Anonymous wrote:Okay, thanks! I'm relieved that they aren't necessarily suicides.

Often times suicides aren't even in the obits.

I've had a couple of elementary school classmates who died between the 5th and 10th reunions for high school. No obituary listed at all for either. The mom of one runs a "in memory of" ad sometimes on his birthday. The other went to a different h.s. and his name is listed in the "In memoriam" page on the website. I assume in both cases it's been suicide. Two other classmates died b/f the 10--one of heart attack (he had a heart condition and was obese); the other of cancer. Another classmate from college died young in a car accident.

There are many ways to die young that aren't genetic or suicide.

I have three friends from high school (mid-30s now) whose families used this in cases of overdose. Makes you appreciate your life.

Sometimes. I know of several "died suddenly" obits

The causes were suicide, overdose, car accident, heart attack, stroke, and unkown cause

A friend from HS recently died from a heroine overdose. His parents put "died suddenly" in his obit.

Anonymous wrote:As others have said, it really could be any number of things... suddenly just mostly means "unexpectedly" in obits.

I've left written, specific instructions (DH and I both have our wills/POAs/etc with a packet of vital info including our final wishes) to include a specific cause of death in my obit. I hate the vagueness in obits!!

The cause of death might not be known when the obit is published, pending autopsy results which can take a long time. Especially if the person is young and dies suddenly.

No. Died suddenly means just that - an unexpected death, usually someone who was or seemed healthy and youngish. No someone who is very old or has been battling some disease for a while.

My BIL died from a brain tumor.

My husband's friend stopped breathing and died in his sleep.

As others have said, it really could be any number of things... suddenly just mostly means "unexpectedly" in obits.

I've left written, specific instructions (DH and I both have our wills/POAs/etc with a packet of vital info including our final wishes) to include a specific cause of death in my obit. I hate the vagueness in obits!!

Okay, thanks! I'm relieved that they aren't necessarily suicides.

My dad died suddenly of a heart attack. He was completely healthy otherwise. It was completely out of the blue and while on vacation.

Not sure this was always the case, but currently families pay to put an obituary in the paper, and write it themselves. It's not so much a case of the newspaper reporting it, if it's an obituary, but what the family chooses to put down.

This at least was the case when my dad died a few years ago, and when my mom died 30 years ago.

It could be that, or heart attack, or car accident, or overdose. Obituaries used to not list a lot of details at all.

I think it sometimes means suicide, but it can mean heart attack, or the person who wrote the obituary was unable to get the cause of death. It might be a drug overdose or some other type of accident. You really don't know until you see the actual death certificate.

I am trying to connect some dots with family illnesses and DNA analysis. Obits have been a great source of information about morbidity. However, three young people have "died suddenly at home" rather than a named illness or accident. There is no one left alive who was old enough to really know the details and you have to wait a century for death certificates beyond immediate family. Someone suggested "died suddenly" might have been used rather than suicide. Do newspapers always report suicides?