Eulogy for an aunt

Aunts hold a particular kind of love in a family. They are often the second mother, the safe phone call, the one who let you stay up late. A eulogy for your aunt should sound like that role: warm, slightly conspiratorial, and grateful. For the wider shape, start with how to write a eulogy.

Speak from the cousin perspective

If you are one of several nieces or nephews, you may be speaking for the cousins as a group. Ask the others for one line each in the days before, and weave them in by name. My cousin Maria says she taught all six of us to braid hair on the back porch. A small chorus of voices, attributed, lands harder than a single tribute.

Example opening

Aunt Rose was not a quiet woman. She did not enter a kitchen, she announced one. For forty years I have been waiting for Easter dinner just to hear her open the door. The doorway is going to be a quieter place from now on. And that is what I want to tell you about.

What to include about an aunt

• One scene from a family gathering, told briefly
• The way she treated the nieces and nephews
• Her relationship with her siblings (your parents)
• A phrase she said often, in her own words
• What you learned from her that your parents could not teach you

Questions that gather memories

Sit with one or two of her closest friends or your cousins for ten minutes and ask: what is the first scene that comes to your mind when I say her name? What was she like as a sister? What did she do that no one else did? You will have your opening line by the end of the conversation. The same question-led approach works for any relative; we use it in our piece on eulogy for a grandmother as well.

Reading the eulogy

Aunts often have wide, mixed audiences at their services, friends, neighbors, work colleagues, the church. Pitch the eulogy to the family first; everyone else will follow. Our practical day-of notes are in how to read a eulogy without crying.

When you are ready, Stillwith helps you draft yours.