History Main / MeaningfulFuneral

* Subverted in ''Manga/KatekyoHitmanReborn'' when we found out that the ten-years-later Tsuna was in a coffin in an unmarked forest, dead. What makes it odd is the fact that it ''wasn't'' a meaningful funeral, in spite of the fact that he was the well known and well loved boss of the greatest mafia family in the world. This could be considered a Meaningful Funeral with an audience of one, considering that the ten-years-later Gokudera was there.

* ''FanFic/JustALittleBitOfPixieDust'': "That night, the Second Star to the Right did not shine."

* Nightcrawler's and Cable's in X-Men: Second Coming.

* ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'': Ho's funeral. Done completely without words, with LibationForTheDead into his watery grave and Bam's first experience of sending off someone he considered a friend. Bittering this all is the fact that Ho killed himself because his desperate last resort to get past the second floor[[note]]killing Rachel to get Bam to stop going[[/note]] got foiled by none other than Bam and his incredible prowess, which was the reason Ho's progression was endangered after all.

* ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'': Ho's funeral. Done completely without words, with LibationForTheDead into his watery grave and Baam's first experience of sending off someone he considered a friend. Bittering this all is the fact that Ho killed himself because his desperate last resort to get past the second floor[[note]]killing Rachel to get Baam to stop going[[/note]] got foiled by none other than Baam and his incredible prowess, which was the reason Ho's progression was endangered after all.

* Ellie's funeral is shown in a single scene toward the beginning of ''WesternAnimation/{{Up}}''; it takes place in the same church where she and Carl had been married.

* Spock's funeral at the end of ''Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan''.

* ''Film/AcrossTheUniverse'' has two of these at once; one of which is a military funeral, and the other of which is for a black child who was slain in the Detroit riots. It was essentially a funeral montage with a gospel choir version of "Let It Be" playing in the background. [[ManlyTears Crying was perfectly acceptable.]]
* ''Film/{{Serenity}}'s'' funeral for Wash, Book, and Mr. Universe triggered many a ManlyTears moment for the fandom.
* When Will attends his father's funeral at the end of ''Film/BigFish'', he sees that some of the funeral attendees closely resemble characters his father described in his fantastical stories, implying that they may be truer than Will had first thought.
* ''Film/{{Departures}}'' has this as a central point of the story; a frustrated musician finds meaning in a job helping funerals have meaning and beauty.
* Towards the beginning of ''Film/TheRightStuff,'' there are ''two'' military funerals (appropriately, with fly-bys and "Missing Man") for test pilots who died on the job, underscoring the dangerous nature of their business.
* ''Film/BeingThere'' has the funeral of Ben Rand. There's stylish clothes, an overcast sky, and the President reading the deceased's own words as pallbearers carry the coffin to its tomb (albeit discussing politics amongst each other as they do). But all this is ''not'' meaningful to the movie's main character; Chance the Gardener, being TheFool, loses interest and wanders away. The ''truly'' meaningful event, the one that sums up the whole story, happens unobserved by anyone save the audience...and the speech heard from a distance just happens to support it with the film's final line: "Life is a state of mind."
* The funeral for Daryl in ''Film/LethalWeapon3''. When Murtaugh, who had killed Daryl in a drug-related shootout, seeks to console his family, his mother smacks him. His father then gives Murtaugh an admonition:
-->'''Daryl's Father:''' You want to help our family, Sgt. Murtaugh? You find the man who put the gun in my son's hand.
* ''Film/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen'' ends with Quatermain's funeral, at which the surviving members decide to continue traveling the world together instead of going their separate ways.
* ''Film/{{Ladder 49}}'', with Dennis and later Jack; according to the commentary, both were attended by hundreds of actual firefighters from across the country.
* ''Film/TheCatsMeow'' opens with a funeral and builds the mystery surrounding such a strange death.
* ''Film/RememberTheTitans'' begins and ends at Gerry Bertier's funeral, though we don't learn whose funeral it is until the end.
* Choon-Hwa's funeral at the end of ''Film/{{Sunny}}'' was more joyful than the norm. Her friends from high school were finally reunited, as was her DyingWish, and they decide to play music and dance as a throwback to what they used to do as children.

* At Anand's funeral in ''Film/{{Deewaar}}'', Vijay shows up late, and when he tries to reach out to his mother Sumitra she rebuffs him. Afterwards, he remarks to Anita that his father had been dead for 20 years already and that this was merely when he was finally cremated.
* Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse:
** ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld'': Asgardians come to pay last tribute to their queen Frigga and other fallen in a beautiful ceremony. During the long scene, no one says a word. Loki, a convict for life, is not allowed to attend.
** ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2'': Yondu Udonta's funeral makes all the Guardians reflect on their circumstances, especially Peter Quill, Gamora and Rocket.
** ''Film/AvengersEndgame'': The funeral of Tony Stark, which pans over all of his close family, friends, and allies and is interspersed with shots of the world slowly recovering, showing just how many people Iron Man saved and how many lives he touched.
* ''Film/SeeYouYesterday'': One is held for Claudette's brother after he gets killed by police, then for Sebastian when he gets killed by the robbers do to him and her interfering with the time that day.

* Sitka of ''Disney/BrotherBear'' is given an elaborate farewell ceremony after his death saving his two brothers from a bear.

%%** Several episodes end with the Meaningful Funeral of the Victim of the Week.
%%** The final send-off of Mister Nigel-Murray.
%%** And later Sweets.

A RealitySubtext can make the Meaningful Funeral [[RealLifeWritesThePlot even more meaningful]].

* The death of Aunt May in ''ComicBook/SpiderMan''. Granted, it was later ret-conned out, but it was a touching issue where she reveals to Peter that she already knew he was Spider-Man. As Peter holds her hand on her death-bed and Mary Jane is standing by, he says a quote from Peter Pan. Even Ben Reilly is lurking outside the window.

* ''Film/{{Backdraft}}'': While the code '3-3-5' (signifying return to quarters) is rung on a fire house bell, the flag on the casket is folded into a triangle and handed by the fire chief to the grieving widow.
** The procession before the actual funeral. Headed by the Chicago Emerald Society Marching Band in full Scottish/Irish regalia playing 'Balmoral' on bagpipes and drums, then two fire trucks converted to hearses carrying the caskets with the crew members of Engine/Ladder Company 17 in dress uniform marching alongsides, then the family members of the fallen firefighters walking after the fire trucks, then the senior commanders of the Chicago Fire Department and ''hundreds'' of firefighters in dress uniform marching after that.

** It is also added to if you remember that the first night they had a full performance was the night after the writer director and creator Jonathan Larson had died from a heart problem. At this point the cast was basically a family and on the DVD extras, they all say that that night the song was all about him, and everyone was crying.

* At Anand's funeral in ''Film/{{Deewaar}}'', Vijay shows up late, and when he tries to reach out to his mother Sumitra she rebuffs him. Afterwards, he remarks to Anita that his father had been dead for 20 years already, and that this was merely when he was finally cremated.

** ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld'': Asgardians come to pay last tribute to their queen Frigga and other fallen in a beautiful ceremony. During the long scene no one says a word. Loki, a convict for life, is not allowed to attend.

** ''Film/AvengersEndgame'': The funeral of Tony Stark, which pans over all of his close family, friends and allies and is interspersed with shots of the world slowly recovering, showing just how many people Iron Man saved and how many lives he touched.

* In the Israeli children book ''Eight in Pursuit of One'', a brief chapter dedicated to the dog’s funeral is included. The narrator suggest that more sensitive readers skip ahead, as it is a [[TearJerker very sad event]].

* The [[Literature/AuntDimity Pym sisters']] funeral is so heavily attended that TheVicar has to hook up loudpseakers (since St. George's is fulled over capacity) and the graves are marked with Day-Glo flags to keep people from falling into the holes. The New Testament readings an the closing hymn were favourites of theirs. Bree Pym introduces herself to the locals in her brash but brief funeral oration, and Rev. Bunting reads a message from the sisters to the villagers: "Dear friends and neighbours. If you fail to show our great-grandniece the same loving kindness you have always shown us, we will smite you."

* Dubslav von Stechlin's funeral in ''Literature/DerStechlin'', which brings together a large part of the cast on a cold winter day. From both from the Stechlin area and from Berlin people from all classes come to pay their respect; ironically his son Woldemar and his new wife are absent as they still are in Italy on their honeymoon. Pastor Lorenzen gives the eulogy which encapsulates what made Dubslav such a special and likeable person, how he looked at the world and how he lived his life.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

* ''Series/{{JAG}}'': In "Pilot Error", Harm and Meg attends the funeral of Lt. Pendry, which is complete with military honors and fighters flying the missing man formation. It is meaningful to Harm because Pendry was his friend and the loss for the son of the deceased mirrors Harm’s own loss of his father at roughly the same age.

* ''Series/{{Everwood}}'' had Irv's funeral as the penultimate episode, bringing most of the storylines near their end and being a very well-written no-flashback-needed way to connect the past, present and future of the characters. Extra points to the make-up artists to make all characters de-age almost at will. Not only it was a very meaningful funeral, but it also paved the way for the finale.

* The funeral at the end of ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' episode "The Message" features beautiful music and [[ItAlwaysRainsAtFunerals snow instead of rain]]. For the fans this point is extra sad as the cast had just been told the show was cancelled. (The music was meant by the composer to be his farewell to the show, too.) It certainly gives the characters' expressions an extra meaning.

* Compo's death in ''Series/LastOfTheSummerWine'' got 2 episodes-worth of this. The more traditional funeral was in the second, but the first was probably the most moving. A selection of the people of Holmfirth stood on a hillside arranged to form the words 'See Ya Compo'. All the main characters were taken to the side of a nearby hill, and were visibly moved by the gesture, all the male characters removing their hats in tribute. Especially Cleggy.

* ''VideoGame/LostOdyssey'' has the funeral of Kaim's daughter, who dies not long after Kaim is reunited with her after thinking she'd died as a child. Unusual in that the preparations for the funeral, and the funeral itself are interactive, the player actually plays the funeral. If anything, that makes it even stronger.

* ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2'' has a funeral for Aisha, the one woman that HeroicComedicSociopath Johnny Gat loved, after she is killed by the Ronin. The leader of Stilwater's Ronin, Shogo Akuji, crashes the funeral to kill Gat in retribution for humiliating him. What follows is a viscous and [[TranquilFury hauntingly quiet]] NoHoldsBarredBeatdown from Gat before he [[BuriedAlive buries Shogo alive]].

* ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'': Ho's funeral. Done completely without words, with LibationForTheDead into his water grave and Baam's first experience of sending off someone he considered a friend. Bittering this all is the fact that Ho killed himself because his desperate last resort to get past the second floor[[note]]killing Rachel to get Baam to stop going[[/note]] got foiled by none other than Baam and his incredible prowess, which was the reason Ho's progression was endangered after all.
* ''Webcomic/StandStillStaySilent'': Tuuri's funeral, after she commits SuicideBySea to keep [[ThePlague the Rash]] from killing her. Of the five other main characters, one was unable to stop the PlagueZombie that bit her because of neglected wound, another was one her very few surviving family members and noticed the PlagueZombie was in her vicinity a few moments too late, and another was quite good friends with her. Among the two remaining, one of the is the NewMeat, who is most likely having to attend this kind of funeral for the first time. As a result, [[TheMedic Mikkel]] is the only one seen putting her grave together.

** Played with in season one, after Will Byers' body is found in a quarry after he has been missing for several days, and naturally a very solemn funeral is held (very effectively scored to New Order's "Elegia"). Except Will isn't actually dead, he is in fact trapped in another dimension, and several of the characters either know this, suspect that he's still alive or are facing some very intense doubts about the situation, creating some mixed feelings indeed for them.

* The death of Aunt May in ''ComicBook/SpiderMan''. Granted, it was later ret-conned out, but it was a touching issue where she reveals to Peter that she already knew he was Spider-Man. As Peter holds her hand on her death-bed and Mary Jane is standing by, he says a quote from Peter Pan. Even Ben Reilly is lurking outside the window. Many fans, including myself, wish that this had been final. It was just so perfect.

* The funeral for Daryl in ''[[Film/LethalWeapon Lethal Weapon 3]]''. When Murtaugh, who had killed Daryl in a drug-related shootout, seeks to console his family, his mother smacks him. His father then gives Murtaugh an admonition:

:::Azim promises to have his fellow Anvillers make proper arrangements for Vivienne and recalls the councillors' attention to other pressing matters.

* Maggie [=McGuire=]'s funeral in ''Series/{{Shameless}}'' was very sad and touchin for the characters. It was most apparent in the parts that showed the main characters in black and white against a plain white background, showing their inner thoughts.

* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' has Maes Hughes' funeral, one of the most infamous {{tear jerker}}s in the series. Mostly because his four-year-old daughter can't understand why they're burying her daddy, and tells them to stop because he has work to do.

* ''Webcomic/StandStillStaySilent'': Tuuri's funeral, after she commits SucideBySea to keep [[ThePlague the Rash]] from killing her. Of the five other main characters, one was unable to stop the PlagueZombie that bit her because of neglected wound, another was one her very few suriving family members and noticed the PlagueZombie was in her vicinity a few moments too late, and another was quite good friends with her. Among the two remaining, one of the is the NewMeat, who is most likely having to attend this kind of funeral for the first time. As a result, [[TheMedic Mikkel]] is the only one seen putting her grave together.

* Rachel's memorial ceremony in Literature/{{Animorphs}}, because everyone came to pay their respects - Hork Bajir, Andalites, all the remaining Animorphs, the President of the United States.

* Numerous characters [[AnyoneCanDie die]] in the Literature/XWingSeries. Corran Horn had a ceremony, a speech in which Wedge urged everyone to keep fighting. (He wasn't actually dead.) In ''Wraith Squadron'', Jesmin Ackbar has a BurialInSpace, one of the very few to show up in a [[Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse Star Wars novel]]. This was complete with Wedge acting as her wingmate one last time and firing a symbolic proton torpedo, and a eulogy by Face, though the viewpoint character, depressed and angry because he couldn't save her, cynically wonders if Face's sorrow is real, since the guy was an actor. Considering the character, it probably was.
** In the Rogue Squadron comics, the first issue of "Family Ties" opens with a [[http://asylums.insanejournal.com/scans_daily/387385.html funeral for fallen Rogues]]. Wedge reflects.
---> "Jek Porkins, Biggs Darklighter, Dak and Zev and everyone else who flew with us on even one mission... too many to remember, but too many for them to be forgotten. Rogues, now and forever, part of a grand tradition that all of them would gladly trade for another second of life."
*** There's another funeral in the last issue. Wedge [[http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/6508/swrsmr421.jpg eulogizes]] [[http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/3714/swrsmr422.jpg for the pilot]], and the series actually [[NoEnding ends]] on [[http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/8120/swrsmr423.jpg that note]]. Really, female Mon Calamari should never join any squadron headed by Wedge.
** In ''Literature/{{Allegiance}}'', Mara's ally dies. He [[LastRequest requested]] that she "bury him in space"

* Choon-Hwa's funeral at the end of ''Sunny'' was more joyful than the norm. Her friends from high school were finally reunited, as was her DyingWish, and they decide to play music and dance as a throwback to what they used to do as children.

* In ''WesternAnimation/HowTotrainYourDragon2'', [[spoiler: Stoick is given a Viking funeral after giving his life to save his son]].