Yes, I would be curious too why a 61 year old might have that as a listed cause of death. But someone suggested gas. That would be my thought too. Unless the person was totally out of it they could also suffocate by drowning in bathtub of water. Remember, just two inches of water could cause a person to drown by suffocation, though I suspect the ruling would be drowning rather than asphyxiation. Another idea - having something get stuck in the windpipe could also cause you to stop breathing -- back then a lot of people probably died from choaking on food because no one knew that a squeeze on the ribcage from behind could dislodge the food. But even if they knew, if she was alone when it happened, then death resulted. The coroner's report might reveal the truth behind the death and those records are public records. Just send a letter giving the person's name and date of death to see what they send you. I wouldn't go into a lot of detail in the letter about the facts you know, they probably won't help. Just make sure you give the facts: Name, date of death and place of death that should be sufficient to get you a copy of the report. Not all deaths actually have an autopsy, but there might be a hearing so you might ask if there was an inquest and if so you would like to have a copy of that finding as well. Christie Trapp