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Is former Vice President Richard B. Cheney alive or deceased as of 2025?
Executive summary
Multiple major news organizations and reference works report that former Vice President Richard B. "Dick" Cheney died on November 3, 2025, at age 84; family statements and outlets cite complications of pneumonia and cardiac/vascular disease as the cause [1] [2] [3]. Long-form obituaries from The New York Times, CNN, AP, Britannica and others provide consistent dates, causes, and funeral plans [1] [4] [3] [2].
1. Reported fact: multiple outlets confirm Cheney’s death on Nov. 3, 2025
News organizations including The New York Times, CNN, AP, NPR and Axios published obituaries saying Richard B. Cheney died on November 3, 2025, and described family statements announcing his passing; these reports present a consistent date and age of 84 [1] [4] [3] [5] [6].
2. Cause of death as reported by family and press: complications of pneumonia plus cardiac/vascular disease
Family statements quoted in The New York Times and Britannica say the immediate causes were complications of pneumonia together with cardiac and vascular disease; press coverage notes Cheney’s long history of coronary problems, including prior heart attacks and a 2012 heart transplant [1] [2].
3. Institutional and ceremonial follow-up: flags, funeral plans, and official tributes
Major outlets reported the nation responded with official and ceremonial markers: the American flag was seen at half-staff at the White House, and the Washington National Cathedral announced it would host a funeral service on November 20, 2025 — details repeated in press releases and cathedral notices [3] [7].
4. How newsrooms framed Cheney’s public legacy
Obituaries characterize Cheney as one of the most powerful and polarizing vice presidents in modern U.S. history, noting his central role shaping post‑9/11 national-security policy and the 2003 Iraq War; opinion pieces and some outlets emphasize controversies — torture, surveillance expansions, and the lasting policy debates he influenced [4] [8] [9].
5. Consensus across sources — and what that means for verification
There is broad agreement among the cited outlets (The New York Times, CNN, AP, Britannica, NPR, Axios, Time, Washington Post, Newsweek, Biography) on the core facts: date of death, age, cause as described by family, and the contours of his career; that convergence strengthens the finding within the provided reporting [1] [4] [3] [2] [5] [6] [10] [8] [11] [12].
6. Areas where available sources do not provide detail
Available sources do not mention detailed medical records, the precise medical timeline leading to death, or any independent medical examiner’s report beyond the family’s statement and press reporting; they also do not include, in the materials provided here, transcripts of the family statement in full beyond summarized cause and location [1] [2] [6].
7. Alternative viewpoints and partisan reactions reported
While factual reporting of Cheney’s death is uniform, coverage includes divergent assessments of his legacy: some tributes stress patriotism and service (quoting former President George W. Bush and family statements), while critical commentary highlights his role in controversial policies and the expansion of executive power; both supportive and critical perspectives are present across outlets [1] [6] [9] [13].
8. Immediate practical answer to the original query
As of the reporting in these sources, former Vice President Richard B. Cheney is deceased; he died on November 3, 2025, at age 84, according to family statements and multiple major news outlets [1] [4] [2].
9. Why cross‑checking matters going forward
Obituaries and death notices are often updated with new details (service arrangements, written statements, or official proclamations). Readers seeking primary documents (the family statement, funeral program, or government notices) should consult the cited organizations’ original articles and the Washington National Cathedral release for direct texts and later corrections [7] [3] [1].
If you want, I can pull quoted excerpts from any single obituary above (for example, CNN, NYT, AP or Britannica) or list the headlines and links of each source cited here so you can review the original reporting.