Previous owner of iPad died and is therefore unavailable to help unlock, Now what?

Hello,

The iPad is locked with Activation Lock. There is no way around unlocking Activation Lock without inserting the device’s associated Apple ID. Since this is not an option for you then you will need to find the original purchase receipt. You would then need the executor of the deceased's estate to take the device and receipt to an Apple retail location. Apple will then unlock Activation Lock.

Activation Lock

How to request access to a deceased family member's Apple accounts - Apple Support

You will have to get in touch with Apple and ask them that. This forum is not Apple, it is for users like yourself to possibly help in situations that we have knowledge at helping. We do not however, have the ability to tell for sure if Apple is going to be able to help you or not. We can give you some guidance as to what to try, but will not be able to guarantee that what you have will work. The link in the post above should give you some guidance as to what you can do and initially it’s going to be Apple that can give you the final confirmation as to what is going to be allowed or not.