It makes it tougher when you let your emotions get tied in here (in this case your sympathy towards the ill father and the true desire to help someone), but if you can't help you can't help.

Hi Dennis.You have my serious sympathies. 

CA and Riverside law very favorable to landlords, but the fact that he has been in house for so long will mean he will have sympathy of any fact finder.  

No sympathy wanted. 

or should I use a letter and communicate sympathy?

Second : by kindness and sympathy ( I know this one is very very, VERY hard , but either way you are screw ( sorry ) but Kindness will go long way, and even though if you didn't get the results, at least you will feel you did everything you could. 

From the article, it seems like she was very unstable and since she opened fire on the police, who were legally evicting her, I hope there will not be much sympathy for this behavior.

I'd wish her a speedy recovery and show some sympathy.

I came back feeling almost no sympathy for the people that chose to complain and say that they had been dealt a bad hand and that things were not actually their fault and that there was nothing they could do.

I love everyone as investor colleagues (and I almost always agree with @Dan Heuschele), but I have zero sympathy for those relying on full time STR as a business model.