Susan Saint James’ Cause of Death Confirmed After ‘Kate & Allie’ Star’s Passing at 80

Susan Saint James‘ cause of death has been confirmed less than two weeks after her passing.

On October 26, the Kate & Allie and McMillan & Wife actress died at 80. A representative told People at the time that she died after a battle with pancreatic cancer. On Thursday, November 5, a death certificate obtained by People confirmed that Saint James died from metastatic pancreatic cancer just months after she was diagnosed.

In a statement, her family detailed Saint James’ resilience following the death of her son, Teddy, 14, in a plane crash.

“Her defining act: weeks after losing her youngest son, Teddy, in the November 28, 2004, plane crash, she delivered his eulogy as a note to each of her other children and her husband, giving them words to heal,” they recalled. “Even in the deepest grief of her life, she put everyone else first. Days after the crash, she sat with Tim Russert to thank the people who had reached out and to tell them the family was okay.”

Saint James is best known for playing Kate McArdle in Kate & Allie opposite Jane Curtin‘s Allie Lowell. The sitcom aired for six seasons from 1984 to 1989. Additionally, Saint James also portrayed Sally McMillan alongside Rock Hudson‘s Stewart McMillan in McMillan & Wife, which ran for six seasons from 1971 to 1977.

“We lost a decent person today. Susan St. James was a decent person who made Kate & Allie a joy,” Curtin said in an October 27 statement to ABC News.

After detailing Saint James’ work in entertainment while raising a family, supporting worthy causes, and losing a child, Curtin concluded, “Susan was my friend and working with her brought such laughter, community and family to the stage at the Ed Sullivan theater. I’ll miss her.”

Saint James is survived by her husband, Dick Ebersol; four children, Charlie, Sunshine Lucas, Harmony Lucas, and Willie Ebersol; and seven grandchildren.