amused
I'm amazed how some of the Presidents have the presence of mind, on their death beds, to utter as their final words on this planet something that is eloquent, pithy and substantial. Not all of them have been so composed (before they decomposed) but many of them have left a lasting legacy with their final utterances.
Following are a sampling of some of the most memorable, which I've categorized:
The Sweet
James Polk: I love you, Sarah. For all eternity, I love you. (Spoken to his wife, the former Sarah Childress, the love of his life).
Dwight Eisenhower: I've always loved my wife, my children, and my grandchildren, and I've always loved my country. I want to go. I'm ready to go. God, take me.
Rutherford Hayes: I know that I am going where Lucy is. [Lucy was his beloved wife.]
The Bromantic
James Monroe: I regret that I should leave this world without again beholding him. [referring to James Madison]
John Adams: [Asked by Mrs. Clark if he knew what day it was.] Oh, yes; it is the glorious Fourth of July. It is a great day. It is a good day. God bless it. God bless you all. [He then lapsed into unconsciousness. He awakened later, and mumbled] Thomas Jefferson still lives. [Actually Jefferson had died earlier that same day.]
The Unselfish
John Quincy Adams: This is the last of Earth. I am content.
Ulysses S. Grant: I hope that nobody will be distressed on my account.
Zachary Taylor: I am about to die. I expect the summons very soon. I have tried to discharge all my duties faithfully. I regret nothing, but I am sorry that I am about to leave my friends.
William Henry Harrison: Sir, I wish you to understand the true principles of government. I wish them carried out. I ask nothing more. [Spoken to Vice President John Tyler, who was not in the room]
James Madison: Nothing more than a change of mind, my dear. I always talk better lying down. [In response to a niece, who asked, "What is the matter, Uncle James?"]
Andrew Jackson: I hope to meet you all in Heaven. Be good children, all of you, and strive to be ready when the change comes.
Thomas Jefferson: Is it the Fourth? [Asked of his doctor, Robley Dunglison, who replied, "It soon will be."] I resign my spirit to God, my daughter to my country.
Grover Cleveland: I have tried so hard to do right.
The "I Never Saw It Coming"
John Kennedy: That's very obvious. [Spoken in response to Mrs. Nelly Connolly's comment, "Mr. President, you can't say that Dallas doesn't love you."]
The Obvious
Richard Nixon: Help! [Called out to his housekeeper. A stroke then left him mute and partially paralyzed and he died the next day.]
Franklin Delano Roosevelt: I have a terrific headache. (FDR died of a massive cerebral hemorrhage.)
Calvin Coolidge: Good morning, Robert. [To a carpenter working on his home.]
Warren Harding: That's good. Go on. Read some more. [To his wife, who was reading him flattering newspaper accounts.]
The Practical
Theodore Roosevelt: Please put out the light.
Benjamin Harrison: Are the doctors here? Doctor...my lungs.
George Washington: I am just going. Have me decently buried and do not let my body be put into the vault in less than three days after I am dead. [His secretary, Tobias Lear, to whom these words were addressed, was so affected that he could not speak a reply, but nodded his assent.] Do you understand? ["Yes," replied Lear.] 'Tis well.
The Self-Deprecating
John Tyler: Doctor, I am going. ["I hope not, sir," said the doctor.] Perhaps it is best.
The Mundane
Millard Fillmore: [Accepting a spoonful of soup from his doctor.] The nourishment is palatable.
The authenticity of some of these is questioned by some historians. Some may be embellished, some may be apocryphal, but all make for an interesting impression.