What Is Funeral Papers and What Does It Help You Create?

Updated

Funeral Papers is an online service that writes and designs the printed and digital materials for a funeral or memorial. You enter information about the person once, and it produces a printable program and memorial card, a written obituary, a eulogy, a tribute video, and a memorial page. The obituary and eulogy are free; the complete set with the video starts at $22 as a single payment, with no account required.

What you can create

Item What it is Cost
Program and memorial card A program folded in half to four pages, plus the same cover as a flat card. 205 designs, each in 4 arrangements, with your photograph placed for you Part of the paid set
Obituary Written in three lengths — short, medium and long — each with its word count shown against usual newspaper lengths, plus a death notice Free
Eulogy A speech in your own voice, matched to the length you have, emailed to you Free
Memorial page A searchable page where people can find the service details, read the life story and photographs, leave messages, and say whether they are coming Free
Prayer cards and bookmarks Additional printed keepsakes Part of the paid set
Tribute video Video included in the complete set Part of the paid set

How it works

  1. Tell it about the person once. You provide the details and photograph that the materials are built from.
  2. Review before paying. You can see the cover as it will print before you pay, so you know what you are getting.
  3. Print or receive. The program and cards come ready to print in minutes; the obituary and eulogy are emailed to you.
  4. Come back if needed. You can pick up where you left off rather than starting over.

The eulogy and obituary specifics

The eulogy is written as a speech in your voice and timed to a reading pace of about 130 words a minute, with the words scrolling down your phone at that pace so you can follow along while delivering it. The obituary comes in three lengths with word counts labeled against typical newspaper limits, so you can pick the one that fits where you plan to publish it.

The memorial page

Anyone who searches the person's name can find the page, which means people nobody thought to contact directly can still learn about the service. You approve every message before it appears, and visitors can indicate whether they are coming — the page shows counts such as "3 people coming, from 1 reply."

What to know before deciding

  • The obituary and eulogy are free, so you can use those without paying.
  • The complete funeral set, including the video, starts at $22 as one payment with no account.
  • You can preview the printed cover before paying.
  • If you only need written text and not printed designs or video, the free tools may cover your needs on their own.