What to Write in a Funeral Program, Section by Section

A funeral program usually holds five things: the person's name, dates and photo on the front, a short obituary, the order of service, a reading or poem, and a thank-you from the family on the back. Keep each part short and plain. Guests read the program in the minutes before the service starts and take it home as a keepsake, so it has to be easy to follow and correct in every name and date.

Most programs are a single sheet folded in half, which gives four pages. The sections below follow that layout: front, inside left, inside right, back. A memorial service or celebration of life uses the same parts, sometimes with a looser tone.

What to write on the front: name, dates, photo and service

The front page tells guests whose life is being honored and where they are. It needs four things, in this order from top to bottom:

• A short line above the photo. "In Loving Memory", "Celebrating the Life of", "Forever in Our Hearts" or "A Life Well Lived" are the common choices. A celebration of life often uses a warmer line, such as "Remembering with Love".
• A photo. A clear portrait where the face fills most of the frame works better than a group picture cropped down.
• The full name. Use the name people knew, with a nickname in quotes if everyone used it: Margaret "Peggy" Ellis.
• The dates, either in full ("March 4, 1941, to September 12, 2026") or as years only ("1941 to 2026"). Full dates read more formally.

Below the name add the day, time and place of the service, for example "Saturday, September 26, 2026, 11:00 a.m., St. Mark's Church, Oakwood". Some families put this on the inside instead, but guests who pick up a spare program later find it useful on the front.

What to write in the obituary

The obituary in a program is shorter and more personal than a newspaper notice. On half of a folded sheet you have room for roughly 150 to 350 words, depending on the paper size and the type. That is three or four short paragraphs.

A simple order that works:

1. Opening: full name, age, where they lived, and the date they died. "Margaret 'Peggy' Ellis, 85, of Oakwood, passed away peacefully at home on September 12, 2026, surrounded by her family."
2. Life: where they were born and grew up, work, marriage, the things they cared about. Pick two or three details that people at the service will recognize, such as her garden or the Sunday phone calls to each grandchild.
3. Family: who survives them and who died before them. "She is survived by her children, Anne and David; five grandchildren; and her sister, Ruth. She was preceded in death by her husband of 52 years, Thomas."
4. Closing: a short line to end on. "She will be deeply missed," or a phrase she liked to say.

Checking the obituary before printing

Write it in the past tense and in the third person. Ask two family members to read it before printing: one to check names and spellings, one to check that the tone sounds like the person. If the newspaper notice already exists, cut it down rather than writing from scratch, and drop the service times and donation details that appear elsewhere in the program.

The heading above the obituary can be "Obituary", "In Memoriam", "Her Life", "His Story" or "Celebrating Peggy".

The order of service: what to list and how to word it

The order of service lists each part of the ceremony in the order it happens, with the name of the person leading it. It helps guests know when to stand, sing or pray, and it thanks everyone who takes part by naming them.

A typical church funeral looks like this:

• Prelude ... Organist, Janet Wells
• Processional
• Opening Prayer ... Rev. Michael Carter
• Hymn: "Amazing Grace"
• Old Testament Reading, Psalm 23 ... Anne Ellis, daughter
• New Testament Reading, John 14:1-3 ... Sam Ellis, grandson
• Eulogy ... David Ellis, son
• Hymn: "Abide with Me"
• Words of Comfort ... Rev. Michael Carter
• Commendation and Blessing
• Recessional

A secular service or celebration of life might have a welcome, two or three tributes from friends, a song, a slideshow, a reading or poem and closing words. Keep each line short. The printed title of a hymn or song and the reader's name are enough; guests don't need the verses printed unless they will sing them.

Under the order of service you can add the burial or interment details ("Interment to follow at Oakwood Cemetery") and a list of pallbearers or honorary pallbearers. Six to eight pallbearers is usual, and honorary pallbearers get their own short list.

What to write on the back: reading, thank-you, reception

The back page is what guests see when they hold the program folded, and what they read again at home. It usually carries a reading, a thank-you and the reception details.

A reading or poem

Psalm 23 ("The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want") is a familiar choice at Christian services. John 14:1-3 ("In my Father's house are many mansions") is another. For a less religious service, "Remember" by Christina Rossetti, "Crossing the Bar" by Alfred Tennyson and the traditional Irish blessing ("May the road rise to meet you") are old enough to be in the public domain and are widely used. A short verse the person loved works just as well.

A thank-you from the family

This part is also called the acknowledgement. Two or three sentences are enough:

• "The family of Margaret Ellis thanks you for your prayers, cards, flowers and many kindnesses. Your love has carried us through these days."
• "We are grateful for every call, visit and meal. Thank you for being here today to remember Peggy with us."
• "The family would like to thank the nurses of Oakwood Hospice for their gentle care during Dad's last weeks."

The reception and a closing line

Say where people can gather afterward ("Please join us for a reception in the church hall following the service") and, if the family asks for donations instead of flowers, name the charity. A closing line such as "Until we meet again" or "Forever in our hearts" ends the page.

Short sayings for a funeral program

A single line under the photo, above the reading or at the very end can say a lot in a few words. These are all common on programs and cards:

• In loving memory
• Forever in our hearts
• Gone but never forgotten
• Until we meet again
• A life well lived
• Loved beyond words, missed beyond measure
• Rest in peace

Choose one, or at most two, per program. The same line can go on memorial prayer cards so the two match. Our memorial prayer card has the photo, name and dates on the front and a prayer or poem on the back, and three of its four designs match the funeral program.

What not to write in a funeral program

A program is read by everyone at the service, including people who knew the person only a little. A few things are better left out:

• Private details about the illness or cause of death, unless the family wants them known.
• Long lists of every relative. Name the closest family in the obituary and write "and many nieces, nephews and friends" for the rest.
• Full home addresses of family members, since programs get left on seats and taken home.
• Inside jokes that most guests won't understand. A light, warm detail is fine; a story that needs explaining belongs in the eulogy.
• Every verse of every hymn, unless people will sing from the program.

If the page feels crowded, cut the obituary before you cut the order of service. Guests need the order of service during the ceremony.

How many funeral programs to print

Print one program per expected guest, plus 10 to 20 percent extra. Couples and families often share one, but many people want to keep a copy, and some will be mailed to relatives who couldn't come. For a service where you expect 100 people, 110 to 120 programs is a sensible number.

The funeral director or the church can usually tell you how many people a room holds and how many came to similar services. Before printing the full run, print one test copy, fold it and check that the pages are in the right order and the photo prints clearly.

Our funeral program is filled in on our website and prints on both sides of one sheet: Letter or A4 for home printing, 11 x 17 in or A3 for a print shop. The editor stays open for 30 days, so family members can check names and spelling before you print. For printer settings and paper, see how to print printables at home.