Plinius strikes back

[elduce]

I translated C. Plinius Nepoti Suo S., No.39, almost entirely, but one sentence I could not understand so I skipped it:

Filius discessit eximia pulchritudine, pari verecundia, et parentibus non minus ob alia carus quam quod filius erat.

1. What is minus referring to? I can't find anything connected.
2. What is ob alia? The book says ob=toward but this is confusing.
3. Is parentibus part of a comparison with minus?
4. Is quod 'because' or relative pronoun? I think 'because.'

Perhaps give me a hint without revealing the whole thing.

I was confused by the part where Arria (I assume it's her, or is it her husband?) after her son's death goes to his bedroom and pretends he is still alive, and oddly, the boy answers her back in third person. Also this sentence: Huic illa ita funus paravit...ut ignoraret maritus.
Does this mean the husband was unaware the boy died?

Plurimas Gratias Semper

[Deses]

Wouldn't "ob alia" mean "on the account of other things"? Then the rest is easy.