Favre's dad died while he was playing as well.
True, but the two deaths were very different circumstances. And while it's never easy to lose your father, I think having him shot and dumped in a creek and not found for 2 weeks would be a little more traumatic. At that time, when Jordan retired, he was still in the prime of his career. I think most people understood that his initial retirement was based more on emotion than anything else.