It is still within the correct standards of grammar to use the word passed.
He had been too busy with work and school in his adult life to visit home often. Eventually, he drifted apart from his family; he began to lament that he had not spent more time with his parents before he passed. It was a shame he was an only child and had perished in Afghanistan; his parents were sure to regret that he had never produced grandchildren for them.
"Then am I not a noble lady?" Nela's smirk had turned into one of her sickeningly sweet smiles. 'Shit!' Braydon knew that there was no right answer to this question. The worst part was that he had basically asked for her to say that.