Words of Condolence Letter for a Father

Dear George,

I am truly saddened to hear of your recent loss and would like to express my sincere condolences to you and your family on the recent passing of your father. Elaine and the children also send their thoughts and hopes to you and your family at this most difficult of times.

Even though I did not know you father personally, through meeting you and your family, I can see that you were raised in a loving and warm family. Your personal demeanor and the values you have I know came from the family in which you were raised. I can only imagine how much of an impact your father has had on how compassionate and caring a person you are. From meeting you and your family and hearing the stories about your father I can only imagine how great a man he was and I wish I had the pleasure of knowing him in life. It is obvious that you were very fortunate to have such a fine man as your father and role model as you grew into the person you are today.

Please accept our heartfelt condolences at this most difficult time and I ask that you please pass these sentiments on to your family and your father's friends. I wish I had the opportunity to have known your father as I can see how his personality and strength must have passed into you and in doing so he lives on in you and those who loved him.

With Our Sincere Sympathy,

James and Elaine Spencer

• Try to keep your letter short but thoughtful.
• Be sure to mention one of your favorite memories of the deceased if you have one.
• Respect religious beliefs. Always remember that everyone deserves sympathy, regardless of their beliefs.
• Sign with your complete name (first and surname). This is good etiquette and will prevent confusion regarding relatives or friends with the same first name as you.
• Do not make offers of financial help.
• Don’t mention money that the deceased may have owed to you or anyone else. Financial matters can be dealt with after the grieving period has passed.
• Do offer practical help such as offering to provide meals or help out with household chores.

Letters of sympathy and condolences are very personal, so the language of your greeting should reflect that. When addressing your intended recipient, your greeting should always include the name of the person you are writing your letter to. The specific nature of your relationship with the bereaved will help you to determine the exact phrasing that should be used. Here are some sample suggestions for your greeting:

Dear ________,
My Dear Friend _________,
Dearest __________,
Dear Mrs. __________,
Dear Ms. __________,
Dear Mr. __________,
Dear __________ Family,

It can be difficult to decide how to start your condolence letter for a father. Indeed, the most challenging part is choosing the first words of your condolence letter. Remember that if you write from your heart your letter will genuinely reflect both your feelings of sympathy and the nature of your relationship with the bereaved.

In our letter we began with:

I am truly saddened to hear of your recent loss and would like to express my sincere condolences to you and your family on the recent passing of your father.

Other appropriate opening sentiments include:

We are shocked and saddened to hear the news about your father. Please know that you are in the thoughts and prayers of our entire family.

Words will never express how sorry I am to hear about the passing of (father’s name). I will keep you and your family in my prayers during this difficult time.

We just heard about your loss. There are few losses as great as the loss of a parent. You have our deepest condolences.

My heart is filled with sadness for your loss. May your beautiful memories sustain and bring comfort to you during this difficult season.

I just heard the sad news about ______’s passing. Please accept my deepest condolences and know that my thoughts are with you during this time.

May your memories of your father sustain and strengthen you as you navigate the difficult days ahead. Please accept our condolences.

I want to extend to you my deepest condolences. My prayers and thoughts are with you during this time.

May your hearts soon be filled with wonderful memories of joyful times together as you celebrate a life well lived.

It is usually difficult to find the right words to express your sorrow when writing words of condolence letters for a father. You might feel afraid to say the wrong thing, or worry about saying something insensitive that will bring more pain to the family. However, as our sample letter demonstrates for you, a personal touch is important when crafting your letter. In fact, mentioning a fond memory of the deceased and calling them by name can provide a measure of comfort to the bereaved. In your letter, try to share your favorite memory or story about the deceased. Here are some samples to give you ideas for your own letter:

• _______ was always there for me whenever I needed him, both as a co-worker and a friend. He always had a smile on his face and took a “whistle while you work” approach to life. I am grateful to have known him and send you my deepest condolences.
• _______ was one of the most caring men I have ever known. He always had a joke for all of his patients. As you know, it was often the same joke, but that didn’t matter because his sense of humor was so infectious. He was always able to keep us all laughing, no matter what any of us were facing. May the memories of his joyful spirit strengthen and surround you in this difficult time.
• I first got to know ______ when we were in college together. He was always the guy in the dorm that was the most focused on his studies, and none of us were surprised at the success he was able to achieve. While I have never had the opportunity to meet you in person, I could tell how proud _______ was of his family and know how important he was to all of you. Please know that you and your entire family are in my prayers.
• I am shocked and saddened to hear of the devastating loss of your dear father. _______ was an inspiration to all he knew. He will be deeply missed.
• Many of my fondest memories are from times spent with _______. I know that over the years you have heard many of the stories, especially the one about the time he saved me from drowning in the pond. Your father was one of the best men I have ever known, and I’m glad that I got to know him during his entire life. I will miss him every day.
• ______ has always been a great neighbor and friend. Our family has always enjoyed getting to know him over the years. Your father kept the neatest yard on the block and was the first to lend anyone else a helping hand. We will miss seeing him around the neighborhood and we offer you our condolences.

Some appropriate ways to offer help include:

• We will drop off several meals so that you won’t need to worry about planning or cooking different meals. You can keep in the freezer and use them as you need them.
• I would like to help you out with your household chores for a time. I'll call you and we can plan a weekly time that suits you best.
• Ever since I lost ______ I attend the weekly support meeting that is held at our church. I'll call you before the next one in case you would want to join me.
• I’m going shopping at ______on ______ and will pick up whatever you need and drop it off on my way home.
• I'll call you in a couple of days to see if you would like to go for a walk at a time that suits you.
• We will get together a team to take care of your yard work or any other tasks you need assistance with.
• Don’t worry about your pets. We can come by before and after work to feed them.

We closed our sample letter with:

Please accept our heartfelt condolences at this most difficult time and I ask that you please pass these sentiments on to your family and your father's friends. I wish I had the opportunity to have known your father as I can see how his personality and strength must have passed into you and in doing so he lives on in you and those who loved him.

The closing statement is perhaps one of the most important parts of any condolence letter. It is your last opportunity within the letter to offer your sympathies. Other appropriate phrases to use in a words of condolence letter for a father include the following:

• With prayers for strength to face these challenging days.
• With hope it helps you to know we are thinking of you.
• With warm and heartfelt sympathy.
• With all of our blessings, love and prayers.
• Please know you are not alone.
• Know that you are in our thoughts and prayers.
• With our deepest and heartfelt condolences.

Be sure to avoid these common spelling mistakes if substituting any of your own words for those in our sample words of condolence letters for a father. Remember to check your letter for spelling mistakes prior to mailing. Here are some of the most common spelling errors:

• Condolense
• Condolesens
• Simpathy
• Simpothy
• Simpothie
• Preyers
• Blesing
• Neihbour
• Neigbor

You can send a text, email, or social media condolence message instead of the more traditional letter. Your message can still include all of the same kinds of sentiments as what would be found in a traditional letter. However, the format of a text or social media message often restricts you to a certain length of message. As such, it is proper etiquette to make your message shorter when sending a condolence message for a father via text or social media. The are sample ideas that you can use for your message:

Words can’t express how sorry I am for your loss. Please know that you are in my thoughts.

I am so sorry for your loss. You and your entire family are in my thoughts and prayers.

I just heard the sad news about ______. Please accept my warmest sympathies; you are in my prayers.

I’m sorry for your loss. May your warmest memories of your father surround you in this difficult time.

We are so sorry to hear of the passing of dear ______. You have our condolences.

You can send one of these short messages immediately to provide comfort and sympathy. Later you can then send a more traditional words of condolence letter for a father as you feel it is appropriate.

It is often customary to send flowers or another type of condolence gift to the family of the deceased. You will want to include a condolence card for a father along with your flowers or gift, but you may find yourself at a loss for what to write in the card. A simple phrase offering condolences is often best. You can use any of the following words of sympathy:

• May these flowers serve as a token of my sympathy for you.
• May these flowers express what words never will.
• May this (type of gift) be a reminder of my thoughts and prayers for you.
• Please know that you are in our prayers.
• May these flowers remind you just how much we care.
• Please know that we are always here for you. You don’t have to face this alone.
• With prayers and love for your entire family.
• From our family, with condolences.

“The song is ended, but the melody lingers on.” Irving Berlin

“If I had a flower for every time I thought of you, I could walk in my garden forever.” Alfred Lord Tennyson

“They say love beyond the world cannot be separated by it. Death cannot kill what never dies.” William Penn