Occasion HandbookFunerals 17 examples

Sympathy Messages for the Loss of a Mother

Short lines for a card to someone whose mum has died. Most people want two sentences that sound like a person, not a paragraph that sounds like a florist.

Short and plain

These are the ones that get used. Nobody has ever been criticised for a card that was too short.

  1. 1 I am so sorry about your mum. Thinking of you.
    Tone PlainLength Very short
  2. 2 Very sorry to hear about your mother. No need to reply.
    Tone PlainLength Very short
  3. 3 Sending you love. I am so sorry.
    Tone WarmLength Very short
  4. 4 I am sorry. I am here whenever you want company or quiet.
    Tone PlainLength Very short
  5. 5 Thinking of you and your family this week.
    Tone PlainLength Very short
  6. 6 There is nothing to say that helps, so I will just say I am sorry and I am nearby.
    Tone WarmLength Short

If you knew her

  1. 7 Your mum fed me every Sunday for two years and never once let me help with the washing up. I am so sorry.
    Tone WarmLength Short
  2. 8 She remembered my birthday for fifteen years after I stopped being your girlfriend. I am so sorry.
    Tone WarmLength Short
  3. 9 I have never met anyone who listened like your mother did. I am sorry she is gone.
    Tone WarmLength Short
  4. 10 Please accept my sympathy on the death of your mother. She was very kind to me.
    Tone FormalLength Short
  5. 11 Your mum had an opinion about everything and was usually right. I loved that about her.
    Tone WarmLength Short

To someone who cared for her

  1. 12 You looked after her for a long time and you did it well. I am sorry.
    Tone WarmLength Short
  2. 13 You gave her years she would not otherwise have had. I hope you can hold on to that.
    Tone PlainLength Short
  3. 14 I know how hard the last stretch was. I am so sorry it ended.
    Tone WarmLength Short

For a group card

  1. 15 So sorry about your mum, Ana. Thinking of you.
    Tone PlainLength Very short
  2. 16 With sympathy from everyone in the team.
    Tone PlainLength Very short
  3. 17 Sorry for your loss. Take your time.
    Tone PlainLength Very short

Questions people actually ask

What is a short sympathy message for the loss of a mother?

"I am so sorry about your mum. Thinking of you." Two sentences is a complete and appropriate card, and it is the one most people actually finish reading.

Should I say "mum" or "mother" in the card?

Use whatever they call her. If you have heard them say "mum" every time, "mother" will read as distant.