Rue McClanahan taken off of life support by son Mark Bish, says husband Morrow Wilson

On June 3, Rue McClanahan died after Mark Bish, her son from her first marriage, decided to take her off life support. Morrow Wilson, who McClanahan separated from in 2009 after 12 years of marriage, tells Life & Style "In truth, there really was no choice."

Morrow says that McClanahan's health woes began in November after a precautionary stress test revealed she would need bypass surgery. McClanahan was supposed to be presented with a lifetime achievement award at the "Golden: A Gala Tribute to Rue McClanahan" event in November, but her appearance was postponed for her surgery.

While recovering, she suffered a stroke. "The people in her life now say it was minor, but that stroke was massive," Morrow says. "But she got out of the hospital and went home. She was having around-the-clock nursing care, with speech therapy and occupational therapy. We all thought she was on the road to a full recovery."

On Monday June 2, McClanahan suffered a massive brain aneurysm in her New York apartment and was rushed to New York Presbyterian.

"She had a living will saying if she were brain dead, they should pull the plug, but the hospital waited for her son Mark to fly in and make the final decision," Morrow says. He also notes that Rue did not want a funeral service.

McClanahan's longtime friend, Betty White, is enjoying a career resurgence thanks to Facebook and a Snickers ad campaign, but she still made time to keep up with Rue. Morrow says Betty spoke to Rue "every three or four weeks and has said how Rue's speech had come back."