What is a good excuse to miss a funeral? Funerals are basically to meant to show your reverence or homage to the departed soul and shed a supportive shoulder to the grieving family. Still, we have our reasons not to be present at the funeral, for most of us, it is mostly the inability to face the profound stricken grieving situation or the pain of people close to you. We feel out of words or we are just not okay repeating the same lines,… like deep condolences, may the departed soul rest in peace and more like this.
Our feelings or grief may be much beyond that but you are not okay going in person there. There can be other genuine reasons as well. But as it is said, you may not be with someone during his/her good times but in critical times or times like this, you should be there. So, you have to have some good reasons or excuses for not going to the funeral. How do you apologize for not attending a funeral? Let’s read in this section about some of the good excuses to make for not being at the funeral. But before this, do make it a point to pay your sincere condolences by text or by letter to the concerned and make sure to visit in person after some time to follow it.

I am not in town, out on a work assignment or tour
This is one of the most simple and easily understandable situations for anyone, so, while texting or conveying your condolences, you can mention in a simple line that you will not be able to attend the funeral as you are out of town, it happened at such a short notice that could make proper arrangements to travel back.
Babysitting
You can’t leave your kids alone at home nor you would like them to take you along in such a situation, so this excuse can work the best in the case of people with small or dependent kids.
Travel Cost
May sound off but it is one of the most understandable factors. If you stay far off the place and the cost of travel is too high if not planned in advance, you can mention this politely and sincerely, that you don’t have the funds for travel but will surely visit soon or have already started looking for cheap flying options or so.
Work Urgencies
We all have and are bound by our work responsibilities and if you have a good equation with the family, they will understand that you would not have missed unless it was really urgent.
Stuck up with an early commitment
You can simply say that you could not attend or won’t be able to attend as you were already stuck up somewhere else like you were on a visit to your parents in your native town or you were out of town for some event (work or personal).
Appointment for a surgery
You had to take someone for a prescheduled surgery or treatment at some hospital, this is also a very good excuse that you can give for not attending the funeral.
Health Concerns or Ailments
You can also simply mention that you are suffering from some ailment and won’t be able to attend as you have been advised to complete bed rest. During such painful or grieving situations, people tend to have this empathy which is health-related.
Family Problem or House Emergency
If you are connected to the concerned person is a friend or colleague or someone you are close with but not known or close to your family, you can use this situation as an excuse like wife had an accident, or you had a fight with your spouse and he/she has left home leaving kids behind, or there is a severe gas leakage at home.
Whatever, excuse you choose to give, but make sure to send your sincere apologies and condolences through text, letter or condolences flowers or whatever way you find is suitable. Do let us know in our comment section, if our article helped you, or if you have some good excuse to share for such a situation.