Some thoughts

I lost my brother to suicide 15 years ago. Two thoughts:

- In the days immediately after his death, my mother felt intense pain that she didn't get closure with him, never got to hear from him about what he was going through, never got to say goodbye. She was constantly waiting for a message to come from him to help her understand and get a final moment of connection.

My wife's grandfather, who is a priest in the Greek Orthodox church, sent my mother a letter "from" him - she received it roughly a week after his death. I don't think the letter was unique to my brother - unfortunately, I believe my grandfather had sent these letters to other families as well. The letter was a message of love and forgiveness, emphasizing that he was now at rest, and it honestly gave my mother a tremendous amount of peace and a semblance of closure. I bring up my grandfather's vocation, as I think it matters who a message like this comes from, but I just relay that in my situation it was powerful and did a lot of good.

- Similar to suggestions below, love the family, because I imagine they are feeling not just sadness, but also immense guilt. I know I was, for a long time. Losing someone is always difficult, but incorrect or not, all of close to him felt guilty for not having done more to "save" him. I echo the advice below about doing your best to alleviate that guilt (and their concerns about what has happened to the person post-suicide). I don't imagine they'll agree right away, but hearing it will be helpful nonetheless.

I hope these thoughts help.