Funeral program wording, section by section

Cover headings

A heading line above the name is optional, and many programs have one. These are the common choices:

• In Loving Memory of
• Celebrating the Life of
• A Celebration of Life for
• In Memoriam
• Forever in Our Hearts
• Mass of Christian Burial for
• Homegoing Service for
• A Service of Thanksgiving for the Life of
• no heading at all, only the name and the dates

Some belong to particular services. "Mass of Christian Burial" is the name of the Catholic funeral Mass, and "Homegoing Service" is used in many African American churches. "A Service of Thanksgiving for the Life of" suits a service held in a church.

The rest suit any service, religious or not. "In Memoriam" is Latin for "in memory of", so it needs no "of" after it. "Celebrating the Life of" and "A Celebration of Life for" suit a less formal gathering, and there is more about that kind of service on the celebration of life program page.

Names

A few conventions cover the parts of a name that need care:

• A nickname goes in quotation marks between the given names and the surname: Walter James "Walt" Hale.
• A maiden name goes in parentheses before the married surname, as in Margaret (Doyle) Hale, or after the full name with née, which means "born": Margaret Hale, née Doyle.
• A title goes before the name, as the person used it: Dr., Rev., or a military rank such as Sgt. or Col.
• A suffix such as Jr. or Sr. follows the surname.

Check the spelling of every name with someone who knows, including the names of the readers and the pallbearers. Many names have more than one spelling, so ask rather than guess.

Dates

Write the month as a word. These are the usual forms:

• March 8, 1941 – August 22, 2026
• 1941 – 2026
• Sunrise March 8, 1941 · Sunset August 22, 2026

Full dates suit a traditional program. The years alone are quieter, and they keep the date of birth private. Sunrise and Sunset are a gentler way of saying born and died, and some families prefer them for that reason.

Avoid dates written in numbers only, such as 03/08/1941. In much of the world that means August 3, not March 8, and on a program it reads like a form rather than a remembrance.

The service details

The date and time can be written out in full, which suits a formal program:

• Saturday, August 29, 2026, at ten o'clock in the morning

Or plainly, which is quicker to read:

• Saturday, August 29, 2026, 10:00 a.m.

Either is correct. Choose one style and use it for every date and time in the program. Then give the place with its address, the officiant, and what follows the service:

• St. Andrew's Church, 18 Harbour Road
• Officiating: Rev. Michael Ostrowski
• Interment to follow at [cemetery name]
• Repast immediately following in the church hall

"Interment" means burial. If the burial is for the family only, "Interment will be private" says so kindly. "Repast" is the word many churches use for the meal after a funeral, and "reception" or "lunch" works anywhere.

The order of service

Use short labels, one line for each part of the service. These are the common ones, in the order they usually come:

• Prelude
• Processional
• Welcome
• Opening Prayer
• Hymn
• Old Testament Reading
• New Testament Reading
• Musical Selection
• Obituary (read silently)
• Reflections
• Eulogy
• Benediction
• Recessional
• Postlude

The prelude and postlude are the music before and after the service, and the processional and recessional are the entrance and the exit. "Obituary (read silently)" tells guests that the obituary will not be read aloud, and that this is the moment to read it in the program. The benediction is the closing blessing.

Put the detail and the person on the same line:

• Hymn — Abide With Me
• Reading — Psalm 107, read by Anne Hale
• Eulogy — David Hale

Keep each line short enough to fit across a narrow panel, and leave out anything guests do not need in order to follow. Customs vary: a Catholic Mass and a homegoing each have their own order, which the officiant will know, and a celebration of life follows whatever order the family chooses.

The obituary heading

The panel with the life story needs a heading, and it can be plain or warm:

• A Life Well Lived
• Remembering Walter
• His Story
• Reflections
• Obituary

"Obituary" is always correct. A heading with the first name, as in "Remembering Walter", feels personal, and "A Life Well Lived" suits almost any service.

The back page

The back page is where the family speaks for itself, and where guests look for what happens next. Here is wording for each part.

Thanks from the family

• We thank you for your prayers, your visits and your many kindnesses. Your love has carried us.
• Thank you for being with us today, and for every call, card and meal in these past weeks.

Both are short enough to sit above the pallbearers and still leave room. There are more examples, traditional and simple, religious and not, in acknowledgment wording for a funeral program.

Pallbearers

The usual headings are "Pallbearers" and "Honorary Pallbearers". Honorary pallbearers do not carry the casket, so the list can include people who are older, unwell or unable to travel. List the names one to a line or in two columns; alphabetical order by surname avoids any suggestion of rank.

After the service

• Please join the family for a repast in the church hall immediately following the interment.
• The family welcomes you to a reception at [place], [street address], from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.

In lieu of flowers

• In lieu of flowers, the family asks that gifts be made to the Harbour Lifeboat Station, [website], in Walter's memory.

Name the charity exactly, and say how to give. There are more examples, and other kinds of request, in "In lieu of flowers" wording.

Closing lines

A last line closes the program quietly:

• The family thanks you for being here today.
• Please sign the guest book as you leave.
• Go in peace.

When the words will not come

Some days nothing sounds right, and a program can still be finished. Brief is fine. The name, the dates and the order of service make a complete program, and no guest will look for more.

If the back page is hard to write, one line of thanks is enough: "The family thanks you for being here today." Plain words are never out of place at a funeral.

When you have a draft, ask someone a step removed, such as a friend or a cousin, to read it through for names, dates and anything that reads oddly. They will see what tired eyes pass over.