Eulogy · obituary · sympathy · funeral program
Words for a goodbye
When you have to find the words, you do not have to find them alone.
Annotated examples of eulogies, obituaries and sympathy messages, free tools, and, if you want it, a text written from your own memories.
If you would rather not face a blank page, we can write it with you, from your own memories:
Write my eulogy · $19Full refund within 14 days, no reason needed · refund policy
- Eulogy · $19a complete speech timed to 2 to 8 minutes, with a large-print reading copy
- Celebration of Life Kit · $49invitation, opening words, tribute speech, program, toast and thank-you note
- Obituary · $15full, newspaper and online versions
- Funeral program · $19every panel written and laid out, ready to print
- Sympathy or thank-you message · $12three versions, from a card to a letter
Pay once (taxes included), answer a few questions about them right after (about ten minutes, saved as you go) and read your text on screen within minutes. The link is emailed to you; copy it, print it or save it as a PDF.
Secure payment by Stripe · Apple Pay · Google Pay · no account, no subscription · Questions? Email us
- 455complete examples written for TributePen
- 4free tools that run in your browser
- 105pages in 4 PDF guides
- 25official .gov sources cited in the guides
Last updated
How we check
Verified, page by page
- 108automatic checks run on the site before every update
- 40official .gov pages read and cited, on October 22, 2026, October 28, 2026, October 29, 2026, October 30, 2026, October 31, 2026, November 2, 2026 and November 3, 2026
Our guides and examples are reviewed by industry professionals.
- Checked against your answersEvery sentence of a written text is checked against your answers before you see it.
- Primary sourcesThe guides are built from the guidance of the Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the Internal Revenue Service, USAGov and the Social Security Administration.
- Every fact has its sourceEach guide lists the pages it relies on, with links, so you can check any point yourself.
- DatedSources read on October 22, 2026, October 28, 2026, October 29, 2026, October 30, 2026, October 31, 2026, November 2, 2026 and November 3, 2026; each page shows when it was last updated.
Guides and examples
What do you need to write?
Each guide explains the structure, gives several complete examples with notes, and links to a free tool.
Written for you
A text built from your own memories
Our personalized texts are written by an AI writing assistant from your answers, under rules we wrote for grieving families: nothing invented, no clichés, no religious language unless you ask. You read it, revise it, and make it yours.
- Pay once
By card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or Link on Stripe's secure page. No account, no subscription.
- Answer a few questions
Who they were, your relationship, one or two memories, the tone. It takes about ten minutes, and your answers are saved.
- Read, revise, make it yours
Your text appears on screen within minutes. Ask for a revision in one sentence if something is not right.
Celebration of Life Kit
For the family member or friend organizing a celebration of life or a memorial gathering, with every text of the day to write.
Write my celebration of life kit · $49What you receive- The invitation in three formats: printed or email, text message, social media post
- The host's opening words, ready to read (about 1 to 2 minutes)
- A tribute speech built from your memories, timed to 2, 3, 4 or 5 minutes
- The program wording (cover, life story, order of the gathering, the family's thanks), opened in our printable four-panel program where you add your photo
- Closing words and a short toast for the end of the gathering
- The thank-you note to send to guests afterward
- All of it in one Word file, printable or saved as a PDF · 2 revisions of the whole kit included
Personalized eulogy
A complete eulogy written from your memories and timed to the length you choose, three delivery tips and a large-print reading copy. 2 revisions included.
Write my eulogy · $19What you receivePersonalized obituary
A full obituary for the funeral home or an online memorial, a shorter newspaper version and a short announcement for social media, written from the facts you give. 1 revision included.
Write my obituary · $15What you receivePersonalized sympathy or thank-you message
Three versions (short, medium, long) of a sympathy card, condolence letter, funeral thank-you note or announcement, written from your answers. 1 revision included.
Write my message · $12What you receivePersonalized funeral program
The wording of a four-panel funeral program written from your answers: cover, a short life story, the order of service, pallbearers and the family's thanks, laid out in a printable folded program where you add your own photo. 1 revision included.
Write my funeral program · $19What you receiveOne-time payment, taxes included · a few questions about them after payment · your text on screen within minutes
Instant access right after payment.
- Secure payment on StripeCard or Apple Pay on Stripe's secure page. Your card number never reaches our servers.
- One price, taxes includedA one-time payment. No account to create, no subscription.
- Yours within minutesYour text on screen within minutes of your answers; the link is emailed to you, and Find my purchases sends it again.
- Full refund within 14 daysWrite to us within 14 days of your purchase and we refund you in full, no reason needed (see the refund policy).
PDF guides · 2026 edition
For the weeks after a death, one step at a time
Four guides written for TributePen, to read on screen or print: what to do and in what order, your rights with a funeral home, the eulogy from blank page to last line, and a celebration of life that sounds like them.
- After a Death: The Family Checklist29 pages · $29
- Arranging a Funeral: Your Rights, the Prices, Every Decision25 pages · $29
- Writing and Delivering a Eulogy25 pages · $24
- Planning a Celebration of Life26 pages · $24
$69the four together, $17.25 a guide, $106 if bought one by one
Get all 4 guides · $69By paying, you accept the Terms.Full refund within 14 days, no reason needed · refund policy
Instant access right after payment · see every guide
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Tools that work in your browser
TributePen in brief
TributePen is a free American English guide to the words needed after a death: how to write a eulogy, an obituary, a funeral program or a sympathy message, with complete examples written for the site and notes on why each one works. The tools run in your browser, with no sign-up and nothing sent. If you would rather start from your own memories, a personalized eulogy costs $19, an obituary $15, a funeral program $19 and a sympathy or thank-you message $12: one payment, taxes included.
- Eulogy length: most eulogies last three to five minutes, about 420 to 700 words at 140 words per minute, the speaking pace used on every page of this site.
- Examples: every example was written for TributePen; the people and details in them are invented.
- Free tools: a eulogy length calculator, an outline builder, a fill-in-the-blank obituary template and a printable four-panel funeral program.
- Personalized texts: written by an AI writing assistant from your answers only, on screen in about a minute, revisions included, refund on request within 14 days.
Where to start
If you have to speak at the service, start with how to write a eulogy: it explains the five-part structure most eulogies follow, how long to speak, and how to get through the reading. Then look at the example closest to your situation: a eulogy for a mother, for a father, for a grandmother or for a friend.
If the funeral home has asked the family for an obituary, read how to write an obituary and use the fill-in-the-blank obituary template: it turns what you know into a first draft in your browser.
If you need to write a card, the sympathy messages guide gives short, honest wording for a friend, a coworker or a neighbor, and what to avoid saying.
If you are planning the service, the printable funeral program lays out a folded program you can print at home, funeral poems offers readings you may print freely, and the celebration of life guide covers what to include when the family wants something less formal, with ideas to make it personal and what to wear.
If you are sending flowers, see what to write on a funeral flower card. If you are choosing words for a stone, see headstone inscriptions.
Common questions
How long should a eulogy be?
Most eulogies last three to five minutes, which is roughly 420 to 700 words at a steady speaking pace of 140 words per minute. Ask the officiant or funeral director how much time you have, especially if several people will speak.
What is the difference between a eulogy and an obituary?
An obituary is written, usually in the third person, and announces the death with the key facts, family and service details. A eulogy is spoken at the service, usually in the first person, and tells who the person was through stories.
Are the examples on this site real eulogies?
No. Every example was written for TributePen, and the people and details in them are invented. They show structures and tones you can borrow; your own memories are what will make your text true.
How do the personalized texts work?
You pay once by card, answer a short questionnaire on your private page, and an AI writing assistant writes your text from your answers alone, following rules we wrote for grieving families. It appears on screen in about a minute, with revisions included, and you can ask for a refund.
How it works
A text in your own words, in three steps