Write down who the person was to you and two or three memories, just as you remember them, and Hemmingway puts them into a eulogy you can read at the service. It opens simply, lets each memory show what the person was like, and says goodbye in plain words.
Everything in it comes from you. It does not add dates, virtues or stories, and it will not call someone a saint if you did not. A field you leave empty is left out, not filled in.
What to give it
- Memories before facts. The people at the funeral know the dates and the job. They came to hear what the person was like.
- Small things say the most. A tin of toffees in the glovebox tells the room more than the word "generous" does.
- Let it be a little funny if they were. A gentle laugh at a funeral is a relief, and it is true to the person.
An example
Asked for a eulogy for a grandfather, Arthur, with the memories that he kept a tin of toffees in the glovebox, said they were for emergencies and handed one over on every drive, and that he rang every Sunday at six, an opening along these lines is what to expect. It is the start of the eulogy, not all of it.
Thank you all for being here. Arthur was my grandfather.
He kept a tin of toffees in the glovebox. He said they were for emergencies.
He handed one over on every drive, so there must have been a lot of emergencies.
He rang every Sunday at six.
I am going to miss six o'clock on a Sunday.
Change anything that is not how you would say it. To write it by hand instead, how to write a eulogy gives you an order to follow. For a card to the family, there is a condolence message generator, and what to say when someone dies covers the funeral itself.
Common questions
Is the eulogy generator free?
Yes. Hemmingway has a free trial with no card needed, and this tool opens it with your answers filled in. You sign up once, and the eulogy is written in the chat.
How long should a eulogy be?
Three to five minutes is enough. Ask whoever is leading the service how long you have, and put that in the form. Print it, and ask someone to be ready to finish reading if you cannot.
Is it wrong to use AI to write a eulogy?
The memories are yours, and so is the voice reading them out. The tool only puts what you remember into an order that can be said aloud, which is the hard part when you are grieving.
Will it sound like AI?
It is built not to. Hemmingway-1, the model behind it, came first on sounding like a person in our own blind test, Human-Likeness. It still helps to read it aloud and change any word you would not use.
What if the relationship was difficult?
Give it what is true. One honest memory, or what others have told you about them, is enough, and it will not pretend you were closer than you were. A eulogy does not have to praise. It can say who the person was.