The cause of death for Jennifer Grey’s mom, Jo Wilder, has been revealed.
A County of Los Angeles department of public health death certificate obtained exclusively by Us Weekly on Tuesday, July 14, shared that Wilder died of lung cancer. No other contributing factors were listed.
Wilder was cremated on Friday, July 10, and scattered at sea, according to the certificate.
She died in a nursing home called The Pinnacles at Burton in Los Angeles. The funeral establishment that handled her burial was Lifesource.
“A timeless, earth-connected option, where the body is gently laid to rest without embalming, returning naturally to the earth,” the Lifesource website reads. “Natural burial, or green burial, is the way of returning people back to nature, as done before the rise of embalming and modern Western funeral practices. Green burial returns to the basics while honoring nature. A biodegradable casket or shroud made from natural materials like woven grasses, muslin, or untreated wood allows the body to fully return to nature.”
Grey shared on Wednesday, July 8, that Wilder died on July 4 “by her own choosing, on her own terms, exactly as she lived,” one week after receiving a lung cancer diagnosis. Wilder was 94. (She shared kids Jennifer and James Katz with ex-husband Joel Grey.)
“A week earlier, she learned she had lung cancer. True to who she was, she chose grace over fear, understanding that leaving this world with dignity is an honor, not a tragedy,” Jennifer wrote via Instagram at the time. “She was gorgeous and talented — a promising young actress on the New York stage in her youth. She used to say she never fully answered that calling; she became a mother instead. If she’d chosen ambition over my brother and me, we never would have had the mother we had. Her passion found other outlets: she was a lifelong activist, fiercely attuned to right and wrong. And for years, many people discovered her extraordinary eye through Wilder Place, her store on Melrose.”
She concluded, “She was brave and deep. I love you, Mom. Thank you for showing me how to do it all, even this, with grace.”
Wilder, who was a singer and actress, was best known for her role as Polly in The Threepenny Opera national tour in 1960. Wilder also held stage roles in Peter Pan and Gypsy.
Several stars paid condolences to Wilder in the comments section, including Jennifer’s ex-husband, Clark Gregg, who replied with three red heart emojis. (Jennifer and Gregg were married for 19 years before finalizing their divorce in 2021. The exes share daughter Stella, 24.)
