How Betty White Viewed the Aging Process and Had No Fear of 'The Secret' of Death

Betty White, who died Friday at the age of 99, now knows "the secret" that comes with the end of life — a chapter the television icon has said she was not afraid to face.

In a 2012 TimesTalks conversation with New York Times columnist Frank Bruni, White said she found "nothing" difficult about getting older, citing her mother's own optimistic approach to death.

"My mother had a wonderful approach to death," White said. "She always thought of it as — she said, 'We know we have managed to find out almost anything that exists, but nobody knows ... what happens at that moment when it's over.' "

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She continued: "And she said, 'It's the one secret that we don't know.' So whenever we would lose somebody very close and very dear, she would always say, 'Well, now he knows the secret.' And it took the curse off of it somehow."

That outlook fueled White's own view of death, she told Bruni: "I have no fear or dread of death," adding with a smile: "[But] I'm happy as a lark to stay around as long as I can."

White made similar comments in an interview with Katie Couric on CBS Sunday Morning in 2012, explaining how her mother always told her, "Nobody knows [what happens when you die]. People think they do — you can believe whatever you want to believe what happens at that last moment — but nobody ever knows until it happens.'"

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White had a storied career that included unforgettable roles on The Golden Girls and The Mary Tyler Moore Show and, later, iconic parts on Hot in Cleveland and in the 2009 film The Proposal.

In recent years, she's lived a quiet life in Los Angeles playing crossword puzzles and card games and watching animal documentaries, Jeopardy! and sports, particularly golf. A longtime animal welfare advocate, White was also a supporter of the Wildlife Learning Center, the Monterey Bay Aquarium and Actors and Others for Animals.

Speaking to PEOPLE ahead of this week's cover story — which celebrated her upcoming 100th birthday — the veteran actress said: "I'm so lucky to be in such good health and feel so good at this age. It's amazing."

White added that being "born a cockeyed optimist" was the key to her upbeat nature. "I got it from my mom, and that never changed," she said. "I always find the positive."

"We are deeply saddened by the news of Betty White's passing," said PEOPLE editor-in-chief Dan Wakeford. "We are honored that she recently chose to work with PEOPLE to celebrate her extraordinary life and career."

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White died "peacefully in her sleep at her home" on Friday at age 99, just two and a half weeks before she would have celebrated her 100th birthday.

"Even though Betty was about to be 100, I thought she would live forever," her agent and close friend Jeff Witjas told PEOPLE in a statement. "I will miss her terribly and so will the animal world that she loved so much. I don't think Betty ever feared passing because she always wanted to be with her most beloved husband Allen Ludden. She believed she would be with him again."