LOS ANGELES (AP) — Robert Yancy, the only child of singer Natalie Cole and grandson of crooner Nat King Cole, has died. He was 39. 
 
 Yancy was found dead Monday night at his home in the Sherman Oaks section of Los Angeles after authorities were contacted to make a welfare check. The Los Angeles County coroner's office said Tuesday that his death was reported as due to natural causes but the official cause must await an autopsy. 
 
 Yancy's aunt, Timolin Cole Augustus, told The Associated Press, "It appears to be a sudden heart attack." 
 
 Natalie Cole was 65 when she died Dec. 31, 2015, of pulmonary arterial hypertension, which led to heart failure. 
 
 Yancy, whose father was the first of Cole's three husbands, was a drummer who played in his mother's touring band and performed at her funeral in January 2016. 
 
 "We are just numb," Cole Augustus said. "The only consolation is that he's with the person he loved the most." 
 
 Yancy's father, Marvin, died of a heart attack at age 34 in 1985 when the younger Yancy was 7. 
 
 Cole Augustus said by phone from her Florida home that Yancy was "completely torn apart" upon his mother's death, but had since rebounded and was performing again. 
 
 "He was in a happy place. He was feeling good," she said. "We were looking forward to celebrating his 40th birthday." 
 
 Yancy, who went by Robbie, and his mother shared a strong Baptist faith and were regular churchgoers. 
 
 "What a woman," Yancy told mourners at Cole's funeral. "She taught me how to love. She had my back every time when I needed it. The greatest gift she ever gave me was Jesus. I cannot wait until that day that I see you again." 
 
 At the funeral, one of Cole's sisters read a condolence letter from then-President Barack Obama to Yancy. 
 
 Cole Augustus recalled her nephew as "a man of great strength and faith in God. He had an indomitable spirit. Everybody loved him." 
 
 Born Robert Adam Yancy on Oct. 14, 1977, he never married. He is survived by Cole's twin sisters, Timolin and Casey Cole Hooker, and five cousins. 
 
 Funeral arrangements were pending. Cole Augustus said Yancy would be laid to rest with his mother and grandfather at Forest Lawn in Glendale, California. 
 
 "The dynasty is up in heaven," said Cole Augustus, who along with her sister runs the Nat King Cole Generation Hope organization that works to keep music in schools. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Associated Press Writers Robert Jablon and Andrew Dalton contributed to this report. 

 Natalie Cole's Son Dead at 39 
 
 Natalie Cole's Son Dead at 39 
 
 EXCLUSIVE 
 
 The son of legendary singer Natalie Cole was found dead Monday night, and he was only 39 ... TMZ has learned. 
 
 Robert Yancy's body was found in his San Fernando Valley apartment when a friend who hadn't heard from him in a few days checked up on him. 
 
 Family members tell us ... authorities contacted them at 2:30 AM Tuesday and said Robert died of a heart attack. Law enforcement tells us, pending an autopsy, they have listed it as death from natural causes, but that can change once the autopsy and toxicology tests are completed. 
 
 The family tells us authorities were clear to them, drugs were not involved. As you know, Natalie famously fought drug addiction throughout her adult life until her 2015 death. Her cause of death was congestive heart failure. 
 
 Family members say Robert -- the grandson of Nat King Cole -- had never abused drugs and was "turning his life around." He worked in the music industry. 
 
 Robert's dad died of a heart attack at age 34, so it could be heart disease runs in the family.
– "I cannot wait until that day that I see you again," said Natalie Cole's only child at her funeral fewer than two years ago. The day was not a long time coming: TMZ was the first to report the singer's 39-year-old son, Robert Yancy, was found dead in his San Fernando Valley apartment Monday night in the course of a welfare check; a friend had become concerned after not hearing from Yancy for a few days. The cause of death is currently listed as natural causes, but an autopsy and toxicology tests are pending. TMZ points out a history of heart issues: Cole died from congestive heart failure, and Yancy's own father was killed by a heart attack at age 34. Yancy's aunt, Timolin Cole Augustus, tells the AP, "It appears to be a sudden heart attack." The AP provides some background on Yancy, whose father, Marvin, was the first of three husbands Cole had. The drummer toured as part of his mother's band, and had recently started performing again after mourning her death. He had words of praise for Cole at her funeral: "What a woman. She taught me how to love. She had my back every time when I needed it. The greatest gift she ever gave me was Jesus. I cannot wait until that day that I see you again." Yancy never married, and is survived by Cole's twin sisters, Timolin and Casey Cole Hooker, and five cousins.