How Should We Honor Jayne Peters?

Yesterday, I mentioned how tragedy was an overworked word: LeBron James no, Pat Tillman yes. Today we have a real tragedy. Evidently, Jayne Peters, the mayor of Coppell, killed her daughter and then turned the gun on herself. Speculation has led to the motive being despair over her husband's death from cancer two years ago and ensuing financial difficulties. Some are outraged that the city flag has been lowered to half-staff. Others are equally incensed that the memorial service held today was a joint one. "How could you honor someone who murdered their daughter?", they ask in self-righteous indignation.
How should we honor her indeed?
Apparently, this was a human being who was suffering. Suffering so greatly that the only way out was suicide. She was trapped. It has been reported that twice within the last year the bank almost foreclosed on her house. Could she have sold it? I don't know, she may have been underwater on the mortgage. Perhaps she was trying to maintain appearances. She didn't want anyone to know of the difficulty she was in. It is possible that she believed such a revelation would be politically harmful. She would not be the first person who was guilty of 'keeping up appearances.' It is more pervasive than we like to think. "Never let them see you sweat", and "Keep a stiff upper lip," are just two cliches that come to mind. Often we believe that friends and family don't want to know of our problems. They have enough of their own. Yet sharing difficulties can be therapeutic. Doesn't the definition of friend include the concept of one whi is with you through good times and bad? It is my belief that those who are so quick to condemn Jayne Peters either have never been in her shoes or are in denial that they have been there. Depression is easy to condemn, it is difficult to treat because the cure is love, which means giving of one's self.
So, how should we honor Jayne Peters appropriately?
By listening to those we love.