after suffering several heart attacks, he died in santa clara county on june 2, 1934, aged 64, three years into his term. rolph was the second governor to die in office, the first being washington bartlett in 1887, who, like rolph, had also been elected while mayor of san francisco but died during his only gubernatorial term. he is buried at greenlawn memorial park in colma, california. he was succeeded by lieutenant governor frank merriam in the governor's office.