Reflecting on what your loved ones mean to you is important. Taking the time to sit down with a cup of hot tea and thinking may help you through a great loss. But when you’re grieving, it can be hard to take time to think. It may be the last thing you want to do.
Jump ahead to these sections:
- ‘Rest in Peace’ Quotes for a Dad
- ‘Rest in Peace’ Quotes for a Mother
- ‘Rest in Peace’ Quotes for a Brother
- ‘Rest in Peace’ Quotes for a Sister
- ‘Rest in Peace’ Quotes for a Daughter or Son
- ‘Rest in Peace’ Quotes for an Uncle or Aunt
- ‘Rest in Peace’ Quotes that Work for a Tattoo
Even though it can be difficult, try to take the time to reflect on your loss. Your loved one made memories, loved you, and earned the reward of people saying “rest in peace.” The quotes collected here pay homage to them.
‘Rest in Peace’ Quotes for a Dad
Your dad helped shape your childhood and has likely played a large role in your life. These quotes honor and thank him for that.
1. “That man is a success – who has lived well, laughed often and loved much, who has gained the respect of intelligent men and the love of children, who has filled his niche and accomplished his task. Who leaves the world better than he found it, who has never lacked appreciation of earth’s beauty or failed to express it, who looked for the best in others and gave the best he had.” - Unknown
It sounds so simple. But achieving a good life is harder than it seems. Someone who manages it deserves respect.
2. “My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could ever give another person. He believed in me.” - Jim Valvano, Coach
Money, education, opportunities; all these things pale in comparison to love and belief.
3. “This is the price you pay for having a great father. You get the wonder, the joy, the tender moments – and you get the tears at the end, too.” - Harlan Coben, Author
Your dad may have played a critical role in your life. And when he’s gone it can be especially difficult.
4. “My appreciation for my father’s greatness cannot be measured.” - Jennifer Williamson, Lawyer
Some fathers are loved. Others are respected. The best fathers achieve both.
5. “A father’s love is forever imprinted on his child’s heart.” - Jennifer Williamson, Lawyer
Your father will always be with you.
‘Rest in Peace’ Quotes for a Mother
Your mom might have been the most important person in your life. These quotes can help you honor not only who she was as a mother but who she was as a woman.
6. "The world changes from year to year, our lives from day to day, but the love and memory of you shall never pass away." - Unknown
Everything changes. Things and people get erased from and added to our lives. Good memories, though, can survive all that.
7. “No daughter and mother should ever live apart, no matter what the distance between them.” - Christie Watson, Nurse and Writer
There’s a difference between emotional and physical distance. Watson insists that one is necessary, while the other isn’t.
8. “Mother, you left us beautiful memories, your love is still our guide, although we cannot see you, you're always at our side.” - Unknown
Someone you can’t see watching over you is like a guardian angel. Even after she is gone you can always rely on your mother’s love.
9. “I know you are listening from above. There's nothing that I value more than your love. No matter where I am or what I'm doing, your memories will always keep me smiling.” - Unknown
Memories keep you going when nothing else can. The memories of your mother can get you through difficult times.
10. “Mothers never really die, they just keep the house up in the sky, They polish the sun by day and light the stars that shine at night, keep the moonbeams silvery bright and in the heavenly home above they wait to welcome those they love.” - Unknown
Do you believe in an afterlife? If you do, then you can take comfort in the idea that your mom is waiting for you.
‘Rest in Peace’ Quotes for a Brother
Putting a sibling to rest is difficult. These quotes recognize the complicated, beautiful relationships that siblings have.
11. “Death is something inevitable. When a man has done what he considers to be his duty to his people and his country, he can rest in peace. I believe I have made that effort and that is, therefore, why I will sleep for eternity.” - Nelson Mandela, Activist and Lawyer
Death comes for everyone. Try to celebrate the good things your sibling accomplished during their life, rather than dwelling on their death.
12. "When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life in a manner so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice.” - Unknown
Rejoicing to go on to another life is the best way to go.
13. “We tell the dead to rest in peace when we should worry about the living to live in peace.” - Anthony Liccione, Author
Finding peace after a great loss can be very difficult. But it’s okay to mourn and feel sad after someone close to you dies.
14. “The dead has always been within us, it’s just the graveyard where we lay to rest.” - Anthony Liccione, Author
The graveyard isn’t an ending place. Your loved ones will still be with you.
15. “Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death.” - Isaiah, from the Bible
Rest and peace are both tremendous gifts.
‘Rest in Peace’ Quotes for a Sister
You can reflect on these quotes, but you can also use them. They might be great additions to a sympathy card, or for a reading at a service.
16. “They that love beyond the world cannot be separated by it. For death is no more than a turning of us over from time to eternity. Death cannot kill what never dies.” - William Penn, Missionary and Philosopher
The idea that love is stronger than death is comforting. Even though your sister is gone, the love you have for her will survive.
17. “Seeing death as the end of life is like seeing the horizon as the end of the ocean.” - David Searls, Journalist
Let this quote remind you that death is not the end. As long as you continue to remember and honor your loved one they will survive.
18. “The only way to get over a death is by seeing it as a life completed, instead of a life interrupted.” - Anonymous
Death is a natural bookend to a life well-lived. Celebrate the life your loved one led rather than mourning their death.
19. “Unable are the loved to die. For love is immortality.”- Emily Dickinson, Poet
The idea that you can make your loved ones immortal is powerful.
20. “Love is stronger than death even though it can’t stop death from happening, but no matter how hard death tries it can’t separate people from love. It can’t take away our memories either. In the end, life is stronger than death.”- Anonymous
Memories last forever. Even though death is real and painful, loving memories are stronger.
‘Rest in Peace’ Quotes for a Daughter or Son
Finding peace after loss is a challenge. No parent wants to bury their child. And even though it will always be hard, try to rely on hope to help get you through.
21. “We shall find peace. We shall hear angels, we shall see the sky sparkling with diamonds.” - Anton Chekov, Playwright
Even though you’re dealing with painful emotions, Chekov promises you’ll find peace again.
22. “Remember me with smiles and laughter, for that is how I will remember you all. If you can only remember me with tears, then don’t remember me at all.”- Laura Ingalls Wilder, Author
Remembering the joy someone brought is a great way to honor them. And focusing on the good times can help you in your grief.
23. “If you ever lose someone dear to you, never say the words they’re gone. They’ll come back.” - Prince, Singer-Songwriter
The legacy of your loved one will come back to you. The life your loved one lived will have eternal ripple effects, and if you look closely you’ll see those ripples all around you.
24. “Grief is in two parts. The first is loss. The second is the remaking of life.” - Anne Roiphe, Journalist
Moving through these two stages of grief is hard. Roiphe insists that every one of us is strong enough to do it.
25. “After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.” - J.K. Rowling, Author
Imagining your loved one on a great adventure is a calming way to picture them.
‘Rest in Peace’ Quotes for an Uncle or Aunt
If you were close to your extended family, these quotes might help bring you peace.
26. “Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It’s the transition that’s troublesome.” - Isaac Asimov, Author
It can be difficult to transition to a life without someone important in it. Try to weather each new moment as it comes.
27. “If the people we love are stolen from us, the way to have them live on is to never stop loving them.” - James O’Barr, Author
You can’t stop death, but you can take away his power by focusing on the good things.
28. “The Lord gives a good many things twice over, but he doesn't give ye a family but once.” - Harriet Beecher Stowe, Activist
Taking the time to enjoy family while you have them is important.
29. “You can close your eyes to things you don’t want to see, but you can’t close your heart to things you don’t want to feel.” - Johnny Depp, Actor
Feeling everything, including love and loss, is one of the bravest things you can do.
30. “Since I can’t be with you right now I will have to be content just dreaming about when we will be together again.” - Susan Polis Schutz, Poet
If you believe in heaven, dreaming about your reunion may be comforting.
‘Rest in Peace’ Quotes that Work for a Tattoo
Getting a tattoo may be a great, non-traditional way to memorialize someone. It can be as personal as you decide. These quotes can be a reminder of the love you shared with someone special. And by having them as a tattoo you always carry them with you.
31. “My heart will go on.” - Unknown
Despite losing someone close to you, your heart has continued to beat. But that doesn’t mean you aren’t forever changed.
32. “Only the good die young.” - Unknown
Consider this tattoo to memorialize someone who died too early.
33. “In your loving memory.” - Unknown
You could pair this quote with a design that would have been meaningful to the deceased.
34. “May God hold you in the palm of his hand.” - Unknown
This prayer could be an appropriate tattoo to honor someone religious. They likely hoped to go to Heaven and this quote would honor that wish.
35. “The heart that truly loves never forgets.” - Unknown
Show your love for the deceased with this quote. It can also be a great reminder of how much you loved them.
Using Each Quote
You can use these quotes on a memorial collage, in a card, or for your journal. No matter how you want to use them, you can reflect on the beautiful memories you have with your loved one. Every quote honors your loved one. And they can help you manage your grief during difficult times.
If you're looking for more quotes, check out our guides on popular funeral quotes, celebration of life quotes, and headstone quotes and sayings.