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All Articles & Guides / Grief / Meaningful Goodbye Quotes & Ways to Say a Final Goodbye

Meaningful Goodbye Quotes & Ways to Say a Final Goodbye

When we or someone we know loses a loved one, it can be difficult to find the right words to express how we feel. Fortunately, there are many famous quotes about grief, death, and loss from others that can not only put our feelings into words, but also give us a new perspective on our loss.

We gathered a selection of meaningful goodbye quotes, epitaphs, and memorial sentiments that you may find helpful for saying goodbye to a loved one and dealing with sorrow.

Epitaph Quotes – What are Epitaphs?

The word epitaph, from a Greek term meaning “on the gravestone,” refers to the text inscribed on a tombstone or memorial plaque to honor the deceased. A memorial sentiment, on the other hand, can refer to an inscription on a cremation urn, memorial plaque, or another form of memorial, including a grave marker.  Humorous or sentimental, religious or profane – an epitaph is one sure way of having the last word. In fact, many people choose the wording for their own epitaphs when conveying their final wishes for funeral and burial or cremation arrangements.

How can you describe a life in 25 words or less? Sounds impossible, yet that is precisely what writing an epitaph or memorial sentiment calls for. The number of words will vary according to the amount of space you have to work with, but the goal is always the same: memorialize yourself or a deceased loved one in a few well-chosen words.

If you have the honor of creating or choosing an epitaph for a family member, friend, or even a cherished pet, all you need is a little inspiration and imagination. Start by considering the following questions – you may just find the words you’re looking for in your answers.

  • How would you describe the deceased?
  • How did they impact your life?
  • What would you say to them today, if you could?
  • What do you want the world to know about them?

An epitaph or memorial sentiment can be very short and simple, or more creative and personal. At a minimum, most inscriptions include the name of the deceased, along with dates of birth and death, for identification purposes. If your goal is to create an epitaph or memorial sentiment that captures the essence of the person for whom it is written, there are many places you can go for inspiration including religious documents, song lyrics, poems, or famous sayings.

Old gravestones.

Short Epitaph Quotes

 Whether you’re looking for what to write on a headstone, or a meaningful final goodbye quote to use on aplaque, marker, or cremation urn, we’ve put together a series of shorter and longer epitaph quotes to help guide your decision during a tough time.

  • A friend forever
  • A friend indeed
  • A friend to all who knew him
  • Always in our hearts
  • Always remembered
  • Beloved friend
  • Cherished companion
  • Cherished friend
  • Dearly loved
  • Faithful companion
  • Forever in our hearts
  • Forever in our thoughts
  • Forever loved
  • Gone but not forgotten
  • Gone too soon
  • Here lies a kind and gentle woman
  • His legacy lives on
  • I will never forget you
  • In loving memory
  • In remembrance
  • Love and light
  • Loved and remembered
  • Loving memories
  • Loving memories last forever
  • My angel, my love
  • My beloved companion
  • My beloved friend
  • My faithful friend
  • My precious love
  • My wonderful companion
  • Ours for a short time, with Jesus forever
  • Reach for the stars
  • Remembered with a smile
  • Sleep, little one
  • Sleep well, my love
  • So small, so sweet, so soon
  • Thanks for the memories
  • The love of my life
  • Too dearly loved to be forgotten
  • Treasured memories of
  • We will always love you
  • We will never forget
  • With all our love
  • You gave us many happy years
  • Your memory will live forever
  • Love will keep us together
  • Together forever
  • Together on Earth, together in Heaven

Epitaphs for Pets

  • A loving pet
  • A true companion
  • Always our Fluffy
  • Cherished pet
  • Happy trails to our dog
  • My beloved pet
  • Our champion
  • Our little kitty
  • Our wonderful pet
  • She brightened our days
  • Your paw prints are on our hearts forever

Famous & Religious Epitaphs

If you’re looking for inspiration for a final goodbye quote, you may want to look at some longer famous epitaphs or even turn to religious or literary documents for ideas. Below are some that we’ve found.

  • Here Rests in Honored Glory an American Soldier Known but to God – Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
  • Free at last. Free at last. Thank God Almighty I’m free at last. – Martin Luther King, Jr.
  • He made us laugh, and now he can make us think. – John Belushi
  • The Best is Yet to Come – Frank Sinatra
  • Come, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. - Matthew 11:28
  • Dust thou art, to dust returnest, was not spoken of the soul. - Longfellow
  • Earth hath no sorrow that heaven cannot heal. - Moore
  • Heaven, the treasury of everlasting joy. - Shakespeare
  • He hath awakened from the dream of life. - Shelley
  • The acts of this life are the destiny of the next. - Eastern proverb
  • Today you will be with me in paradise. - Luke 23:43
  • Where He leads me, I can safely go. - Millay
  • "What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us." -Helen Keller
  • “Goodbye may seem forever. Farewell is like the end, but in my heart is the memory and there you will always be.” Walt Disney
  • The song is ended, but the melody lingers on. - Irving Berlin
  • “Goodbyes are only for those who love with their eyes. Because for those who love with heart and soul there is no such thing as separation.” Rumi
  • “There are no goodbyes for us. Wherever you are, you will always be in my heart.” Mahatma Gandhi
  • “One moment can change a day, one day can change a life, and one life can change the world.” -Buddha
  • “A great soul serves everyone all the time. A great soul never dies. It brings us together again and again.” – Maya Angelou
  • “No distance of place or lapse of time can lessen the friendship of those who are thoroughly persuaded of each other’s worth.” – Robert Southey
  • “You have been my friend. That in itself is a tremendous thing.” – E.B. White
  • “The pain of parting is nothing to the joy of meeting again.” – Charles Dickens

Perhaps you’re looking for something more personal or more relevant to your loved one. Remember, these are merely food for thought – if you don’t find just what you’re looking for, try using these suggestions as prompts to create an original, meaningful sentiment of your own.

Beautiful sunirse.

Urn Engraving Ideas

Choosing an urn is a very personal experience, and there are many unique urn engraving ideas to make an urn more sentimental. Let’s explore some options for what to write on an urn.

Typically, a name, date of birth, and date of death are engraved. An example would read:

“In Loving Memory
Jane Doe
January 1, 1950 – January 1, 2020”

Depending on the size of your urn, you may have room for an emblem, logo, or small design as well as a final goodbye quote. Whether you choose a short urn inscription or a longer poem, choosing a personal, sentimental quote can honor your loved one and help the grieving process.

Short Urn Inscriptions

Inspiration for what to write on an urn can come from poems, lyrics, literature, or religion. It can be overwhelming to choose between so many options. Remember to follow your heart when selecting a meaningful goodbye quote and to consider how your loved one would like to be remembered. Below are a few short quotes and sayings for inspiration.

  • Say not in grief ‘he is no more’ but live in thankfulness that he was. – Hebrew proverb
  • There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition, and of unspeakable love. – Washington Irving.
  • As a well spent day brings happy sleep, so life well used brings happy death. – Leonardo DaVinci
  • Though lovers be lost, love shall not; And death shall have no dominion. – Dylan Thomas
  • Tears water our growth. – William Shakespeare
  • A death is not the extinguishing of a light, but the putting out of the lamp because the dawn has come. – Rabindranath Tagore
  • Don’t be dismayed at goodbyes, a farewell is necessary before you can meet again and meeting again, after moments or lifetimes, is certain for those who are friends. – Richard Bach
  • Memory nourishes the heart, and grief abates. – Marcel Proust
  • To hold, you must first open your hand. Let go. – Lao Tzu
  • Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be made strong, in fact. But the process is like all other human births, painful and long and dangerous. – Margery Allingham
  • On the death of a friend, we should consider that the fates through confidence have devolved on us the task of a double living, that we have henceforth to fulfill the promise of our friend’s life also, in our own, to the world. – Henry David Thoreau
  • The risk of love is loss, and the price of loss is grief – but the pain of grief is only a shadow when compared with the pain of never risking love. – Hilary Stanton Zunin

Other urn engraving ideas include engravable artwork or commemorative short poems that can be featured on an urn or attached plaque. Engravings can be completed on a variety of materials, from metal urns to wooden urns. Poems are a powerful way to express emotions in few words. Here are some final goodbye poems that can be used to personalize a loved one’s urn.

Losing You

Our hearts still ache in sadness,

And secret tears still flow,

What it meant to lose you,

No one will ever know

Never Forget

Your presence we miss

Your memories we treasure

Loving you always

Forgetting you never

Butterflies to Heaven

If butterflies could fly to Heaven

they would bring my love to you

and yours right back to me

Forever in My Heart

Gone, yet not forgotten

Although we are apart

Your spirit lives within me

Forever in my heart

When Someone You Love

When someone you love

becomes a memory,

the memory becomes a treasure

No Farewell Words

No farewell words were spoken,

no time to say goodbye, you were

gone before we knew it,

and only God knows why

Those We Have Held

Those we have held

in our arms for a little while,

we hold in our hearts forever

Perhaps the Stars

Perhaps the stars in the sky,

are loved ones letting us know they are near,

by guiding us through the night

If Love Could Have Saved You

If love could have

saved you, you would

have lived forever

If Tears Could Build a Stairway

If tears could build a stairway

and memories a lane

I would walk right up to Heaven

and bring you home again

If you’ve been given the honor of writing an epithet or sentiment, we hope our guide has helped inspire your final words of farewell. A little creativity and a personal touch to your meaningful goodbye quote can make a plaque, urn, or gravestone even more special.

Man cupping hands together.

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