Former President George H.W. Bush at the Cooperstown Baseball Hall of Fame in July 2003.

Frank Speziale photo

WASHINGTON (AP) — George H.W. Bush didn't lose his sense of humor even as he was letting go of life.

Surrounded by loved ones Friday night as he lay in bed at home in Houston, he was approached by the wife of his longtime friend, James A. Baker III, who was in the room with her husband. She raised a hand and placed it on the former president's forehead before telling him, "We love you very much, Jefe," using the Spanish word for "chief" that her husband says he used to address Bush.

"And he cocked one eye open and quipped, 'Well, you better hurry," James Baker recalled Sunday as he described the 41st president's final hours of life. "His sense of humor was intact right up till the very end. His passing was really very peaceful. No struggling, no pain at all."

Bush, who was president from 1989 to 1993, died late Friday at age 94.