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You wouldn’t wear a T-shirt on the death anniversary of your loved one’s that says, “this is a hard day for me,” but you may want others to know how you are feeling. At the same time, it may not be reasonable to expect even your closest friends to remember the death anniversary of your mom or sister.
Jump ahead to these sections:
- 2 Year Death Anniversary Quotes for a Parent
- 2 Year Death Anniversary Quotes for Grandparent
- 2 Year Death Anniversary Quotes for a Sibling
- 2 Year Death Anniversary Quotes for a Friend
- 2 Year Death Anniversary Quotes for a Partner or Spouse
If you want others to know that you are struggling because it has been two years since you have lost a beloved family member or friend, consider sharing a post on social media. Here are some quotes to consider posting.
2 Year Death Anniversary Quotes for a Parent
Has it been two years since you have lost a parent? Here are some quotes about death and grief that may describe how you currently feel. Also, consider cutting your friends some slack. Some people may not know what to say on a death anniversary, especially if they have never suffered a significant loss.
1. “When we lose someone we love, we must learn not to live without them, but to live with the love they left behind.” - Unknown
This positive-minded quote about death reminds us that our loved ones live on in our memories. There are many different versions of this quote because this idea speaks to many.
2. “The work of the mature person is to carry grief in one hand and gratitude in the other and to be stretched large by them. How much sorrow can I hold? That’s how much gratitude I can give. If I carry only grief, I’ll bend toward cynicism and despair. If I have only gratitude, I’ll become saccharine and won’t develop much compassion for other people’s suffering. Grief keeps the heart fluid and soft, which helps make compassion possible.” - Francis Ward Weller
We know this quote is rather lengthy, but the message in it can be relieving and helpful. In the past two years of missing your loved one, you may have felt this pull between grief and gratitude.
3. “But death does not stand at the end of life, it is all through it. It is the fear of losing, the knowledge of losing, that makes love tender.” - Benedict Freedman
Benedict Freedman wrote the book Mrs. Mike about a woman who moves to a northern wilderness to live with her new husband. She encounters many griefs, which the author tries to describe.
4. “Sometimes your heart breaks; other times it gets shattered...but a puzzle is still a puzzle even if a piece of it is in heaven.” - Unknown
You may feel that your heart is still shattered over the loss of your parent. Grief experts agree that there is no time limit on grief.
2 Year Death Anniversary Quotes for Grandparent
What traditions have your family continued since the death of your grandparent? Think about how happy they would be knowing that their lives were celebrated each year by their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
5. “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
You may have seen this quote about grief on other people’s social media pages.
6. “What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us.” - Helen Keller
Helen Keller is often quoted on a variety of subjects, but this is one of her most famous quotes about loss.
7. “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
A.A. Milne was a British author who gained fame by writing about Winnie-the-Pooh’s adventures in the Hundred-Acre Wood.
8. “It takes strength to make your way through grief, to grab hold of life and let it pull you forward.” - Patti Davis
If you feel that your grandparent would have wanted you to “grab hold of life,” consider sharing this quote with others.
2 Year Death Anniversary Quotes for a Sibling
Are you spending the death anniversary of your loved one going through photos? Some people choose to share pictures of their loved ones when they post a quote about grief.
9. “Ah, Grief, I should not treat you like a homeless dog who comes to the back door for a crust, for a meatless bone. I should trust you.” - Denise Levertov
This quote may feel a bit out of context, but it is the first stanza of a poem called “Talking to Grief.” It may resonate with you if you feel that grief is now a part of your life instead of something “you are going through.”
10. “You care so much you feel as though you will bleed to death with the pain of it.” - J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter fans may recognize this quote from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
11. “So it’s true, when all is said and done, grief is the price we pay for love.” - E.A. Bucchianeri
You may also find a quote from Queen Elizabeth that is very similar to this one.
12. “Grief is forever. It doesn’t go away; it becomes a part of you, step for step, breath for breath.” - Jandy Nelson
Your grief may have changed over the last few years, but you may still feel that it is part of you.
2 Year Death Anniversary Quotes for a Friend
You may want your friend’s family to know that you are still grieving her death. Consider sharing one of these quotes, so they know that their family member’s memory lives on in others.
13. “She was no longer wrestling with the grief, but could sit down with it as a lasting companion and make it a sharer in her thoughts.” - George Eliot
Here is another quote about the longevity of grief. Grief isn’t just being sad that someone has died. It comes with a lot of emotions.
14. “The reality is that you will grieve forever. You will not ‘get over’ the loss of a loved one; you will learn to live with it. You will heal and you will rebuild yourself around the loss you have suffered. You will be whole again but you will never be the same. Nor should you be the same nor would you want to.” - Elizabeth Kübler-Ross
Elizabeth Kubler-Ross studied death and grief when she spent time with the terminally ill. She shared her thoughts in a book called On Death and Dying.
15. “No matter how bad your heart is broken, the world doesn’t stop for your grief.” - Faraaz Kazi
Share this quote if you felt forced back into the banal acts of day-to-day life before you were ready.
16. “Never. We never lose our loved ones. They accompany us; they don’t disappear from our lives. We are merely in different rooms.” - Paulo Coelho
Do you like to think of your loved one as being in a different room? Paulo Coelho is an author best known for writing The Alchemist.
2 Year Death Anniversary Quotes for a Partner or Spouse
You may feel as if you are missing a limb with the death of your spouse. Here are some quotes to tell others that today is the anniversary of your life partner’s death.
17. “Without you in my arms, I feel an emptiness in my soul. I find myself searching the crowds for your face - I know it’s an impossibility, but I cannot help myself.” - Nicholas Sparks
Nicholas Sparks is known for his highly emotive novels such as The Notebook.
18. “When one person is missing the whole world seems empty.” - Pat Schweibert
Anyone dealing with the death anniversary of a partner or spouse may feel this all-encompassing grief that is described in the quote above.
19. “But sometimes, unexpectedly, grief pounded over me in waves that left me gasping; and when the waves washed back, I found myself looking out over a brackish wreck which was illumined in a light so lucid, so heartsick and empty, that I could hardly remember that the world had ever been anything but dead.” - Donna Tartt
The main character in Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch loses his mother at the beginning of the novel. Still, this quote would be appropriate to describe any sad situation, including the anniversary of a husband’s death.
20. “Her absence is like the sky, spread over everything.” - C.S. Lewis
C.S. Lewis wrote this about the loss of his wife in A Grief Observed. Though he is famous for his Narnia series, C.S. Lewis wrote a lot about his Christian faith and how it impacted his philosophical view of the world.
Finding the Right Words for a 2 Year Death Anniversary
Over the last two years, what have you discovered about grief that you didn’t expect? You may want to find a quote that describes your experience and share it with others. Hopefully, some of these quotes will help.
When you create a post on your loved one's death anniversary, you may feel encouraged to share specific memories of what made them so special. Sharing these memories can also help others share their favorite moments to keep your loved one’s spirit alive.
Also be sure to view these 3rd death anniversary ideas if you want to prepare for next year.
