Expressing Yourself in a Funeral Thank You Card

After losing a loved one, you may have been showered with notes, cards, gifts, and acts of service. Because of the nature of the situation, most people do not expect to receive a thank you note for sympathy gifts. However, after some time has passed, you may wish to send a personal note to those whose kindness impacted you most during your difficult time. Do not feel pressured to send a thank you card to every single person who expressed their condolences or to complete the cards all at once. Take as much time as you need, and feel free to keep the message short and sweet. The recipients will be grateful to know you appreciate their sympathy gift or card, but what they care about most is your well-being. The good news is that writing sympathy thank you cards can be quick and painless. You can choose to buy funeral thank you cards with pre-printed messages on them or use blank cards. Either way, you can make the message as long or short as you like, as long as it is sincere.

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Who to Send Sympathy Thank You Cards To

If you would like to send a thank you note for sympathy gifts or services , but don’t know where to start, consider some of the ways people helped you during that time. Listed below are some of the most common reasons people send funeral thank you cards.

They brought or sent you a meal.
They helped watch or entertain your children.
They gave you a gift or card.
They helped with the funeral service.
They watched, walked, or fed your pets.
They brought or sent flowers or potted plants.
They donated to the funeral costs or to a charity in your loved one’s honor.
They attended the funeral service.

What to Write in Sympathy Thank You Notes to Coworkers

In the event that you are writing sympathy thank you notes to coworkers of the deceased, you may not be on familiar terms with the recipients. But you can still send them a heartfelt note of appreciation and show how important they are to your family.

The steps for writing sympathy thank you notes to coworkers of a family member are the same as for a close friend. Include a personalized greeting, specific thanks for their gift or action, and a heartfelt message. Remember to include the name of the person who has passed away, in case your loved one’s coworker does not recognize your name on the note or card.

Sample Sympathy Thank You Notes to Coworkers

Sympathy gifts/cards may come from one coworker or from a group. Cater your thank you note accordingly using the examples below.

For an Individual Coworker:

Thank you so much for your generous gift for ____’s funeral. He/she enjoyed working with you, and our family was so touched when you reached out to support us.
Thank you for the beautiful floral arrangement. Your kindness helped to brighten a difficult time, and we know _____ would have loved the flowers as much as we did.
It was so thoughtful of you to take the time to express your condolences with that card(/gift). We know you were very important to _____ and helped make his/her time at work enjoyable.
Thank you for always being kind to _____ at work and for attending his/her funeral. Your presence meant the world to us, and we know you will miss him/her as well.
We are so fortunate that _____ had such wonderful friends at work and appreciate your thoughtful gift.

For a Group of Coworkers:

Thank you all so much for the beautiful flowers. ______ loved working with all of you, and we are grateful he/she had such wonderful friends and coworkers.
We truly appreciate the generosity of everyone in the office and are so blessed to have you in our lives.
Thank you so much to everyone who signed the sympathy card for our family when _____ passed away. Your love and support were felt and appreciated.
We are so thankful for your wonderful gift and would like to express our gratitude to all who worked alongside _____ and the love you have shown our family during this difficult time.
A huge thank you from our family to all those at (name of company) who expressed their condolences. We are honored that you thought of us and appreciate your support.

Tips for Writing Sympathy Thank You Cards

The best way to get started writing sympathy thank you cards is to sit down and make a list of the people you wish to include. Use the rest of the tips below to simplify the process

Divide your list into sections so you can complete a few at a time instead of trying to get to everyone in one sitting.
If possible, have someone help you. If you are sending a thank you card as a couple or a family, it makes sense to divide the list among you. If the cards are only from you, you can still have someone help with adding a short message and you can approve and sign them.
Include your full name or that of the deceased somewhere on the card. This is particularly important for people you don’t know very well. For example, if your father passed away and you wish to send a thank you note to one of his coworkers, they may not recognize your name without his.
It’s perfectly acceptable to include others when you sign the note. If you are sending a thank you card on behalf of your family, you would sign with the family's last name rather than just your own name. If you choose, you can have each family member sign their names individually, but this is not necessary.
Don’t overdo it. It is not necessary to compose a lengthy message, even for those closest to you. A short and simple note is enough to convey your appreciation.

What to Write in Funeral Thank You Cards

Funeral thank you cards can be used to express your appreciation for a number of items related to the funeral or loss of a loved one. If you are looking for ideas and examples of what to write in sympathy thank you cards, try using some of the phrases below.

For Attending the Funeral

Thank you for attending ____’s funeral and celebrating his/her life with us.
It was great seeing you at ____’s funeral.
We are so happy you were able to attend ____’s funeral.
It means the world to us that you came to ____’s funeral.
We are so grateful for the love and support you’ve given our family and appreciate you attending ____’s funeral.

For Sending Flowers

Thank you for the beautiful floral arrangement you sent for ____’s funeral. It was such a thoughtful gift and really brightened the room.
Thank you for the gorgeous flowers and for your love and friendship during this difficult time.
We were so touched to receive the flowers you sent and appreciate your kindness. We are grateful you are a part of our lives.
The flowers you sent were so beautiful! ____ would have loved them. We are so blessed to have you as a friend.
Thank you so much for the flowers you gave us for ____’s funeral. They meant so much to us and were a wonderful addition to the memorial service.

For Sending Meals

Thank you for the ____ you sent. It was nice to enjoy a home-cooked meal without worrying about any preparation or cooking. It gave us the time we needed after ____’s funeral.
Thank you for the lovely meal you sent during this difficult time our family is going through. It was exactly what we needed.
Thank you for the food you gave us for ___’s funeral. It was so kind of you to prepare and cook that meal.
Thank you for being such a great friend and sending us a meal for ____’s funeral. That was very thoughtful of you.
Thank you for the meal. It tasted great and was one of ____’s favorites.
I can’t begin to express how much it meant for you to bring us that meal. It brought great comfort, relief, and peace of mind while we were dealing with a very tough time. Thank you.

For Sending Cards

Thank you for the thoughtful card. It was sincerely appreciated.
Thank you for the card you sent for ____’s funeral and your kind thoughts and words you sent with it.
Your card was very kind and appreciated. It is nice to know that we have your support during this hard time.
Thank you for your sympathy card. We appreciated the warm words of comfort you sent.
It was very kind of you to send a card for ___’s funeral. He/she always spoke kindly about you, and it was nice to hear from you.

For Sending Donations

Thank you for your donation to _____ on behalf of _____. That was his/her/their favorite charity/organization, and it is very kind of you to donate to the cause.
Thank you for your donation in memory of ____. It was a very thoughtful way to remember them.
Thank you for the contribution toward ____. It will be a great way to keep ____’s passion alive and help others.
Thank you for your donation in memory of ____. It means a lot to us to see you help others on his/her behalf.

Sample Funeral Thank You Cards

Thank you so much for all of your help and support when _____ passed away. I don’t know how we would have taken care of all the important details without you. We are so blessed to have a friend like you in our lives and hope you know how much we appreciate all that you have done and continue to do for us.

The ________ Family

We just wanted to take a moment and express to you how truly grateful we are for all of your help and support. You are such a wonderful friend, and we are so glad that you were able to join us for ______’s funeral. We are touched that you would travel so far to celebrate his/her life with us and appreciate your kind words. Hopefully the next time we see you will be under more cheerful circumstances.

Wishing you and your family well,

The ________ Family

What to Write in Sympathy Thank You Cards

In addition to sympathy gifts related to the funeral itself, you may have received cards, gifts, or services that were meant to simply show support or help you through the grieving process. Writing a thank you note for sympathy gifts is similar to writing funeral thank you cards, except you can leave out a reference to the memorial service. The more specific you can be, the better; however, if someone is helping you write the cards, it is perfectly acceptable to use a general statement of appreciation, as long as it is sincere.

For Cards

Thank you for the card and your kind words of love and support. ____ always adored you and we know you will miss him/her as much as we will.
Thank you for your sweet note! Your words of encouragement meant so much during this hard time. You are such a wonderful friend.
Thank you for taking the time to send a card when ____ passed away. We still miss him every day, but take comfort knowing we have support from friends like you.

For Gifts

Thank you so much for the care package you sent us! We have put the ____ to good use, and it has brought us great comfort when we needed it most.
You are so kind for sending us ____. It brought some much-needed cheer during a difficult time.
Your gift was so thoughtful and greatly appreciated. Thank you for being such a wonderful friend and always supporting us.

For Acts of Service

We cannot tell you how much we appreciated the meal you brought over after ____ passed away. It was such a blessing to have delicious food we didn’t have to prepare during such a stressful time.
Thank you so much for taking care of our yard while we were focused on funeral plans and family time. It was such a relief not to worry about the work we would need to catch up on later. We are lucky to have such wonderful neighbors!
Thank you for your help with our kids while we were getting things ready for ____’s funeral and burial. We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends.

Sample Sympathy Thank You Card

In addition to the snippets mentioned above, you may wish to personalize a sympathy card or note even further. Including details about the recipient is always a nice gesture, but not generally necessary, especially if you have a large number of cards to write. Chances are good that you have a few close friends and family members that you’ll want to write longer messages. If you are feeling stumped, use the messages below to get you started. Adding a personal note with a common memory is also a great way to add a personal touch to a sympathy thank you card.

Sample Sympathy Thank You Cards

To Our Dear Friends, The _____ Family:

We are so thankful for all your support and kindness over the years, particularly during the time of _____’s passing. We felt so loved and honored that you took the time to send a sympathy gift and appreciate you thinking of us. We still miss _____ every day, but with friends like you, we know we will be okay.

Hope to see you soon,

The _________s

Thank you so much for the wonderful gift you sent our family. You are the best friends anyone could ask for, and we are so thankful to know you. We appreciate your love and friendship during this difficult time and look forward to making more wonderful memories with you in the future. ______ loved the time when we ____(memory)____.

Much Love to Your Family,

The __________s

Spoonful of Comfort

When your loved ones experience loss in their own lives—or even just to say thanks if they really went the extra mile during your difficult time—be a source of support with a sympathy gift from Spoonful of Comfort today. Choose from gourmet soup gift baskets , and delicious cookies , or choose a package that includes both to send your love and care to them.