Died/passed… any preference?

I notice more and more in U.K. that it is common to say that someone has passed. I prefer to say that someone has died but I would not seek to comment on the language of death. Just an observation! I think it crept in from US but could also be a sign of the times and perhaps people are increasingly uncomfortable with the notion of death? I hope it doesn’t happen anytime soon but I will die, not pass.