How Much The Audience Meant To The Person Who Passed Away

Sometimes the friends & family do so much for the person who passed away that a speech can thank those people for all they meant. A little humor goes a long way as well. Here's an example:


Thank you all for coming today. My name is Brian. As Tracey, Leigh, and I were greeting many of you by the back door, I realized how many of you I’ve met before. Some of you I’ve known since I was 3 years old. Others of you I’ve only known for the past 3 years. But Mom use to talk about many of you. She would tell us about many common interests you had together, like your families, events in the town, the Norwich City Club, and other ways you shared your lives together. One thing I always knew about my mother – she always wanted to live here, in Norwich, Connecticut. It was something Tracey, Leigh, and I never really understood. We didn’t understand what was so special about a small town in a quiet part of Connecticut.

Well, Mom was born here in Norwich. Except for 2 years when my grandparents moved to Stamford, she spent her entire childhood here. So that was one reason why this town was special to her. She met our father here. Our father was in the Navy and stationed in Groton. The two of them could have lived wherever they wanted. They could have lived in California, Hawaii, Australia, the Caribbean, Florida, Europe, - anywhere they wanted. But she always wanted to live here in Norwich and share her life with you.

It took me a long time to understand why Norwich was special to her, but now I know why. It came to me this past summer when I was talking with Mom on the phone. She started telling me about many of you and all the things you did for her while she was ill. I could tell how much she appreciated all of you when she said to me – “You know Brian, they’re coming around here so much they’re getting to be a pain in the neck”.

Well, that was her way. She never wanted to be a burden to anyone and never wanted people to worry about her. I have a feeling that many of you are the same way. So I asked her what she meant. And then she said to me “Well actually Brian, I don’t know what I would do without them.”

Neither do we. That’s when I realized why Norwich was always so special to her. It was because of all of you, the people who live here. Your helping ways and kind hearts always made this town the strong community our mother wanted to be part of. With Tracey in Chicago, Leigh in Boston, and myself in Washington, we weren’t there to help her. But many of you did. Now you all are very special to us. So today, for Tracey and Leigh, I want to thank all of you, for everything you did to make our mother’s life so much nicer.