What to put in a funeral program

The cover

The cover is the part everyone sees first and the part people keep, so it holds only the essentials. Put the name people knew them by in the largest type: "Walter Hale", or "Walt Hale" if that is what everyone called him. If you want the full name recorded, set it beneath in smaller type, as in "Walter James Hale".

Beneath the name go the dates, either in full, as in "March 8, 1941 – August 22, 2026", or as the years alone. Then the portrait. A clear face prints best: in focus, evenly lit, and large enough to fill much of the frame.

The photograph does not have to be recent. Many families choose one from a time when the person looked most like themselves, even if it is decades old. An old print can be photographed with a phone: lay it flat in daylight and hold the phone straight above it.

Some covers add a heading line above the name, such as "In Loving Memory of" or "Celebrating the Life of". It is optional, and the name and dates alone make a complete cover. There are more headings, with a note on which suit which kind of service, in funeral program wording, section by section.

The service

The service details usually go on the first inside panel, though some covers carry them beneath the dates. Give:

• the kind of service: a funeral, a memorial service, a celebration of life or a Mass of Christian Burial
• the day, date and time: Saturday, August 29, 2026, 10:00 a.m.
• the place, with its street address: St. Andrew's Church, 18 Harbour Road
• the officiant: Rev. Michael Ostrowski
• the interment, if the burial follows the service: the cemetery's name and address

The addresses matter most to anyone going on to the cemetery or the reception, and to people who receive a copy afterward. If the burial is for the family only, say so here, and people will know not to follow.

The order of service

The order of service lists each part of the service in the order it happens, so guests can follow along and join in. One line for each part is enough, with the details that help people take part: the titles of hymns, the readings with their references, and the names of the readers and speakers.

Walter's order of service, as an example:

• Processional
• Welcome — Rev. Michael Ostrowski
• Hymn — Eternal Father, Strong to Save
• Reading — Psalm 107, read by Anne Hale
• Remembrances — His grandchildren
• Eulogy — David Hale
• Hymn — Abide With Me
• Commendation
• Recessional

Ask the officiant for the order before you write it. Churches often have a settled order for a funeral, and many officiants will go through it with the family. Customs differ from one church and one family to the next, so their order is a better guide than any template. A common order that you can start from and change is on the order of service template page.

The obituary or life story

Most programs give one inside panel to the story of the person's life. About 150 to 300 words fits a panel, fewer if a photograph shares it. If there is more to say, a longer story can take a second sheet.

The program's version does not need to list everything. It says who they were: where they came from, the work they did, the people they loved, and one or two things everyone who knew them will recognize. A single line such as "He fished at dawn most mornings of his life" can say more than a list of dates and places.

If you are also writing an obituary for the newspaper or the funeral home's website, that version can be the longer one. It can hold the complete list of family members, the full record of work and service, and the details of any memorial gifts.

The back page

The back page gathers the family's own words and the practical details. Most programs include some of these:

• The family's thanks. A few sentences thanking people for coming and for their kindness. There are examples in acknowledgment wording for a funeral program.
• Pallbearers and honorary pallbearers. The people who carry the casket, and those named as honorary pallbearers, who do not carry it. Honorary pallbearers are often older relatives or close friends.
• The repast or reception. Where people are welcome to gather after the service, with the address and the time.
• In lieu of flowers. Any request that people give to a charity or a cause instead of sending flowers.
• A short verse, prayer or poem. A few lines that meant something to them or to the family.
• The funeral home. Its name often appears in a small line at the foot of the page, and the funeral home may ask you to include it.

Choose the ones that apply. A back page with a few of these and some room around them is easier to read than one filled to the edges.

More photographs

A few photographs inside make a program feel like theirs: a wedding picture, one at work, one with the grandchildren. A small collage on the back works well too, and it may give a relative a picture they have never seen.

Choose photographs from different parts of their life rather than several from the same day. Each one takes space from the words, so a single sheet holds only a handful beside the obituary. If you have more photographs than the panels will hold, the program can take a second sheet, which gives four more panels.

What to leave out

Some things are better left off a program that is handed to everyone and carried home:

• The family's home address. The program gives the date and time of the service, and a house is often empty while everyone is there. If people are invited back to the house afterward, give the address by word of mouth, and if you can, ask a neighbor or a friend to stay there during the service.
• The cause of death, unless the family wants it known. Many families leave it out, and the choice is theirs.
• Anything the family disagrees about. A program is not the place to settle a question of wording or of who is listed. Leave the detail out, or use the simplest version that everyone can accept.
• Long lists of relatives. They belong in the newspaper obituary. In the program, "He is survived by Margaret, his wife of sixty-three years, their three children and eight grandchildren" says enough.
• The full date of birth, if identity theft is a worry. Details from obituaries are sometimes used to open accounts in the name of the person who died. The birth year alone is enough: 1941 – 2026.

Before it goes to print

Mistakes are easy to make in a week like this one, and hard to put right once the copies are printed. A few checks help:

• Ask two people to read every name and every date, one after the other. Tired eyes, your own included, read what they expect to see.
• Check the time and place with the funeral home, and the hymns, readings and order with the officiant. Details can change in the last days before a service.
• Check that the day of the week matches the date. August 29, 2026, for example, is a Saturday.
• Print one copy, fold it, and read it through as a guest would before printing the rest. Check that the panels face the right way and that nothing is cut off at the edges.

When the proof copy looks right, the program is ready. For how many copies to print, and where to print them, see how many funeral programs to print.