Eulogy Example Template:
From a Daughter to her Father

Dad – caretaker, biggest fan, fierce protector, incredible pancake maker and my best friend. Our Dad brought the world around him to life. Respect, compassion, love and laughter, were incredibly important to him. With a joke never far from his mind and a helping hand always outstretched, he lit up every room. I’m filled with pride when I think about how much he meant to our family and the people who sit before me.

Dad grew up in South Australia. He lived in a sprawling, lively Adelaide home with his four brothers and parents. Tales from his childhood are full of dirt bikes, cheeky-boyish adventures and camping trips in the family caravan. He would talk about long summer nights, huddled by the campfire toasting marshmallows while telling ghost stories. It was during these trips that he first fell in love with the great outdoors and our sunburnt country.

It was the pull of outback Australia and golden adventures that took him to the far reaches of Western Australia. In a little town called Kalgoorlie, he met our mum. As friends first, they’d get together to drive the ten hours from Kalgoorlie to Esperance just for a swim. During these road trips, their friendship blossomed into a big, once-in-a-lifetime love. It was a love they were lucky to share until Dad’s very last breath.

As with all great love stories, there was a wedding followed by the birth of my brother and then finally me. Life for our family of four was full of fun. Switching the country for the seaside, we grew up with weekends spent by the beach. Dad loved the ocean and he taught us how to drive a boat, surf, swim, fish – you name it, we learnt it. As a teacher he was patient, understanding and careful. As we grew older, he was still our first stop for all sorts of advice; from changing a car tire to forging new relationships. Dad was our rudder, steering us safely through life.

Passionate about his work in Remote Health, many of his colleagues became his friends and eventually extended members of our family. I never told Dad, but his focus and commitment to bettering the lives of others has always inspired me. No matter the issue, he never gave up. And as many of you here know, his favourite saying was “there’s a solution to every problem, you just have to find it.”

Later in life, Dad found more time for his much-loved adventures. He’d take off for a weekend of camping and hiking with mum by his side and a case of cold beer in the back. The best weekends were the ones that family and friends joined too. It was such precious time together, that we’re so lucky to have shared. When Dad wasn’t on an adventure, he was planning one – a 3-month sailing trip to Papua New Guinea, a hike to Machu Picchu, a tour of Australia by motorbike – he wanted to experience it all.

And, now he’s on his biggest adventure of all. So, today we say goodbye to our loveable rouge. We say goodbye to a man who loved the whole of life and everyone in it. It’s a love we can only hope to match as we move through our lives without you. Here’s to you Dad.