It’s been twelve years since the legendary comedian Don Knotts passed away at the age of 81 from pulmonary and respiratory complications. Now, his daughter Karen is opening up about the final days of “The Andy Griffith Show” star, and she’s making it clear that he maintained his sense of humor right up until the end.

“Here’s the thing about my dad,” Karen said. “He had this funniness that was just completely, insanely natural. When he was dying, he was making us laugh in hysterics.”

“He was literally dying, but he did something or said something that caused my stepmother and me to go into fits of laughter, which is why I ran out,” she continued. “I thought to myself, ‘I don’t want to be standing there in front of this man, my dearly beloved father, who’s dying, and laughing.’”

Karen went on to reveal the one regret she has about her father’s last days.

“I was telling this story to Howard Storm, who’s a director, and he said, ‘You should have stayed and laughed out loud,’” she said. “‘That’s what comedians live for!’ He was right; I should have just stood there and blasted out laughing.”

Karen also talked about who her dad was as a person.

“He was also a very loving father,” she said. “He didn’t like to go out and do things like you picture most fathers going out and doing — you know, outdoorsy stuff — because he was a very internal kind of person. He liked to tell stories and talk… We talked about show business a lot. He was a showbiz person.”