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The best way to grieve a loved one is by celebrating their well-lived life.
By Megan Hatch — Written on Oct 31, 2021
After a loved one's death, you can honor them with celebration of life quotes that praise a life well-lived.
It's normal to feel sad after someone dies but recalling the happy memories and celebrating their life can help you through the stages of grief.
If you're finding it hard to come up with what to say at a celebration of life, try looking to these uplifting and inspiring celebration of life quotes.
Inspiring Celebration of Life Quotes
1. "To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die." — Thomas Campbell
2. "The boundaries between life and death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where one ends and where the other begins?" — Edgar Allan Poe
3. "No one is actually dead until the ripples they cause in the world die away." — Terry Pratchett
4. "Life is for the living. Death is for the dead. Let life be like music. And death a note unsaid." — Langston Hughes
5. "The best is yet to come."
6. "A great soul serves everyone all the time. A great soul never dies. It brings us together again and again." — Maya Angelou
7. "In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years." — Abraham Lincoln
8. "Lives are like rivers: eventually, they go where they must. Not where we want them to." — Richard Russo
9. "It’s so much darker when a light goes out than it would have been if it had never shone." — John Steinbeck
10. "Something beautiful is on the horizon."
11. "People living deeply have no fear of death." — Anais Nin
Celebration of Life Quotes to Help With Grief
12. "Those we love never truly leave us. There are things that death cannot touch." — Jack Thorne
13. "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
14. "If there ever comes a day when we can’t be together, keep me in your heart, I’ll stay there forever." — A.A. Milne
15. "Sometimes, when one person is absent, the whole world seems depopulated." — Alphonse De Lamartine
16. "Remembering is an act of resurrection, each repetition a vital layer of mourning, in memory of those we are sure to meet again." — Nancy Cobb
17. "Grief is like the ocean; it comes on waves ebbing and flowing. Sometimes the water is calm, and sometimes it is overwhelming. All we can do is learn to swim." — Vicki Harrison
18. "Grief is a most peculiar thing; we’re so helpless in the face of it. It’s like a window that will simply open of its own accord. The room grows cold, and we can do nothing but shiver. But it opens a little less each time, and a little less; and one day we wonder what has become of it." — Arthur Golden
19. "To die completely, a person must not only forget but be forgotten, and he who is not forgotten is not dead." — Samuel Butler
20. "If you ever lose someone dear to you, never say the words they’re gone. They’ll come back." — Prince
21. "Grief is the price we pay for love." — Queen Elizabeth
22. "Say not in grief that he is no more but live in thankfulness that he was." — Hebrew Proverb
Inspiring and Uplifting Celebration of Life Quotes
23. "Like a bird singing in the rain, let grateful memories survive in time of sorrow." — Robert Louis Stevenson
24. "As a well-spent day brings happy sleep, so a life well-used brings happy death." — Leonardo Da Vinci
25. "The connections we make in the course of life — maybe that’s what heaven is." — Fred Rogers
26. "Those we love and lose are always connected by heartstrings into infinity." — Terri Guillemets
27. "I can't think of a more wonderful thanksgiving for the life I have had than that everyone should be jolly at my funeral." — Admiral Lord Mountbatten
28. "They that love beyond the world cannot be separated by it. Death cannot kill what never dies." — William Penn
29. "Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened." — Dr. Seuss
30. "Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends leave footprints in your heart." — Eleanor Roosevelt
31. "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
32. "The song is ended, but the melody lingers on…" — Irving Berlin
33. "What we once enjoyed and deeply loved we can never lose, for all that we love deeply becomes part of us." — Helen Keller
Celebration of Life Quotes for Mom
34. "My mom taught me many things over the course of my life, but the main lesson she taught me was to fight for the things I believe in."
35. "My mom taught me right from wrong, and she expected me to use what she taught me in making all life decisions."
36. "Mom loved flowers and taught me how to touch flowers to feel their uniqueness without harming them. This is how she moved through life, touching the hearts of everyone, and never doing any harm to anyone."
37. "A mother's love isn't confined to being maternal; it's also universal."
38. "Mom lived a life of love. She was generous with her time and knowledge."
39. "Mom advised if you choose the road less traveled, you could have car trouble, no cell phone signal, and no one around to help you, so be prepared and learn to fend for yourself."
40. "My mom called us her little explorers and sent us out into the world to discover it for ourselves."
41. "Mom's philosophy on life was: be patient, support those you love, and celebrate all of their successes."
42. "Mom taught me unconditional love."
43. "Mom raised us to be independent but dependent on family when we needed backup."
44. "A mom is her children's touchstone in life."
Celebration of Life Quotes for Dad
45. "Dad understood that to live life meant taking risks, but the rewards were worth it."
46. "My Dad showed us love every day by the way he nurtured and cared for us."
47. "Dad was a man of few words, but they were always kind ones."
48. "He advised me to always have a pencil handy, so I could use one end to erase the things I didn't like about myself and the other end to add the qualities I wanted to have."
49. "Dad put family first in all he did."
50. "My Pop knew who he was and lived each day true to his values."
51. "My Dad's greatest legacy was teaching me to enjoy life!"
52. "Dad may have worked hard, but he always made time to go on adventures with us."
53. "My Dad set daily goals to mark his personal progress and growth."
54. "Pop taught me the quality of your life depends on how free you are."
55. "My father was fearless and instilled hope in all he met."
"A Life Well Lived" Celebration of Life Quotes
56. "No greater statement can be made than [insert hers or his] was a life well-lived."
57. "A life well lived extends a helping hand."
58. "What's love got to do with a life well lived? Everything!"
59. "Evidence of a life well-lived is found in those who love you."
60. "A life well-lived is filled with joy and love."
61. "A life well-lived is an example to all."
62. "Good deeds go hand in hand with a life well-lived."
63. "Life is a gift, love is a gift, and when both are bestowed, you have a life well-lived."
64. "Love everyone for a life well-lived."
65. "A life well lived is a tribute to all."
66. "A life well-lived is marked by a path of love."
Funny Celebration of Life Quotes for Humorous Life Tributes
67. "Life is stressful, dear. That’s why they say ‘rest in peace.'" —David Mazzucchelli
68. "I do not fear death. I had been dead for billions of years before I was born and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience." — Mark Twain
69. "The trouble with quotes about death is that 99.9% of them are made by people who are still alive." —Joshua Burns
70. "What I look forward to is continued immaturity followed by death." — Dave Barry
71. "Millions long for immortality who don't know what to do with themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon." — Susan Ertz
72. "Death is nature’s way of saying, ‘Your table is ready.'" — Robin Williams
73. "Life is hard. Then you die. Then they throw dirt in your face. Then the worms eat you. Be grateful if it happens in that order." — David Gerrold
74. “When you’ve told someone that you’ve left them a legacy the only decent thing to do is to die at once” — Samuel Butler
75. "It's funny the way most people love the dead. Once you’re dead, you’re made for life." — Jimi Hendrix
76. "Dying is easy; it's living that scares me to death." — Annie Lennox
77. "When I die, I hope to go to heaven, whatever the hell that is." —Ayn Rand
Religious Celebration of Life Quotes
78. "They will come back, come back again, as long as the red earth rolls. He never wasted a leaf or a tree. Do you think He would squander souls?" — Rudyard Kipling
79. "For this God is our God forever and ever; He will be our guide even to the end." — Psalm 48:14
80. "If we have been pleased with life, we should not be displeased with death, since it comes from the hand of the same master." — Michelangelo
81. "Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master." — Matthew 25:21
82. "This is my comfort in my affliction; that your promise gives me life." — Psalm 119:50
83. "I will fulfill my vows to you, O God, and will offer a sacrifice of thanks for your help. For you have rescued me from death; you have kept my feet from slipping. So now I can walk in your presence, O God, in your life-giving light." — Psalm 56:10-13
84. "The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He has me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside the still waters. He revives my soul; He guides me on paths of righteousness for His glory. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no harm, For you are with me ... Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, And I shall abide in the house of the Lord forever." — Psalm 23
85. "God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." — Revelation 21:4
86. "If God hath made this world so fair; Where sin and death abound; How beautiful beyond compare; Will paradise be found!" — James Montgomery
87. "For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God." — Job 19:25-26
88. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." — Romans 6:23
Life is Good Quotes of Celebration of Life
89. "Explore all of life's options and never leave a stone unturned."
90. "Don't sit on the sidelines, get in the game of life."
91. "Take time to smell the roses and then make a beautiful bouquet."
92. "Love is the most important life lesson you can learn."
93. "Be curious about life and explore it every opportunity you get."
94. "Retrospection is what creates fond memories."
95. "Life is meant to be lived, so get out and live it."
96. "Your life is your message to the world. Make sure it’s inspiring."
97. "All you have to do is look around you to find beauty in life."
98. "Be brave and venture into arenas that are new so you can grow."
99. "Never lose sight of the prize - self-knowledge."
100. "Embrace the excitement life has to offer."
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Megan Hatch is a writer at YourTango who covers news & entertainment, love & relationships, and internet culture. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.