Sympathy card etiquette?

[DolphinChicaDDD]

I recently read an article by Katie Couric where she talks about reading all the sympathy letters she was sent 10 years ago when her husband died. Since she and her late husband are/were public figures she received many she didn't read at the time, or couldn't because of the grief. She stated reading them now, the ones she cherished the most and will be sharing with her daughters are the ones which told a story about her husband and the sender's friendship (we were friends in college and I remember this one time...blah blah blah) While not necessarily appropriate for a card coming from a chapter, perhaps that would be something you could write if you knew the family/him very well. I've decided thats what I'm going to do in the future. Send the sympathy and write a favorite memory I shared with the deceased.