The loss of a mother is an undeniably heartbreaking event. If you have a coworker who just lost her mother, you may be unsure as to how to properly and sincerely express your condolences. However, a thoughtful gift and a kind, gentle word of sympathy are all that is needed to show how much you care.

Put together a care package for your coworker to help with the immediate pain of her loss. Include a sympathetic card, restaurant gift cards (so that she needn't cook), tissues, over-the-counter pain medication and a book that you think she'd enjoy. Alternatively, create a relaxation gift basket for her to use when she wants to be alone. Include bath salts, candles, a CD of soothing music and some soft new slippers or a robe.

The pain and stress of a family member's death necessitates myriad actions that no grieving daughter feels up to. Relieve her burden by taking care of whatever you can. Organize other coworkers into a lunch rotation. Volunteer to take over some of her duties at work until she is able to cope. Keep her work space clean and organized. Take messages for her and arrange a carpool for her, if necessary.

Colorful, pretty gifts may help cheer your bereaved coworker. Find out what her or her mother's favorite flowers are and keep her home filled with fresh flowers. Send a floral arrangement to the funeral or memorial service or ask the rest of your coworkers to contribute to a large bouquet of flowers for her work space. You could also buy her a commemorative bracelet; even a simple gold chain can help remind her of your sympathy. For a particularly thoughtful gift, give her a pair of earrings with her mother's birthstone or a locket into which she can put a picture of her mother.

Learn the name of your coworker's mother's favorite charity and make a donation in her memory, or make a contribution to a charity that supports research on the disease or occurrence that took her life. Alternatively, buy a memorial plaque on a local park bench or an engraved brick in a city garden in her name. You could also establish an internship in your office in honor of your coworker's mother or donate one weekend per month to raising money for awareness of her debilitation.