Hi, all. Now official -- former lurker. Where I am from, in the cold northwest, people DIE. "Left us" or "Gone" are OK, but can be confusing. "Lost" as in, "I"m sorry you lost your uncle," works. Otherwise, euphemisms aren't generally done around here: a bit too "refeened" to seem quite correct. "Passed" sounds to me like they're playing bridge. I'd put in a smiley, but I don't know how!