touchy addressing question

annie912

First some quick background - my oldest brother died unexpectedly in December 2010. He was 40 years old and had a wife and two daughters. Since then, his wife keeps in touch with my family, but it's obviously not the same. The best way I can describe it is "distant". 

On the save the date and invitation that I will be sending to my sister in law and nieces, do I address it:

Jane Doe, Suzy Doe and Lucy Doe

or

The Doe Family

I'm concerned about the "Doe Family" because part of the family is now gone. Not that they aren't still a family, but I guess I don't want to word it in a way that makes my sister in law feel worse. I'm probably over thinking this, but it's been a rough year recovering from his passing, and I would imagine that whatever I feel, it's got to be worse for her. 

I'm not crazy about listing them each individually since our last name is actually quite a bit longer than "Doe" (10 letters). Would using all of their first names and just one last name look weird - 

"Jane, Suzy and Lucy Doe" look weird? 

Thanks.

aleighk1

On my invites (and I'm not sure how formal you're going) I did

Mrs. Jane Doe

Suzy and Lucy

Avion22

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_invites-paper_touchy-addressing-question?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:cd062f89-8272-496a-b0ab-225e1f87acecDiscussion:bc8d241a-5d80-4c2b-82cb-cafc73604835Post:78eb3acf-9ef4-4e6b-ad17-290334268195">Re: touchy addressing question</a>:
[QUOTE]On my invites (and I'm not sure how formal you're going) I did Mrs. Jane Doe Suzy and Lucy
Posted by aleighk1[/QUOTE]

<div>This is what I did too.</div><div>
</div><div>FWIW, I'm also a widdow (no kids though), and I don't think I would have been offended by "The Doe Family" as they are still a family.  Seeing his name in it's entirety would be weird though (example:  Mrs. John Doe)....and would probably have made me cry.  Everyone is different though.   </div><div>
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Kristin789

I can't believe I'm suggesting this, since I'm known to be an etiquette freak, but...

The mail gets delivered just fine if you make sure that the street address is perfect.  So don't use any last names, and don't use any titles.  Do this:

Jane, Suzy, Lucy
4444 Elm Street
Toledo, OH  43444