Each experience of grief is unique
We may be tempted to place these losses in a continuum, showing the relative degree of loss compared to each other. To do so, though, would be misleading. I could create a ranking of severity for myself, but not you or others.
                               
Grief reveals a profound experience of loss that is unique for each of us. “I know how you feel” always sounds hollow to a person in grief. No one really knows the pain that radiates from the heart down to the soul. Every loss is special to those who mourn.

A teen may feel horrible after her boyfriend breaks up with her. A woman may find her life shattered when her loving husband of 50 years dies. It is not our job to stand in judgment of the merits of both forms of grief. What matters is that each suffers in her own way. Both deserve our comfort.