it was Kubrick that showed me how the film worked as a whole.

To be fair, Kubrick was frequently tough on his actors. In A Clockwork Orange, he kept Malcolm McDowell's eyes open to that horrible metal device for nearly twelve hours straight. He shot a relentless number of takes for nearly every shot, 47 takes for a simple shot of Scatman Crothers crossing the street in The Shining. He took years upon years to create a film just to get it right. But his talent was so enormous, so all-encompassing, so vast, so true to the film form, that somehow all the horror stories seemed justified.

With Kubrick now gone, I wonder if film will ever be the same. He was a Dostoevsky, a Melville and a Tolstoy all rolled up in one. He was an uncompromising giant unafraid to tackle controversial issues and explore the human condition through his unique vision.
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Mahatma-Gandhi's-eulogy-by-Jawaharlal Nehru

Rev Dr. Martin Luther King Funeral Eulogy by Robert F. Kennedy

2010-08-15T20:20:00.000-07:00

Short Eulogy Examples
Rev Dr. Martin Luther King Funeral Eulogy by Robert F. Kennedy

"For those of you who are black and are tempted to be filled with hatred ... against all white people, I can only say that I feel in my own heart the same kind of feeling. I had a member of my family killed....

Martin Luther King, the American civil rights leader and winner of the Nobel Prize for Peace, was born in Montgomery, Alabama. He rose to prominence in the civil rights movement of the 1950s, led the famous March on Washington in 1963, and the March from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in 1965. A brilliant orator and writer, whose insistence upon nonviolence in the Gandhian tradition accounted for the success of the movement, Dr. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee, by a white man.

On the day King was assassinated, Sen. Robert Kennedy was campaigning for the presidency in Indianapolis, Indiana. He was on his way to a campaign rally in a black section of the city when he heard that King had been killed. His aides strongly urged him not to go to the rally, that he would be endangering his life. But Kennedy insisted, and he stood upon the back of a flatbed truck and delivered the following extemporaneous eulogy. Less than two months later, Kennedy was assassinated in Los Angeles.

I have bad news for you, for all our fellow citizens, and people who love peace all over the world, and that is that Martin Luther King was shot and killed tonight.

Martin Luther King dedicated his life to love and to justice for his fellow human beings, and he died because of that effort.

In this difficult day, in this difficult time for the United States, it is perhaps well to ask what kind of a nation we are and what direction we want to move in. For those of you who are black - considering the evidence there evidently is that there were white people who were responsible - you can be filled with bitterness, with hatred, and desire for revenge. We can move in that direction as a country, in great polarization - black people amongst black, white people amongst white, filled with hatred toward one another.

Or we can make an effort, as Martin Luther King did, to understand and to comprehend, and to replace that violence, that stain of bloodshed that has spread across our land, with an effort to understand that compassion and love.

For those of you who are black and are tempted to be filled with hatred and distrust at the injustice of such an act, against all white people, I can only say that I feel in my own heart the same kind of feeling. I had a member of my family killed, but he was killed by a white man. But we have to make an effort in the United States, we have to make an effort to understand, to go beyond these rather difficult times.

My favorite poet was Aeschylus. He wrote: "In our sleep pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God."

What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence or lawlessness, but love and wisdom and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of injustice towards those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or they be black...

We've had difficult times in the past. We will have difficult times in the future. It is not the end of violence; it is not the end of lawlessness; it is not the end of disorder.

But the vast majority of white people and the vast majority of black people in this country want to live together, want to improve the quality of our life, and want justice for all human beings who abide in our land. Let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and to make gentle the life of this world.
Let us dedicate ourselves to that, and say a prayer for our country and for our people.
Short Eulogy Examples
Mahatma-Gandhi's-eulogy-by-Jawaharlal Nehru

Mahatma Gandhi's Eulogy by Jawaharlal Nehru

2010-08-15T20:13:00.000-07:00

SHORT EULOGY EXAMPLES
Mahatma Gandhi's Eulogy by Jawaharlal Nehru

"If, as I believe, his spirit looks upon us and sees us, nothing would displease his soul so much as to see that we have indulged in any small behaviour or any violence.

Mahatma means "great soul," an honorific Gandhi earned by his powerful nonviolent political and spiritual leadership in India before and after it achieved independence. Gandhi differed from other leaders in that he refused to profit from the misfortunes of the oppressor, insisting that his adversaries be won over by the moral rightness of his position. A Hindu opposed to the partitioning of India and the creation of a separate Muslim state (Pakistan), he was assassinated by a fanatic Hindu enraged at Gandhi's solicitude for the Muslims.

Jawaharlal Nehru was a protégé of Gandhi's , the leader of the Indian National Congress, and eventually, prime minister of the country.

Friends and comrades, the light has gone out of our lives and there is darkness everywhere. I do not know what to tell you and how to say it. Our beloved leader, Bapu as we called him, the father of the nation, is no more. Perhaps I am wrong to say that. Nevertheless, we will not see him again as we have seen him for these many years. We will not run to him for advise and seek solace from hi, and that is a terrible blow, not to me only, but to millions and millions in this country, and it is a little difficult to soften the blow by any other advise that I or anyone else can give you.

The light has gone out, I said, and yet I was wrong. For the light that shone in this country was no ordinary light. The light that has illumined this country for these many years will illumine this country for many more years, and a thousand years later that light will still be seen in this country, and the world will see it and it will give solace to innumerable hearts. For that light represented the living truth ... the eternal truths, reminding us of the right path, drawing us from error, taking this ancient country to freedom.

All this has happened when there was so much more for him to do. We could never think that he was unnecessary or that he had done his task. But now, particularly, when we are faced with so many difficulties, his not being with us is a blow most terrible to bear.

A madman has put an end to his life, for I can only call him mad who did it, and yet there has been enough of poison spread in this country during the past years and months, and this poison has effect on people's minds. We must face this poison, we must root out this poison, and we must face all the perils that encompass and face them not madly or badly but rather in the way that our beloved teacher taught us to face them.. The first thing to remember no wish that no one of us dare misbehave because we're angry. We have to behave like strong and determined people, determined to face all the perils that surround us, determined to carry out the mandate that our great teacher and our great leader had given us, remembering always that if, as I believe, his sprit looks upon us and sees u, nothing would displease his soul so much as to see that we have indulged in any small behaviour or any violence.

So we must not do that. But that does not mean that we should be weak, but rather that we should in strength and in unity face all the troubles and difficulties and conflicts must be ended in the face of this great disaster. A great disaster is a symbol to us to remember all the big things of life and forget the small things, of which we have thought too much."

short eulogy examples..

Short eulogy example-for-Bob-Hope