Epitaphs

We offer a variety of epitaphs for any occasion.

General Epitaphs

  • Too well loved to ever be forgotten
  • Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile
  • I can only hope we shall see each other again in that place where there is only love and no shadows fall, You have touched my very being…I shall remember you
  • Out of the finite darkness, into the infinite light
  • Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal
  • If you don’t climb the mountain, you can’t view the plain
  • The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and for deeds left undone
  • Each day comes bearing its own gifts. Untie the ribbons.
  • Veni, vidi, vici (I came, I saw, I conquered)
  • Love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation
  • You taught all that knew you what courage meant and have shown us an example in death as you did in life. God give me strength in my life without you.
  • It is morning on the other side… and all is light and joy.
  • This was no ordinary life. This was a life well-lived and well-loved, a life that will be deeply missed.
  • And in the end it is not the years in your life that count, it’s the life in your years
  • And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest
  • Peace at last
  • We live to love you more each day
  • We make a living by what we get but we make a life by what we give
  • And the angels sing
  • Many things in life will catch your eye but few will catch your heart…Pursue those
  • From the Tree of Life each leaf must fall, the green, the gold, the great, the small. Each one in God’s own time He’ll call, with perfect love He gathers all.
  • In another home, in a happier place, in a beautiful forever.
  • Nothing that is loved is ever lost… No one who has touched a life, who has brought beauty to the world, is ever truly gone.
  • Memories, laughter, love…the treasures we keep forever.
  • Each soul leaves a legacy of love.
  • A life well-lived leaves behind a beautiful bouquet of memories.
  • The world is a far lesser place without you
  • Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away
  • Sun of my soul, thou savior dear, it is not night if thou be near
  • Perhaps they are not stars, but rather openings in Heaven, where the love of our lost ones pours through and shines down upon us to let us know they are happy.
  • What we keep in memory is ours unchanged forever
  • The song is ended by the melody lingers on

Epitaphs for a Child

  • For such is the Kingdom of Heaven.
  • His was a man’s courage.
  • Our littlest angel who went back to Heaven.
  • Called by one who loves him dearly.
  • Let thy child rest in hope and rise in glory.
  • Awaiting the touch of a little hand, and the smile of a little face. (E. Field)
  • Children are the keys of paradise. (R.H. Stoddard)
  • An angel visited the green earth, and took a flower away. (Longfellow)
  • Even the tiniest child leaves behind love that lasts forever.
  • If I had a flower for every time I thought of you…I could walk through my garden forever (Tennyson)
  • Hush, my dear, lie still and slumber. Holy Angels guard thy bed. Heavenly blessings without number gently falling on thy head.
  • So small, so sweet, so soon. (anonymous)
  • Budded on earth to bloom in Heaven. (anonymous)
  • Children bring their own love with them when they come. (Jean Ingelow)
  • What would the world be to us if the children were no more? (Longfellow)
  • Oh, for boyhood’s time of June, crowding years into one brief moon. (Whittier)
  • Sleep undisturbed within the peaceful shrine till angels wake thee with a note like thine. (Samuel Johnson)
  • No jewel is as perfect as the innocence of childhood. (anonymous)
  • Sleep, my little one, sleep. (Harrington)
  • Children are an heritage of the Lord. (Psalms 127: 3)
  • The child is the father of the man. (Wordsworth)
  • Little Boy Blue has gone away. (Field)
  • God’s garden has need of little flowers. (anonymous)
  • Remembering a tiny angel. (anonymous)
  • Hush, my dear, be still and slumber; Jolly angels guard your bed. (Watts)
  • Lord, we give you our littlest angel. (anonymous)
  • Those that God loves do not live long

Epitaphs for a Male

  • To live with him and sing in endless morn of light!
  • His life was gentle, and the elements so mix’d in him, that nature might stand up and say to all the world, “This was a man!”
  • On him and on his high endeavor the light of praise shall shine forever.
  • We loved him a lot but God loved him more.
  • To know him was to love him.
  • A man greatly beloved.
  • The world is diminished because he is gone… but it is still a better place because he was here.
  • Let not a man guard his dignity but let his dignity guard him (Emerson)
  • He lives with us in memory and will for evermore.
  • He had a kindly word for each and died beloved by all.
  • His friendship was an inspiration, his love a blessing.
  • He was beloved in life.
  • A loving father, tender and kind, what a beautiful memory you left behind.
  • Resting with those he loved.
  • His greatest joy was in making others happy.
  • His joy was in serving others.
  • God took him home, it was his will, but in our hearts he liveth still.
  • At the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember him.
  • O, Lord I put him in thy hands.
  • His mission on earth fulfilled.
  • No man is indispensable but some are irreplaceable.
  • To those who knew and loved him, his memory will never grow old.
  • His true wealth was in his generous heart. And what endless wealth he did have.
  • Fond memories linger every day, remembrance keeps him near.
  • The world’s loss was heaven’s gain when God took you home.

Epitaphs for a Female

  • A mother is a mother still, the holiest thing alive.
  • Grace was in all her steps, heaven in her eye, in every gesture dignity and love.
  • When she had passed, it seemed like the ceasing of exquisite music.
  • She passed through glory’s morning gate and walked in paradise.
  • Time takes even the simple and small memories we hold of those we love and silently turns them into gold.
  • She will always be with us…in our hearts, in our memories, in our lives.
  • She walked in beauty.
  • She loved people and laughter.
  • O, Lord I put her in thy hands.
  • The sweetest sounds to mortals given are heard in Mother, Home and Heaven.
  • A mother’s love grows by giving.
  • All that I am or ever hope to be I owe to my angel mother.
  • All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. That’s his.
  • The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness.
  • She had a kindly word for each and she died beloved by all.
  • She lives with us in memory and will for evermore.
  • May God grant you eternal rest, dear Mother.
  • She concealed her tears but shared her smiles.
  • God took her home, it was his will, but in our hearts she liveth still.
  • God bless thee wheresoe’er thou art in his great universe today.
  • She is resting peacefully with Jesus in that beautiful home above.
  • Her memory is enshrined in our hearts.
  • Her friendship was an inspiration, her love a blessing.
  • Resting with those she loved.
  • She served and kept the faith.
  • God’s greatest gift returned to God–my mother.
  • Her friends were her world.
  • Shed not for her the bitter tear nor give the heart to vain regret. Tis but mere ashes that lie here. The gem that filled it sparkles yet.
  • She would rather give than receive.
  • God called her from among us to a home of eternal rest.
  • Always loving: always loved.
  • To know her was to love her.
  • She gave so much and demanded so little.
  • Her children arise up and call her blessed.

Epitaphs from the Bible

  • So you have pain now; but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy from you (John 16:22)
  • He heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds (Psalm 147:3)
  • The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? (Psalms 27:1)
  • To live is Christ; and to die is gain (Philippians 1:21)
  • In him was life; and the life was the light of men (John 1:4)
  • The gift of God is eternal life (Romans 6:23)
  • God will provide (Genesis 22:8)
  • The Father is in me, and I in Him (John 10:38)
  • This is the day the Lord has made, rejoice and be glad (Psalm 118:24)
  • Blessed are they that have not seen and have yet believed (John 20:29)
  • But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint (Isaiah 40:31)
  • Not my will, but Thine be done (Luke 22:42)
  • Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. (Matthew 5:4)
  • Thy remembrance shall endure into all generations (102nd Psalm)
  • Whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:15)
  • The righteous shall go into life eternal (Matthew 25:46)
  • The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:5)
  • Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. (Matthew 7:7)
  • I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkenss, but will have the light of life. (John 8:12)
  • Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. (John 14:1)
  • I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies. (John 11:25)
  • I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last (Revelation 22:13)
  • This is the promise…the life everlasting. (John 2: 25)
  • Believe in Him to life everlasting. (1 Timothy 1: 16)
  • I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears – Psalms 34:4
  • And now abide Faith, Hope, Love, These Three; but the greatest of these is Love-1 Corinthians 13:13
  • Blessed is the man that maketh the Lord his trust. (Psalm 40: 4)
  • Sleep on now, and take your rest. (Matthew 26: 45)
  • Well done, thou good and faithful servant. (Matthew 25: 21)
  • All things work together for good to them that love God. (Romans 8: 28)
  • Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. (Revelation 2: 10)
  • The Lord watch between me and thee, while we are absent, one from the other. (Genesis 31: 49)
  • But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23)
  • God is love: and He that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. (1 John 4: 16)
  • Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28)
  • For of such is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 19: 14)
  • I have fought the good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. (II Timothy 1: 7)
  • The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. (23rd Psalm)
  • I rejoice in thy salvation. (1 Samuel 2: 1)
  • He that believeth in the Son hath everlasting life. (John 3: 16)
  • I thank my God upon every remembrance of you. (Philippians 1: 3)
  • The Lord hath given him rest from all his enemies. (II Samuel 7: 1)
  • He that endureth to the end shall be saved. (Matthew 10: 22)
  • Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. (Matthew 5: 8)
  • He shall receive in the world to come eternal life. (Mark 10:30)
  • For with Thee is the fountain of life: in the light shall we see light. (Psalm 36: 9)
  • Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord (James 3:10)
  • Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me (Psalm 23:4)

Epitaphs from the Classics

  • But in the night of death hope sees a star, and listening love can hear the rustle of a wing. (Ingersoll)
  • Death’s but a path to be trod if man would ever pass to God. (T. Parnell)
  • Whither though goest, I will go. (Ruth 1: 16)
  • Life’s a voyage that’s homeward bound. (H. Melville)
  • He hath awakened from the dream of life. (Shelley)
  • Beyond is the infinite morning of a day without a tomorrow. (W.S. Abbott)
  • Give sorrow words; the grief that does not speak whispers the o’erfraught heart and bids it break… (Shakespeare)
  • Where He leads me I can safely go. (Millay)
  • Humble love, and not proud science, keeps the door of Heaven. (Young)
  • God is and all is well. (Whittier)
  • In His will is our peace. (Dante)
  • The dutifulness of children is the foundation of all virtue. (Cicero)
  • The heart of him who truly loves is a paradise on earth. (Lamennais)
  • Mutual love, the crown of all our bliss. (Milton)
  • Things past belong to memory alone, things future are the property of hope. (John Home)
  • Each lonely scene shall thee restore. (William Collins)
  • The acts of this life are the destiny of the next. (Eastern proverb)
  • Safe in the hallowed quiets of the past. (Lowell)
  • Every man’s life is a plan of God. (Horace Bushnell)
  • The end and the reward of toil is rest. (James Beattie)
  • Till the Master of all good workmen shall set us to work anew. (Rudyard Kipling)
  • The kiss of the sun for pardon, the song of the birds for mirth, One’s nearer God’s heart in a garden, than anywhere else on earth. (Dorothy Francis Gurney)
  • Dust thou art, to dust returnest, was not spoken of the soul. (Longfellow)
  • Nature’s loving proxy, the watchful mother. (Bulwer)
  • Mercy to him that shows it, is the rule. (Cowper)
  • Music, when soft voices die, vibrates in the memory… (Shelley)
  • Strength is born in the deep silence of long-suffering hearts, not amid joy. (Hemans)
  • The soul that suffers is stronger than the soul that rejoices. (E. Shepard)
  • Tears are often the telescope by which men see far into Heaven. (H.W. Beecher)
  • Strength is born in the deep silence of long-suffering hearts, not amid joy. (Hemans)
  • What seem to us but dim funereal tapers may be Heaven’s distant lamps. (Longfellow)
  • Death is the golden key that opens the palace of Eternity. (Milton)
  • Sorrows are like tall angels with star-crowns in their hair. (Margery Eldredge Howell)
  • Tears are often the telescope by which men see far into Heaven. (H.W. Beecher)
  • To love is to place our happiness in the happiness of another. (Leibnitz)
  • What seem to us but dim funereal tapers may be Heaven’s distant lamps. (Longfellow)
  • Death is the golden key that opens the palace of Eternity. (Milton)
  • There is a sweet joy that comes to us through sorrow. (Spurgeon)
  • Earth hath no sorrow that Heaven cannot heal. (Moore)
  • Heaven, the treasury of everlasting joy. (Shakespeare)
  • Death is not a foe, but an inevitable adventure. (Sir Oliver Lodge)
  • The soul that suffers is stronger than the soul that rejoices. (E. Shepard)
  • Where there is much light, the shadows are deepest. (Goethe)
  • There never was night that had no morn. (D.M.N. Craik)
  • Faith builds a bridge across the gulf of death. (Young)
  • Until the day break, and the shadows flee away.
  • “Tis not the whole of life to live, nor all of death to die. (J. Montgomery)
  • Where there is sorrow there is holy ground. (Wilde)
  • The greatest attribute of Heaven is mercy. (Beaumont and Fletcher)
  • Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal. (Moore)
  • God gives us love. Something to love He lends us. (Tennyson)
  • His daily prayer, far better understood in acts than words, was simply doing good. (Whittier)
  • Unable are the loved to die, for love is immortality. (Dickenson)
  • Only in darkness can you see the stars. (Emerson)
  • It is not the length of life but the depth. (Emerson)
  • Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail (Emerson)
  • We only part to meet again (Gay)
  • Now twilight lets her curtain down and pins it with a star. (L.M. Child)
  • Onward to thy glory! ‘Tis always morning somewhere in the world. (R.H. Horne)
  • The way to love anything is to realize that it might be lost (Chesterton)
  • Yet in this heart’s most sacred place, thou, thou, alone, shall dwell forever. (Moore)
  • …There hath pass’d away a glory from the earth. (Wordsworth)
  • Joy, joy forever! My task is done–the gates are pass’d, and heaven is won. (Moore)
  • The cross leads generations on. (Shelley)
  • …The heart of man is restles until it finds its rest in Thee. (St. Augustine)