ObituariesHelp.org

• 1Tasteful Sympathy Gifts - order fruit baskets, sympathy food baskets and sympathy fruit baskets
• 2Sympathy Flowers - order flowers online for delivery to home, funeral home or hospital
• 3Condolence Message Samples - messages of support to the family of the deceased.
• 4Condolence Examples - meaningful letters of condolence examples.

Free Condolence Letters - How to Use Free Condolence Letters

The free condolence letters we have on our website make great templates for your own personal letter of sympathy. You can use the idea and the general flow of the letter while adding your own personal words of comfort. The free condolence letters we have listed above cover an array of possible circumstances, and are formatted in a way that complies with condolence standards of etiquette. Before you make use of the samples above however, let's take a quick look at how a condolence message should be written, after which you can apply what you've learned to writing your own letter, while following the format of our free condolence letters.

Our free condolence letters all contain common features, even though they are written for different circumstances. Condolence letters should be written as soon as you hear of a person's death. It is generally good practice to send them before the funeral, but if they are sent within the first 14 days that is quite acceptable. Your condolence letter should be hand written and heartfelt. Condolence letters printed off of a computer don't have the same personal affect as a handwritten letter. When a person knows that you've taken the time to sit down and write your feelings out personally, the effect is much more profound than if Hewlett Packard wrote it for you. Choose some nice stationery or a card and speak from the heart. You're message of condolence will not just be warmly received, but it will comfort the bereaved as well.

You will notice that all of our free condolence letters will have the following 6 components. They all:

1. Recognize the loss
2. Communicate sympathy
3. Mention the deceased by name
4. Recall a favorite memory of the deceased or mention a special quality they had
5. Offer specific help
6. End with a positive and encouraging sentiment

Let's analyze one of our free condolence letters, and highlight where the components mentioned above occur. The component number will be in brackets after the line in which it is utilized.

Dear Peter,

Please accept my condolences on the death of your mother. (1) It was a shock to hear of her passing at such a young age. I know mere words may offer but little comfort at this tragic time, but know that my deepest feelings of sympathy lie with you and your family. My mom and dad asked me to also include their condolences. (2) It seems like since we moved out of state we've lost touch a bit, but we always think of you all. Those summer days in the old neighbourhood are full of cherished memories.

I remember the time we were swimming in your pool, and your mom served us ice cold lemonade on those floatable trays. We thought we were so grown up! Little did she know that would set the pace for our future spring breaks! (4)We'll all miss Angela very much. (3) She was a wonderful neighbour and I know she was a great mother. You can see that in the successful children that she raised.

My dad's going to give your dad a call in the next few days, so I'll speak to you then. Please let the rest of your family know how sorry we are, and that we'll be coming to the funeral. We'll be arriving a few days before, so I'll come over and cook you a meal on the Tuesday night before the service. (5)Until then, know that we're thinking of you and praying for you constantly. (6)

With deepest sympathies,

Reg

Analysis of the above Condolence Letter Example

As you can see the free condolence letter example above contains all of the required elements. You will also notice that components 4 (recall a memory) and 3 (mention the deceased by name) are not in numerical order. There is some leeway and flexibility allowed with the central components of your condolence letter (3, 4, and 5), but elements 1 and 2 and 6 should always appear in the order that they do in our free condolence letters.

Take some time to look through the free condolence letters that we have posted above. Consider each individual letter, as even if it is not appropriate for your particular situation, the flow and feel of it may be. Remember to make use of the six main components, speak from the heart, and write your letter by hand to ensure a warm, sympathetic message similar to those of our free condolence letters.