While I’m still waiting to hear back from the Groundskeeper at the cemetery my Grandpa is buried at, I received follow up documentation the other day from the New York City Health Dept. in the form of his final medical report. It turns out our family story was correct, his immediate cause of death was carcinoma of the right lung. The secondary cause was pneumonia.

As I mentioned in this post, Phil’s Death Certificate simply stated he died of Natural Causes, which I’ve learned is the catch all term for basically anything that’s not homicide, suicide, or accidental.

One more piece of the puzzle has been snapped into place.

I’m glad to know that our family oral history matches the official documentation of Phil’s cause of death. It’s a small detail, and one that matters to me.

Fingers crossed the Groundskeeper can locate his final resting place and I can settle the final, official, details of my Grandfather’s passing within our family’s records.

Onward,

Melis