So I think the bigger story here is not that the pilot held the flight (really, it's not all that exceptional for a pilot to hold a flight for a late arriving p

So I think the bigger story here is not that the pilot held the flight (really, it's not all that exceptional for a pilot to hold a flight for a late arriving passenger), but that Southwest is sophisticated enough to relay "hey, this dude's grandson was just murdered" to the pilots and flight crew. It's also worth stating that even though other pilots on other airlines would have done the same thing, good for that particular pilot for doing it on that particular day.