[header] How to sign a sympathy card [title] Start with an appropriate salutation. [step] The most common way to begin a sympathy card note is to start with the word " dear. " you could also write " dearest, " or simply start with the person's name. 
Avoid starting with " hi " or another casual salutation-err on the side of being a little formal. [substeps] Address the person to whom you're writing as you'd normally address that person.