Funeral picture boards and slideshows are among the most popular ways to celebrate the life of someone who has passed on. A funeral picture board also doesn’t need to consist solely of pictures. It’s not uncommon for picture boards and slideshows to also feature quotes about death that may actually offer some comfort to mourners.
Jump ahead to these sections:
- Funeral Picture Board Quotes for a Parent or Grandparent
- Funeral Picture Board Quotes for a Child or Adult Child
- Funeral Picture Board Quotes for a Spouse or Partner
- Inspirational Funeral Picture Board Quotes
Death is one of the few truly universal human experiences. Thus, it comes as no surprise that quotes about death are not difficult to find. While this means you won’t have trouble looking for quotes that you may want to include in a funeral picture board, it also means you have so many options from which to choose that you may end up not knowing which to include.
This guide will help. If you’re trying to find the ideal quote for a funeral picture board, consider these examples.
Funeral Picture Board Quotes for a Parent or Grandparent
Losing a parent or grandparent can feel like losing a foundational component of your life. These quotes for a funeral picture board might help you express that sentiment:
1. “A grandparent is a little bit parent, a little bit teacher, and a little bit best friend” by Unknown
While it’s an anonymous quote, it encapsulates how grandparents can touch us in many ways throughout our lives.
2. “Grandparents sort of sprinkle stardust over the lives of little children” by Alex Haley
It’s a simple quote, but one that sums up the magical role a grandparent can play in the lives of their grandchildren.
3. “There is no distance that can lessen a grandparent’s love” by Unknown
This anonymous quote may offer comfort to those who believe their lost grandparent is still with them in some way.
4. “When you look into your mother’s eyes, you know that is the purest love you can find on this Earth” by Mitch Albom
A funeral picture board quote for a parent does not need to be about death. It can simply be an expression of the love parents and children share with one another.
5. “If you’re lucky enough to still have grandparents, visit them, cherish them, and celebrate them while you can” by Regina Brett
Consider using this quote for a grandparent’s funeral board if you want to remind those who still have their grandparents that the time they have with them is precious.
6. “There is nothing more wonderful than the love and guidance a grandparent can give his or her grandchild” by Edward Fays
This quote very directly and clearly gives credit to grandparents who offer wisdom to their grandchildren. Specifically, they offer the kind of wisdom that can remain even after their passing.
7. “No matter how far we come, our parents are always in us” by Brad Meltzer
You may add this quote to a funeral picture board to emphasize the notion that even when parents are no longer here, they can live on in our actions and beliefs.
8. “If nothing is going well, call your grandmother” by Unknown
This quote is a traditional Italian proverb that may comfort someone who feels they can still seek guidance from a lost grandparent through prayer.
9. “You are the sun, Grandma, you are the sun in my life” by Kitty Tsui
Sometimes, the best funeral picture board quotes are those which simply explain how deeply we love someone we’ve lost.
10. “Grandparents can be very special resources. Just being close to them reassures a child, without words, about change and continuity, about what went before and what will come after” by Fred Rogers
Leave it to Mr. Rogers to perfectly explain how grandparents, simply by existing, can teach us about the passages of life, including the painful ones.
Funeral Picture Board Quotes for a Child or Adult Child
No words can truly express the pain that comes from losing a child. However, these may offer some peace to those who have been through such an acutely sorrowful experience:
11. “Farewell, thou child of my right hand, and joy; My sin was too much hope of thee, loved boy” by Ben Jonson
Poet and playwright Ben Jonson perfectly addressed the emotions one feels when losing a child in his poem “On My First Son.” The subject of the poem is his own son, who sadly passed at a very young age.
12. “We do not ‘get over’ a death. We learn to carry the grief and integrate the loss in our lives” by Nathalie Himmelrich
The loss of a child is one of the most painful experiences someone can endure. Instead of pretending this is not the case, this quote explains how parents who have lost children can find a way to move forward, despite a lingering wound.
13. “Let your children be as so many flowers, borrowed from God” by Samuel Rutherford
You may use this for a child’s funeral picture board quote if you’re a religious person who believes children who pass too soon return to God.
14. “You were born a child of light’s wonderful secret– you return to the beauty you have always been” by Aberjhani
If you appreciate the above sentiment, but you’re not religious, this quote is a secular expression of the same idea.
15. “Beyond the door there’s peace I’m sure” by Eric Clapton
Virtually any line from “Tears in Heaven,” which Eric Clapton wrote for his son Conor who tragically died at the age of four, can work as a child’s funeral picture board quote. This is simply one of the more comforting lines a parent might choose.
16. “This is a song for a dove / This is a song for a blown out bird / The kind that don't return to the nest” by Billy Corgan
Although he’s a father now, when Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan wrote the song featuring these lines, he explained that it was an expression of the loss someone might feel because they don’t have children in their life.
17. “Do not weep for those who have found Death’s embrace early, for they weep for us that linger on in this mortal world of pain” by Stewart Stafford
This is another quote you might choose if you have faith that a child who has passed is now in a happier place from which they can offer us peace.
18. “It is not length of life, but depth of life” by Ralph Waldo Emerson
The best funeral picture board quote for a child might be one that reminds us that a life doesn’t need to be long to be a life well lived.
19. “He hangs on now, pressing his hand lightly against the wall, below the window, waiting for the familiar arrow of pain. Only there is none. An oddly pleasant swell of memory, a wave of warmth flooding over him, sliding back, slowly. It is a first” by Judith Guest
From Judith Guest’s novel Ordinary People (the cinematic adaptation of which would later become a Best Picture Oscar winner), this quote might remind someone who lost a sibling as a child that it’s possible to overcome grief.
20. “At sunset the little soul that had come with the dawning went away, leaving heartbreak behind it” by Lucy Maud Montgomery
This quote may not necessarily inspire hope, but it does express the deep sorrow a parent may feel when their child passes.
Funeral Picture Board Quotes for a Spouse or Partner
To celebrate your love for a lost spouse or partner while also mourning their passing, consider adding one of these quotes to their funeral picture board:
21. “What we have once enjoyed we can never lose; all that we deeply love becomes a part of us” by Helen Keller
Helen Keller, despite the immense challenges she faced, reminded all of us that love between two people can be so strong that it may become an essential part of who we are.
22. “To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die” by Thomas Campbell
This quote from a famed Scottish poet tells us that love can outlive death if we keep it in our hearts.
23. “God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December” by J.M. Barrie
While this is another quote that isn’t specifically about the loss of a partner or spouse, the mention of roses adds a romantic tone to it.
24. “I’ll be seeing you in all the old familiar places that this heart of mine embraces all day through” by Billie Holiday
Many remember their lost partners by reflecting on the places where they forged their happiest memories.
25. “You gave me a forever within the numbered days” by John Green
This heartbreaking quote from The Fault in Our Stars suggests that romantic love can feel eternal, even to those who know their passing is near.
26. “So when you need her touch and loving gaze ‘gone but not forgotten’ is the perfect phrase” by Emily Blunt (Mary Poppins) from Mary Poppins Returns
Someone who has lost a female partner or spouse might include this quote as a tribute to them on their funeral picture board or slideshow.
27. “Death ends a life, not a relationship” by Mitch Albom
Although a partner or spouse may be gone, your love for them can remain.
28. “They that love beyond the world cannot be separated by it. Death cannot kill what never dies” by William Penn
This is another quote that suggests love can survive even death.
29. “Death? Be as proud as you want: bore me later, because Love is sovereign here” by Anne Lamott
Instead of letting a partner’s death bring pain, with a quote like this, you can focus on the love you shared.
30. “Love can touch us one time and last for a lifetime” by Celine Dion
Sure, it’s the theme from Titanic. But these lyrics are also so powerful that, as the story goes, director James Cameron was adamantly against including a theme with any lyrics whatsoever until he heard them. That’s when the infamous perfectionist supposedly changed his mind immediately and insisted that Celine Dion’s song be part of the film.
Inspirational Funeral Picture Board Quotes
When coming up with funeral photo display ideas, remember that such a display doesn’t need to be mournful. It can instead be inspirational. These quotes may help:
31. “It matters not how a man dies, but how he lives” by Samuel Johnson
This quote explains that focusing on a person’s death during their funeral may be less important than focusing on the way they lived a good and admirable life.
32. “Ain’t no shame in holding on to grief, as long as you make room for other things too” by Andre Royo (‘Bubbles’) from The Wire
You might not think of TV’s The Wire as a natural source for inspirational funeral picture board quotes, but this line from the redeemed character Bubbles is a hopeful reminder that we can mourn while also moving on with optimism and strength.
33. “Death is no more than passing from one room into another” by Helen Keller
Helen Keller’s words have helped many accept that death need not be a major loss, but instead a natural transition into a new phase of existence.
34. “To die will be an awfully big adventure” by J.M Barrie
We don’t need to perceive death as a tragedy. Instead, this quote tells us we can see someone’s death as an exciting leap into the unknown.
35. “Death must be so beautiful” by Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde expanded on these words by explaining that death is an escape from the troubles and worries of mortal life.
36. “No one is actually dead until the ripples they cause in the world die away” by Terry Pratchett
This quote tells us that a person can still live on after their death if they touched the lives of others.
37. “Death is very likely the single best invention of life” by Steve Jobs
In his famous commencement address at Stanford University, Steve Jobs explained how death is necessary for new life to grow and thrive.
38. “Death is nothing else but going home to God” by Mother Teresa
Naturally, this is the type of funeral picture board quote you might use if you are a faithful Catholic.
39. “Die happily and look forward to taking up a new and better form” by Rumi
You might particularly consider including this quote on a funeral picture board if you believe in some form of reincarnation.
40. “Someday soon we all will be together” by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane
This line from “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” simply but optimistically expresses the belief that we may one day reunite with our lost loved ones.
Funeral Picture Board Quotes to Heal & Inspire
These are merely some of the quotes you could use to express your feelings when putting together a funeral picture board. For more information on a similar topic, check our guide on funeral slideshow examples.