How can I be humourous, while giving a speech at a funeral?.?

Question

My best friend has just died and his wife wants me to speak at his funeral and make it humourous. Help please?
He was 55year old, ran a group of greeting card shops (but had done little work for the last 3 years his wife ran the business) lived in N.E. England. Also lived for about 4 years in Spain. Died of liver failure. Loved football ( Newcastle United ) although he was born in Sunderland. Left a wife and 2 Sons 22year and 18year old. Very easy going and loved to help people and always gave more help than asked for. Loved the group ABBA. Especially Dancing Queen.

Answer 1

You can get some inspiration from "Four Weddings and a Funeral" as well. I think it is not disrespectful to remember the endearing funny episodes of somebody's life, especially if he/she had a good public sense of humour. I'd want my funeral to be a happy party for all my friends and family.

Answer 2

Funny Funeral Speeches

Answer 3

Try telling little anecdotes about when he worked in his shop, lived in Spain, went to the footie. Ask other friends to share some happy times with you so that you can incorporate them into the speech. I went to a funeral recently where a friend read a humourous poem she had written about the deceased.
Get them to play Abba & Queen music at the funeral. A lot of people nowadays plan their own funerals & ask that no sad music is played, or have a list already drawn up. Many ask that no black is worn.

Answer 4

if you're going to be funny at a funeral - try and make it something funny that everyone can relate to - something about his sense of humour or a little habit he had (that wasn't too bad) or an event. Thing is with humour at a funeral you need to get just the right balance - don't make the joke too heavy, just something they congregation can smile at and think to themselves something nice about your friend. If you feel uncomfortable about saying the speech at the service - wait until the wake - and after everyones had a few drinks, the atmosphere will be a lot lighter.

Answer 5

absolutely. It will be reflection of his character. Be careful only to say things or tell stories that present your friend in a good way.

Don't be insulting, humour can be an expression of joy and hope, i.e. remembering people for who they were. Of course it's important not to tread on any toes or bring up sensitive subjects at this time but humour (done tastefully) is a celebration of all things good.

I told a funny story about a friend at a funeral before and everyone thanked me for reminding them of her character, her resilience and the fact that as she loved life she surely wouldn't have wanted an over indulgent amount of sadness.

Be funny - especially if they were.

Answer 6

If you've been requested to make a humourous speech by his wife then you should. The book "The Wimbledon Poisoner" by Nigel Williams might give you some ideas.

I'm sure you could make a humourous speech out of what you've told us about him. Do it!

Some people use humour as a way of dealing with grief. It seems that his wife might be one of those persons.

Answer 7

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
How can I be humourous, while giving a speech at a funeral?.?
My best friend has just died and his wife wants me to speak at his funeral and make it humourous. Help please?
He was 55year old, ran a group of greeting card shops (but had done little work for the last 3 years his wife ran the business) lived in N.E. England. Also lived for about 4 years in...

Answer 8

First of all, my condolences on the death of your friend. I sympathise with your plight, as I have just written the eulogy for my father, who died very suddenly. Basically, you have to put in what you know about the person, and infuse it with the love that you felt for them. What you have written above is very factual, but you need to intertwine that with the personal, the details that make this a picture of your friend's life. You don't want to make it deliberately funny, but you want to make people think, and smile, and recognise the traits that you've pointed out. Show the hidden depths of your friend.
For example, you say that he loved his footie - can you give a little (clean, repeatable!) story connected with that? Did he enjoy his work? What were the good points about his interaction with his family? And with you, for that matter? What were his virtues?
Whatever you do say, concentrate on the good things - after all, the whole point of a eulogy is that it is there to recognise the good in the deceased. (Its literal meaning is "logos", meaning speech, and "eu-", meaning well in ancient Greek.)
A further hint - don't make it too long. If you're doing a church service, about 5 minutes is the right length. It's surprising how little time that is when you're speaking! Make sure you write everything down first, and practice it until you're sick of it. And make sure you practice by reading out loud! Don't use terms that you wouldn't normally use in everyday speech - it might look good on paper, but reading it will be a different kettle of fish. Be prepared to let the vicar, or whoever is leading the service, take over on the day - he'll understand if you can't speak at the time. Just remember that, whatever you say, you're there for your friend, and imagine what he would be saying to you when you read your piece. What would make him smile? That's what you need to put in your eulogy.

I hope that it all goes well, as well as can be expected, anyway, and that you have the strength and fortitude to go through this.

Answer 9

The best way to hake it humourous is to tell a story about a time when you and your best friend shared a laugh. The best stories are usually warm and sum up the nature and character of the person. My uncle spoke about my grandfather at his funeral and told story about him that summed up his humourous outlook on life. Everone in the church was laughing and crying equally. A funeral is to commemorate a persons life. If they enjoyed life and lived to with humour why shouldn't your speech about them be humourous.

Answer 10

Take a look at Elizabethtown and adapt from there. Great movie about mourning, family, the purpose of funerals, etc. REALLY funny stuff in there. Also, its done in an authentic way.

My dad always gives the funeral speaches in our family. He's pretty funny. He keeps it undertoned. He's not afraid of offending people, but he's absolutely aware that he's not up there to show off, make friends, or draw attention to himself.

Good luck with that.