jwfacts: " That may be a message some want to portray in order to keep the peace,"
To be honest, "keeping the peace" is the main reason I will attend for my mid-80s JW parents. They've already lost my gay older brother. I don't want to add to their pain at this stage of their life. For me it's a pretty small price to pay.
Beyond that though, even if my parents got hit by a bus tomorrow, I'd still attend for the purpose of having access to other extended JW family. There is one family in particular that my wife and I have pretty high hopes for. If they thought we were completely inactive and even refuse to attend the Memorial, I think our access to them would be curtailed. I played double-agent elder for about 3 years getting my immediate family out. I can keep up a tiny facade for the forseeable future in the hopes of reaching them.
om