I'm very sorry to hear about this loss.
A few years ago, a faculty member in my department in grad school committed suicide. He was a world-class astrophysicist, probably within a hair's breadth of a Nobel prize, had an exciting lab, was loved by his students and respected by essentially everyone. It was a shock, as it almost always is. In his case, he was a driven, dedicated person, who had demonstrated clearly that he could accomplish just about anything he set his mind to. Tragically, for some reason that I'll never know, he set his mind to destroying himself.
Although I was tempted, especially when I saw his teenaged sons at the memorial service, to brand him a coward and a fool and leave it at that, it's just not that simple. All the other evidence disagreed: this man was no coward, and he was no fool.
No, suicide is something that is very difficult to understand. It doesn't make
sense, at least not in a culture where an individual's life is as prized as it is in ours.
I've faced depression, and although I have never had any serious suicidal thoughts or urges, I can sympathize with those who do. Certainly I have found myself stressed beyond belief, in a hole where some humiliating, unbearable failure with dreadful consequences looms inescapable. Then, after I survive somehow and look back, I realize how skewed my perspective was. For some reason, trapped in the moment, obvious and perfectly achievable solutions were not considered. Those humiliating, dreadful consequences were usually gross exaggerations. Most of the crushing stress was created entirely within the confines of my own skull.
So I can at least begin to understand how someone could find themselves believing that there's no other way out.
Anyway, there are many other things I could add here, but I think I've said enough. Just to close, I agree. Suicide is a cowardly act, and a thoughtless, selfish act. There is no question of that. But the bravest, most loving, caring, selfless people sometimes commit cowardly, thoughtless, selfish acts. It hurts to lose someone you love, to see the pain that their senseless death inflicts on those who love them, and hurt and anger and confusion are among the few sensible reactions to that pain. But all of us would be judged poorly in our lowest, worst moment.
Sorry for the horrendously insensitive thread hijack, but what would be the community's thoughts if a child molester killed themself before taking part in an act of molestation? Or if Adam Lanza killed himself before doing what he did? How many suicides actually prevent harm to others?
Again, sorry for being morbid, but this is a serious question I've always thought about.
I think this question would be best served by starting a separate thread. It does not seem appropriate to me to discuss it in this one.
(edit: though it seems others disagreed... still, it seems like a somewhat separate discussion, and out of place to me.)