Eulogy Example For Daughter
What Do I Say At My Daughter’s Funeral?
Eulogy For Daughter From Dad
This lovely eulogy from an American father to his daughter is a lovely example of how to memorialise your daughter’s life, including stories and wonderful memories.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/JWeytO007ak?feature=oembed
Eulogy Transcript
Whoever dwells in the shelter of the highest will rest in the shadow of the almighty. I will say of the Lord he is my refuge and my fortress. My God in whom I trust surely he will save you from the Fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence he will cover you with his feathers and under his wings, you will find refuge. His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart you will not fear the terror of the night nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.
A thousand may fall at your side. Ten thousand at your right hand but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked if you say the Lord is my refuge. You make the highest your dwelling no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent, for he will command his angels regarding you to watch you in all your ways they will lift you up in their hands so yet you will not strike your foot against the stone you will tread on the lion and the Cobra. You will trample the drake lion and serpent because he loves me says the Lord. I will rescue him, I will protect him for he acknowledges my name he will call on me and I will answer him, I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honour him with long life, I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.
Amen
My father is here as the patriarch of the Adam family so it would only be right if my mother was represented and this is a letter that she wrote to our precious Mikayla:
Our hearts are broken as we recall the happy times we shared with you. Our world stood still when your daddy called us last night. His broken heart crying out to us as we observe Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day, we are so happy that you’re able to enjoy time with grammy. Cathy I know she loved a visit last night at this time you were on your way home from your job at Pizza Hut. I offered your last hour on this earth to our Blessed Mother. I have asked her to come and present you to her son as I write this note to you and gather my thoughts, I think of the beautiful memories that you left us to treasure in the depths of our broken hearts. You will always be a part of our lives. You have touched in such a special way the lives of all those who loved you. You were the first baby that cousin Warren ever held and he loved you. He thought that you were the most beautiful baby in the world.
I remember the joy that filled our hearts on the day of your baptism June 30th, 2001 at St. Mary’s along with Cecil Rea who was also baptized that day deacon Bill made the day very very special and before we knew it, the years flew by, celebrating your first communion day on May 3rd, 2009. This was also when your cousin Gregory was given the first communion. You continue to grow into a wonderful young woman. You’re young. Your talents knew no bounds, you excelled in every endeavour that you came in your way: school, band, art – you were awesome, bright, beautiful and talented and we always treasured your beautiful artwork.
There are so many happy memories, I call them to heart thoughts. Your summer visits to Bluebird meadows riding the tractor, watching the hay being bailed, chasing butterflies, looking for insects and creepy creatures and remembering the litter of kittens, you and Angelica discovered in how you love taking care of them, given them special names such as Francis and Xavier.
How I enjoyed preparing your favourite meals. However, I wasn’t sure about the ketchup on mac and cheese, pigs in the blanket on New Year’s Eve, baby back ribs, fried circles and lots of Blue Bell ice cream and our trip to the Blue Bell creameries!
We would celebrate Angelica’s birthday and your half birthday. Those were happy days. For a couple of years, I had left the Easter Village display so that you can enjoy it during a summer visit. Christmas visits were always special times and we also managed to pre-celebrate your January birthday.
You love the Christmas village and you promised that you would take care of that as you helped pack it away and the special Christmas when you and Angelica came to Albany, New York in 2006, you met us at the airport as we arrived back from Lawrence’s funeral. Our trip to New York City, St. Patrick’s Cathedral on the seventh floor, Landing of the Republican Women’s Club, overlooking Fifth Avenue just down the street from Radio City Station and our visit to Ground Zero – what a special Christmas! Even though it did not snow for some reason in Albany, during your visit you requested an ice cream cake for your birthday. Your handprint in the cornerstone of Bluebird Meadows Manor will always be a part of our memory.
To you, one of our special memories is the summer that Angelika helped Grammy build your 9-room dollhouse in 2009 using Lawrence’s wooden crates. What a fun time we enjoyed buying the furniture for each room and what fun as we added your Webkinz collection, the trip to Sea World, and the beach in Port Aransas, and how you enjoyed feeding seagulls. The Pearl of the oyster necklace that you gave to me, I love it and I will treasure it always. Your love for our dog Melanie who was so special we observed her ninth anniversary of death on February 13th.
Tara loved you dearly. You were a part of her life. Tom, Judy, Kyle and grandma loved you, and Julia loves her big sisters. I remember the day we brought Julia home from the hospital and you were there for her baptism on January 1st, 2011.
You have touched our lives in joyful ways in too many numerous to count. Everyone loved you. Grandma Cathy just posted on this sad day in our lives heaven must be a beautiful sight. Right now since they got you … Oh Mikayla, our hearts are full of sadness. We love you. So pray for us. Our lives have changed forever on this Ash Wednesday this Valentine’s Day, 2018. May the angels lead you to paradise may your patron St. Michael and St. Gabriel come to greet you, and may your own cloud of witness family members who have gone before we welcome you into the happiness of heaven. They now enjoy until we meet again.
We love you Mikaela Gabriele. Our Kayla, our hearts are broken but we will remember these happy memories and smile when we will see butterflies pray for us. Grampa and granma who love you so much…
February 15th, 2018 – 17 years 20 days and approximately 20 hours. This is the approximate time between January 25th, 2001 on February 14, 2018, and what happened between those dates many world-changing events, almost too many to recount but what matters most to me, my wife Tara, and the rest of my family at this moment is the fact that during those 17 years 20 days, my daughter Mikayla was on this earth and was part of our lives for the vast majority of hers. I could stand here in wax poetically about how smart she was, how beautiful she was, how spirited she was, and how about nobody disliked her, how she was funny, and quote quirky but how in how she overcame challenges whether by circumstance or things by outside of her control.
All of these things are true but have been said multiple times today by Pastor Jason, the real testament to Mikayla cannot be expressed by me because it has already been expressed by the hundreds of people who streamed through this very room last night and all of you that are here today.
In the back, the band that will show up at the cemetery now and I tried to greet each one of you but it was impossible and that is a true testament so now I stand here as the head representative of the Adam family, especially on behalf of my wife Tara, my parents Edward and Patricia, my brother and sister Michael and Cara, and especially my youngest daughter Julia with a reunited and collective broken heart to say as personally as possible, two words: “thank you”.
Thank you for your outpouring of love for Mikayla and the support that you’ve shown for Angelica as she travels down this road that has taken an unexpected path but they’re even, though I should not ask any more of you there’s only one more thing that I would ask of all of you here, especially the fathers that are here in this assembly is to look at your child or children and commit today to never let them go take advantage of every moment that you have regardless of the situation. For you never know, when that moment may be your last…
To you young men and women, in this assembly, at this funeral, look at your parents and know that yes we are flawed, we are not perfect we have made our mistakes, and we’re trying to do all we’re trying to do for you is to help you prevent making the same mistakes every journey on the road of life has.
So follow the map that God via us laid out for you when it comes to foundational issues and does not make the same ex’s mistakes on the road of life that we did or have. Yes, find your own path but make sure that path is paved with righteousness and virtue. Finally, Angelica please know that your family, both blood and extended, will always be here for you no matter what we love you, always have and always will, no matter what and always remember that
God has commanded his angels regarding you to watch you in all your ways. So now as a blood family, an extended family, a blended family and a communal family, let us take this dear child of God that was given to all of us to her final resting place to where she will try finding true rest and true peace.
May God bless you all and thank you for coming here. It means more than any words I can put down.
Thank you and God bless!
What To Say At Your Daughter’s Funeral
In this tearful eulogy to her daughter Gianna, Vanessa Bryant shares some of the best moments with her child who died along with Koby Bryant in a helicopter crash.
Eulogy transcript
My baby girl, Gianna Bryant, is an amazingly sweet and gentle soul. She was always thoughtful, she always kissed me goodnight, and kissed me good morning. There were a few occasions where I was absolutely tired from being up with Bianca and Capri and I thought she had left to school without saying goodbye. I text and say, “no kiss,” and Gianna would reply with Mama I kissed you but you were asleep and I didn’t want to wake you.
She knew how much her morning and evening kisses meant to me and she was so thoughtful to remember to kiss me every day. She was daddy’s girl, but I know she loved her mama and she would always tell me and show me how much she loved me. She was one of my very best friends. She loved to bake, she loved putting a smile on everyone’s face. Last August she made a beautiful birthday cake for her daddy. It had fondant, and looked like it had blue agate crystals. Kobe’s birthday cake looked like it was professionally decorated. She made the best chocolate chip cookies.
She loved watching cooking shows and Cupcake Wars with me and she loved watching survivor and NBA games on TV with her daddy. She also loved watching Disney movies with her sisters. Gigi was very competitive like her daddy, but Gianna had a sweet grace about her. Her smile was like sunshine, her smile took up her entire face like mine. Kobe always said she was me. She had my fire, my personality, and sarcasm. She was tender and loving on the inside. She had the best laugh. It was infectious. It was pure and genuine. Kobe and Gianna naturally gravitated towards each other. She had Kobe’s ability to listen to a song and have all the lyrics memorized after listening to the song a couple of times. It was their secret talent.
She was an incredible athlete. She was great at gymnastics, soccer, softball, dance, and basketball. She was an incredible dancer too. She loved to swim, dance, do cartwheels, and jumps into our swimming pool and Gigi loved her tick-tock dances. Gigi was confident but not in an arrogant way. She loved helping and teaching other people things. At school she offered the boys’ basketball coaches to help give the boys’ basketball team some pointers like the triangle offense. She was very much like her daddy and that they both liked helping people learn new things and master them. They were great teachers.
Gigi was very sweet. She always made sure everyone was okay. She was our Shepherd. She always kept our family together she loved family traditions, family movie night, and game night. It was important to her that you always looked out for everyone. She was very much in tune with our feelings. She wanted the best for us. Gianna was smart. She knew how to read, speak, and write Mandarin. She knew Spanish. She had great grades and kept them up all while becoming an incredible basketball player. She was the president of school spirit on student council. She was director’s assistant for her school play. Just like her big sister, she was looking forward to graduating eighth grade and moving on to high school with her big sister Natalia.
I’m so happy she was given the opportunity to know that she was accepted to the same high school. She was really happy. Gianna made us all proud and she still does. Gianna never tried to conform. She was always herself. She was a nice person, a leader, a teacher. Wearing a white tee black leggings, a denim jacket, white high-top converse, and a flannel tied around her waist with straight hair was her go-to style. She had so much swag and rhythm and she was a baby. She gave the best hugs and the best kisses. She had gorgeous soft lips like her daddy. She would hug me and hold me so tight I could feel her love for me. I loved the way she looked up at me while hugging me. It was as if she was soaking me all in.
We love each other so much I’m missing her so much… She was so energetic. I couldn’t keep up with her energy. She lapped Natalya and I on a track once. She was about six years old. We let her have a head start she’s still best … I miss her sweet kisses. I miss her cleverness. I miss her sarcasm, her wit and that adorable sly side smile followed with a grin and a burst of laughter. We shared the same cat that ate the canary grin. Gigi was sunshine she brightened up my day. Every day I miss looking at her beautiful face. She was always so good, a rule follower. I knew I could always count on her to do the right thing. She was the most loving daughter, thoughtful little sister, and silly big sister. She happily helped carry the little diaper bag or played with them. She liked helping me with Bianca and Capri.
Bianca loved going to the playground swimming and jumping on the trampoline with Gigi. I used to tell Gigi that I thought Koko considered her her favourite sister. Capri would smile from ear to ear when Gigi walked into and Capri reminds me a lot of Gianna. They look alike and just smile with their whole face full of pure joy. We will not be able to see you Gigi go to high school with Natalia and ask her how her day went. We didn’t get the chance to teach her how to drive a car. I won’t be able to tell her how gorgeous she looks on her wedding day. I’ll never get to see my baby girl walk down the aisle, having a father-daughter dance on the dance floor or have babies of her own.
Gianna would have been an amazing mommy she was very maternal ever since she was really little. Gigi would have most likely become the best player in the WNBA. She would have made a huge difference. She would have made a huge difference for women’s basketball. Gigi was motivated to change the way everyone viewed women in sports. She wrote papers in school defending women and wrote about how the unequal pay difference for the NBA and WNBA leagues wasn’t fair and I truly feel she made positive changes for the WNBA players now. Since they knew Gigi’s goal was to eventually play in the WNBA I’m still so proud of Gianna. She made a difference and was kind to everyone she met and the 13 years she was here on earth, her classmates shared many fond memories about Gianna with us and those stories reminded me that.
Gianna loved and showed everyone that no act of kindness is ever too small to make a difference in someone’s life. She was always considerate of others. In their feelings, she was a beautiful kind happy silly thoughtful and loving daughter and sister. She was so full of life and had so much more to offer this world I cannot imagine life without her mommy!
Natalya, Bianca, Capri, and daddy I love you so much Gigi! I will miss your sweet handmade cards, your sweet kisses and your gorgeous smile. I miss you all of you every day.