[lisa_spyder]

The,

Twice for me - for Dad 4 years ago and very recently for Mum. Different situation as my parents were both younger (early 70s).

I asked my cousin to speak of behalf of the greater family at Mum's celebration. Situation similiar to yours...

Rich covered the family history; where Mum was born, when her family first emigrated here; what life was like for them in the 20s...about her siblings, our huge and regular family get-togethers, the fact that he is her Godson; my arrival etc. If you are speaking on behalf of the family you should cover this - do your research with some older members and you'll be surprised what they remember.

I don't agree that you need to keep your eulogy to 5 minutes if you are the one to speak for the family; but certainly no more than 10 minutes depending what you are covering. No doubt you have your own personal memories and these you should include.

Don't worry about using a script - it's much easier to work from something structured than to try and adlib.

Remember that you are paying homage to your uncle and his heritage and achievements...and yes even his quirks and maybe some failings. Humour is fine; after all we all "leave" sometime and your uncle had a pretty good innings.

Don't play with your written words too much - usually what you write first is what works best; don't polish your eulogy to perfection; it's not a sales pitch.

Lastly - make it a celebration and speak from the heart. And if you break a little no-one will care...we're all human.

PS - you mentioned you feel this will be a sombre occasion as there shall be a lot of old people attending. You may be surprised as the "oldies" are the ones who have been through this more times than us. You seem to have a very good handle of your uncle's personality so use it...humour and all. If your uncle would have said something specific as you've identified then don't be scared to say it - shows how much you knew him. "Oldies" are going to cope fine - take them for a walk down family memory lane; they shall remember and the younger ones shall learn new things about your uncle and the family.