Do cedar tops last as long as spruce?

I wonder because my old Epiphone Texan (1964 vintage), lovely guitar thoug it was, had a cedar top which "died", i.e. lost a lot of its resonance and clarity after I'd had it for 40 years. Coincidentally, my luthier buddy Ian had a J45 of similar age - sister guitar, almost to the Texan - and that top died in a similar way.

Having said that, Wizz Jones still play a Texan of a similar age, and it sounds OK. And my 22-year old Lowden - mahogany back & sides - has a Western Red Cedar face and sounds excellent. Many luthiers I've talked to search out face woods from particular years, when the weather patterns produced well-grained and resonant woods. Perhaps my Texan and Ian's J45 - both made in Kalamazoo at the Gibson factory around the same time - used wood from indifferent years...