Brother Eulogy

A brother’s eulogy is usually difficult because you have dozens of stories and anecdotes about your brother to choose from. The tendency in a eulogy for your brother is to speak too long and exceed the five to seven minute guideline that I recommend.

If you want to get a feel for the structure of a brother eulogy you should first look at an example eulogy.

In your brother’s eulogy you want to talk about your feelings and experiences with your brother. It is not a recap or summary of your brother’s life but rather what did he mean to you.

For example, if you wanted to talk about how you used to fight like cats and dogs in your brother’s eulogy you would tell a short story like the following:

“Besides the pretend fights and the laughs, Jonas gave me many gifts over the years. The one I will cherish the most is the scar I carry from when I pissed him off, and he stabbed me with a freshly sharpened pencil many years ago. I tormented Jonas, because it was my right as his older brother. Now I see it was my privilege. I pinched his chubby leg when he was a toddler. He didn’t cry. He just turned around and wondered where the pain was coming from. I slapped him on his diaper a lot. I let him crawl into the closet one time with the intention of locking it. And of course, every bad thing I did wasn’t me, “It was Jonas !”

This story is great because it portrays the brotherly love and fighting that is common with siblings.

Another key point is to tell a story that highlights a particular personality trait of your brother. In this example, the speaker is focusing on his brother’s patience.

“I will now share a quick story that conveys the patience that my brother personified.

One summer we went fishing up at the lake. He woke up at five a.m. and waited and waited for the rest of the family to wake up. I still remember his excitement and zeal in the car ride up to the lake. He would put his head out the window imitating a dog catching a breath of fresh air. He hopped out of the car and I followed him to the rocks. Within six minutes of tossing our fishing lines into the water my line became tangled beyond repair. Even though my brother was so primed to fish he walked over and handed me his fishing rod. Without saying a word he took the tangled line and spent the next hour fixing it.”

The story is brief, to the point and focuses one unique personality trait that you want the audience to know about. Most importantly, it is a personal story that expresses what his brother meant to him.

If you need more help with your eulogy for your brother, our guidebook has thirteen examples of eulogies that you can use to craft a perfect speech.