Sample Letter Request
for Collecting Stories from Others

Hello everyone,

Thank you for your thoughts and good wishes on my sister's passing. As you know, we were close, and we miss her. Our memories of her have helped us during this time, and so, we would like to ask for a favor from you. As you know, she has young children who will not have the opportunity to get to know her as they grow up; who she was, the kinds of things she loved to do, etc. We are putting together a remembrance album for her kids and her husband, and would like to ask you to contribute. If you are able, we would love and appreciate it if each of you could write a letter to the family telling some things that you remember about her. It would also be great if you could include a favorite picture, if you have one (a color copy would work just as well). We will put these together and make enough copies so that each of the children can have one. This is a surprise for the family, so please don’t mention it to any of them!

You can write about anything you feel impressed to write about; here are a few ideas that might help get you started:

• When and how did you first meet her?
• What memories of her do you have that make you laugh?
• As you know, she loved to cook. What was a favorite recipe of yours that she made? Why? When would she make it for you?
• If you could only tell her children one thing about her , what would it be?

If you are having a hard time coming up with what to say, give me a call and I can discuss this with you, to help you find things to talk about.

There are a couple little technical things I'd like to ask. If you could write this letter by hand, that would be great – it would make it more personal for the family. If you aren’t comfortable with a handwritten letter, that’s ok, typewritten is fine. If possible, write your letter on an 8.5” x 11” sheet of paper, and make room for the picture on the page with the text. That's the size album we are using. If you don’t have a picture to include with your letter, that’s ok too – you can leave a blank space (4”x6”) to put a picture and we will try to find one to go with your letter. If you are able to send me a photo, be sure it's one I can keep – you can get a copy of yours made at just about any photo-developing place.

For any questions, feel free to contact me at (123) 456-7890 or ab@abc.com.

Thank you so much for being a part of this. Her family will appreciate this more than you can know.

To copy the above letter, select the entire text with your mouse, then right click and select "Copy" (or press Ctrl+C). Go into your word processing program (i.e. Word or WordPerfect), right click and go down to "Paste" (or press Ctrl+V).

back to the Written Reminiscence page

If you have any questions or concerns, or are even just looking for a little guidance or help in what to do, please e-mail me.

Remembering a Loved One

Collecting Stories from Others

Preserving Your Own Memories

Gathering Memorabilia and Treasures

Creating an Online Memorial

Paying Tribute during Special Occasions

Books about Remembering

Preservation/Care

Things to Keep in Mind

 
record the memories of a
male friend or relative
 

 
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