Funeral Programs

Creating a Funeral Program

Funeral programs are booklets distributed to those attending a funeral or memorial service. They commonly list basic information about the deceased, such as:

• Full name
• Dates of birth and death
• Time, date and place of funeral
• Officiant
• Location of interment
• Pallbearers
• Anyone else who is publicly participating in the service
• List of funeral songs

Additionally, families may choose to add personal elements to the program:

• Photographs
• Poetry
• Surviving family members
• Thank you note from the family
• Artwork created for or by the deceased person
• Biography

But trying to put all of this together -- and at times without much notice -- can be a trying task. But thanks to the Internet, you can find a free funeral program template with which you can copy and use for your booklet.

Samples of Free Funeral Program Templates

A simple Google search will return only a few free funeral program templates. However, choosing just one as an outline for your booklet may take some time:

• Catholic Ireland has a downloadable Microsoft Word document that can be used and/or copied for a funeral Mass pamphlet.
• Saint John Neumann Parish has a worksheet you can print out and fill in with all of the pertinent information you will need for a funeral booklet.
• Our Lady of Victories has a template you can use to create a booklet for a funeral Mass.
• Microsoft Office Online offers a free funeral pamphlet template.

Funeral Program Templates for Web Pages

As a living reminder of a person who has died, some individuals create a web page or website filled with all of the information that would normally be part of a funeral program. However, with a website, you have more flexibility and room to include more elements such as:

• Videos
• Photo slide shows
• Poetry
• Music
• Spoken words
• Blogs
• Guestbooks
• The ability to update as necessary
• Opportunity to e-mail it to those who could not attend the service

If you don't know how to design a web page, but want to create this memorial, several websites offer free templates:

• Host Gator has three templates available for download. Two are website templates, while one is an enhanced Flash template.
• ABC Funeral Home has two styles of website templates available for download.
• Together.ie has a guide that you can use to design a program for a Catholic funeral.
• Free Website Templates has two memorial page templates available for free download.
• Pet Templates has a couple of serene website templates for you to use.

If you want to spend some money on templates, here are some sites that offer that service:

• Family Heritage Templates is designed to be used with Microsoft Publisher or Microsoft Word. Choose from a variety of designs.
• Funeral Printer sells a package of 24 designs for $99. For use with Microsoft Publisher.
• Basic Templates has a rather large selection of web page templates at a reasonable cost.

Final Thought

Undertaking the task of creating a funeral or memorial program can be exhausting, especially if the death is sudden and if you were close to the person who died. Don't be afraid to enlist the help of other family members or friends. And remember, to double check the spelling of everything you put either in the program or online. No one likes to have their name misspelled.