Occasion HandbookFunerals 10 examples

Sympathy Messages for the Loss of a Wife

Lines for a card to a widower. Men are offered fewer chances to talk about it, so a card that names her plainly does more work than usual.

Short and steady

  1. 1 I am so sorry about Elaine. Thinking of you.
    Tone PlainLength Very short
  2. 2 I am sorry. There is nothing else to say and I am not going to try.
    Tone PlainLength Short
  3. 3 Sending you my sympathy. I will check in and you never have to reply.
    Tone WarmLength Short
  4. 4 With deepest sympathy on the death of your wife.
    Tone FormalLength Very short

If you knew her

  1. 5 She was the best cook and the worst driver I have ever known, and she would want both said.
    Tone WarmLength Short
  2. 6 Your wife once talked me out of quitting my job over a cup of tea. I am so sorry.
    Tone WarmLength Short
  3. 7 I am so sorry about Nora. She had a way of making everybody feel expected.
    Tone WarmLength Short

The practical offer

Widowers are frequently left alone with the parts of the house they never ran. Offer the specific gap.

  1. 8 I am going to drop food round on Thursdays for a while. Say nothing and I will take that as a yes.
    Tone WarmLength Short
  2. 9 I can sit with you and go through the paperwork. That is genuinely something I am good at.
    Tone PlainLength Short
  3. 10 Standing invitation to Sunday lunch here, forever, no notice needed.
    Tone WarmLength Short

Questions people actually ask

What do you say to a man who has lost his wife?

The same as anyone else: that you are sorry, one true thing about her, and one specific offer. The only adjustment is to keep making the offer, because widowers are asked less often.