Capot,
These days I run a modestly sized resort where one frequent question I am asked by guests is if they can use the kitchen. After many an earlier problem the answer is, since, always "NO", they come up with all sorts of pleads and in the end one needs to switch off listening, as if to say "What part of NO do you not understand?" and I often use an excuse that it would present a security risk which would have the police close me down.
Similarly, in a world that has become addicted to mobile phones Cabin Crew must hear all the time excuses why passengers need to continue using mobile phones and, like me, I'm sure to a degree they just switch off listening to all the excuses, the answer in "NO", end of, and I don't blame them for blaming it on the FAA as I blame my excuse on the police.
So the flight attendant in this situation has my every support, he/she has heard similar a thousand times before and he/she gave the answer "NO". You suggest the aircraft should have returned to stand, if one wants aircraft returning to stand then one should pay to fly with a legacy carrier.
One day I was travelling on business BHX/CDG and due to a train cancellation I arrived at the AF desk a couple of minutes after it had closed, I gave them a sound explanation of the train, that I am aviation staff, I'll "leg it" to the gate etc. and, bless them, they checked me in ... Want full service then pay for it!
Could the widow's phone call have prevented him from topping himself, if he hadn't done it that day then he is likely to have done it another day, hundreds of passengers disrupted for one person that wants to end his life, it can be a cruel world but SWA's priority is to shifting passengers from A to B and maintaining their schedules as best they can.