Doris Day felt "embarrassed to talk about herself"

Speaking to PEOPLE, he said: "She lived by her most famous song, 'Que Sera, Sera.' That was her belief. Whatever will be, will be, and there is a purpose for everything that happens and you need to get on with her life.

"She always looked forward and looked for the good in whatever happened.

"She still gets so much mail and it's reinforced from fans. Often they tell her how one of her movies uplifted them at a time when things were difficult. It brought her great joy to know her songs or films helped people in her lives. That was the important thing to her. She was embarrassed to talk about herself or to receive accolades because she loved working. She did it because she loved it and she had a God-given talent. And she said, 'God gave me a voice and all I did was use it.' "

The 'Calamity Jane' star contracted pneumonia shortly after her 97th birthday party in April and went down hill quickly before passing away early this morning.

Bob explained: "She was fine at her birthday party. For her birthday event, she was in good spirits. She developed a cough and it turned into bronchitis and she was briefly hospitalised. When she came home, she began to decline and was given hospice care. [When she died] there were some very close friends and loved ones who were with her. She was surrounded by a few loved ones."