I hope you never have a loved one who is suffering from depression severe enough to want to take his or her own life. The job loss was almost certainly just a trigger event for this poor man. Severe depression is not the same as cowardice, and I hope you and Lurker never have the misfortune of learning that the hard way.
Perhaps you have to have dealt with a loved one who suffers from acute bouts of depression to fully appreciate what it can do to a person.