I just found out an acquaintance of mine died a couple of weeks ago.

( I'd like to find out what happened. I've tried googling and looking in the Seattle Times obituaries with no results found. Is there a way that I can learn how someone passed away if I know their name and the date it occurred?
Re: NBR Where can I find out how someone passed away?
You could try the calling the King County Medical Examiner if you wanted, or I had luck wtih googling King County Deaths. The Seattle PI updates their register daily, so if you searched the above with the name it should work. That'll get you names and dates whether or not an obit was written. [assuming it happened in KC..]
Sorry for your loss.
you can order a death certificate. That would say the cause of death I believe.