Words of Condolence Letter for a Co-Worker

Dear Mrs. Sampson,

I was so sorry to hear of Frank's death and we want to express our most sincere sympathies to you and the family during this difficult time from the management team here at GHY. Your husband was a highly valuable and respected member of our team here and the effects of his passing are already being felt here by his fellow employees and management.

Frank was a wonderful employee who understood the meaning of the word "team." He was always more focused on the good of the company and the department than on his own benefit. He made many great contributions to the company and helped it move forward in numerous ways. His work here will not soon be forgotten.

Please accept my sincere condolences for you and the family. Frank was a remarkable man and everyone at GHY is better for having known him. For those of us that had the privilege of calling him "friend" outside of work, we were humbled by his kindness and compassion to everyone around him.

He will be greatly missed and everyone here is saddened by his death. Know that our thoughts and prayers are with you and his family and friends during this difficult time.

With sincere sympathy,

The Staff at GHY Systems, Inc.

1. Keep your letter short but considerate
2. Try to mention a fond or funny memory of the deceased
3. Respect everyone's religious beliefs. Regardless of their religious beliefs, they still need and deserve sympathy.
4. Sign with a full name (first and surname) and name of the company or just include the entire group. This eliminates any confusion if the family did not know the employer or staff well.
5. Do not offer financial help
6. Don’t mention money the deceased may have owed you. This can be dealt with after the grieving period has passed.

Letters of sympathy and condolences are personal even in a professional situation, so you should adopt that tone when writing. Mention the name of the person you are writing to. Here are some options you can use based on your relationship with the deceased and the family.

Dear _______,
Dear Mrs. ____________,
Dear Mr. ______________,
Dear ________________Family,

Condolence Letter Writing Tip: If you knew the deceased co-worker but not the family, address your letter of sympathy to the spouse, child, or closest family member.

It can be difficult to choose the right words for your own letter, especially if it is someone you don't know well or at all. Make sure what you write is sincere to reflect the true nature of your relationship with either the deceased or the person you are writing.

In our letter we began with:

I was so sorry to hear of Frank's death and we want to express our most sincere sympathies to you and the family during this difficult time from the management team here at GHY. Your husband was a highly valuable and respected member of our team here and the effects of his passing are already being felt here by his fellow employees and management.

Other options that are appropriate include the following:

My deepest sympathies are with you and Frank's family at this time. Please know that you are in our thoughts as you grieve this loss. Your husband was an important member of the team and we will miss him.

I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. Frank was a great co-worker that I enjoyed working with and I will miss him.

Please accept my condolences on the loss of your father. He was very much appreciated here at GHY and will be greatly missed.

If you worked with the deceased either as a supervisor or as a co-worker, you can mention special memories about his time with the company. This can be one way of helping the survivors deal with their loss and feel the support you are giving. Here are some suggestions:

• Your husband was a valuable part of the management team. All of his staff thought highly of him. Frank was always willing to go the extra mile for anyone that worked for him and he will be missed.
• There was never a more encouraging, supportive co-worker than Frank. Every new person was welcomed and made to feel a part of the team. I remember my first day here and how he invited me to sit with him during lunch as he told funny stories about the company and its people. I'm going to miss those stories.
• I've never had a better employee than Frank. He was a dedicated worker, and never sought praise or attention. He was just content to do the best job he could and he always succeeded. There is a hole here at GHY without Frank's smile and work ethic. Know that he will be missed by all of us.

We closed our letter with:

With sincere sympathy,

It is important to find an appropriate closing that offers support and comfort. Here are some more suggestions that you can use:

• Know that you are in our thoughts and prayers,
• With our blessings, concern, and sympathies,
• May these flowers express what words can never do,
• With our heartfelt condolences,

Makes sure you avoid these common spelling mistakes if substituting your own words for any in our sample words of condolence letters for a co-worker.

• Condolense
• Condolesens
• Simpathy
• Simpathie
• Preyers
• Blesings
• Simpothy
• Simpothie

If you are sending a single message instead of from a team or department, you may prefer to send a text or email message rather than a letter of condolence for a co-worker. You can say something similar to what you would include in a letter. It is appropriate to make it short, especially for a text or social media message. Here are some examples that you can use.

I just heard about ______'s death. Please know you and your family are in my thoughts.

I heard from ______ that you lost your husband. While I didn't work with Frank directly, I know that he was a good man. I want to extend my sympathies to you and the family.

I just heard about the death of ______. I want to offer my sincere condolences.

You can send one of these messages to provide immediate comfort and then send a traditional letter at a later time if you feel it is appropriate.

If you are sending flowers or another gift to the spouse or family of the co-worker, you may wonder what to put on a card to offer sympathy. Here are a few ideas that you can use for your own condolence cards for a co-worker:

• May these flowers serve as an expression of my sympathy for you and your family.
• Please know that you are in our thoughts and prayers during this time.
• May these flowers let you know that we care.
• You have our most heartfelt sympathies during this time.
• May the memories sustain you during this time.

"It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be." J.K. Rowling

"Everything that has a beginning has an ending. Make your peace with that and all will be well." Buddhist saying

"Men feat death, as if unquestionably the greatest evil, and yet no man knows that it may not be the greatest good." William Mitford.