Everett's obesity, frequent chain-smoking and alcohol drinking almost certainly contributed to his sudden death, although he seemed healthy at the time. A committed atheist, he had asked that his remains be disposed with the trash after his death. His wife kept his ashes in an urn for a few years, before complying with his wishes. About Hugh's death his son, Mark Oliver Everett, later said:
I think about how angry I was that my dad didn't take better care of himself. How he never went to a doctor, let himself become grossly overweight, smoked three packs a day, drank like a fish and never exercised. But then I think about how his colleague mentioned that, days before dying, my dad had said he lived a good life and that he was satisfied. I realize that there is a certain value in my father's way of life.
He ate, smoked and drank as he pleased, and one day he just suddenly and quickly died. Given some of the other choices I'd witnessed, it turns out that enjoying yourself and then dying quickly is not such a hard way to go.