Dr. Jack Kevorkian, the Michigan pathologist dubbed "Dr. Death" for his role in assisting the suicides of more than 100 terminally ill people, died early Friday, his lawyer said.
Kevorkian, 83, died at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Mich., where he had been hospitalized subce last month with pneumonia and kidney problems.
The lawyer, Mayer Morganroth, said it appears Kevorkian suffered a pulmonary thrombosis when a blood clot from his leg broke free and lodged in his heart, according to the Detroit Free Press.
"It was peaceful. He didn't feel a thing," Morganroth told the newspaper. According to the Associated Press, he said nurses played classical music by Kevorkian's favorite composal, Johann Sebastian Bach, before he died.
Morganroth says Kevorkian was conscious Thursday night and the two spoke about leaving the hospital and getting ready for rehabilitation.
Morganroth told the Free Press that the hospital staff, doctors and nurses said Kevorkian's passing was "a tremendous loss and I agree with them. He did so much."
Richard Sheinwald / AP File Dr. Jack Kevorkian poses with his "suicide machine" in Michigan, Feb. 6, 1991.
No plans for memorial
Morganroth told the paper that he doubts anyone will assume Kevorkian's role in assisted suicide: "Who else would take those kind of risks?"
