[ChildOfThe60s]

I believe it’s because they usually say the cause of death is something like pneumonia, respiratory disease, heart failure, etc.

Exactly. I know personally of several instances. Besides the PC aspects of it, it allows denial by surviving family members. Particularly in a case where the man had 5 kids and left his wife for another man, later dying of AIDS. But some of the kids still insist it was complications of pneumonia.

[boycott]

Here is a perfect example:

http://www.al.com/news/huntsville/index.ssf/2015/07/joe_parker_life_story.html

I know it can happen but not many 47 year olds are dying of pneumonia these days.