I remember I had a childhood best friend and one day, as a child, I dialed up his grandma’s phone number because we were young and did not yet have phones. It said the phone number was no longer in service. Someone told me this means that the owner of the number has died. Is that likely??
In this scenario and considering old people are at a higher statistical risk of passing away: it is possible. However, the same message will play if you end your subscription because you moved to a different place and couldn’t transfer the number to your new place. Disused phone numbers don’t get redistributed right away, the phone companies use their own system of how long it has to remain fallow.