Jackie Stewart Mourns 'Great Friend' Sean Connery: 'Dementia Is a Terrible Illness'

Sean Connery is being remembered by close friend Jackie Stewart as an "amazing man."

On Monday, the former motor racing driver, 81, appeared on the U.K.'s Good Morning Britain where he paid tribute to the late James Bond actor, whose family announced on Saturday that he had died in his sleep at age 90. His widow, Micheline Roquebrune, revealed that Connery had been struggling with dementia prior to his death.

Stewart opened up about his friend's difficult last few months.

“He was an amazing man, he was a great, great friend," said Stewart. "It’s a great loss, and sadly he took around more than two years of very large discomfort. Dementia is a terrible illness and I know a little bit about that as Helen, sadly, my wife has dementia.”

“I saw him not too long before he died and it was a sad sight, and I think Sean would have even preferred to slip away a wee bit earlier. He wasn’t well,” added Stewart.

Roquebrune, 91, told the Mail on Sunday that the illness "took its toll on him," adding that, “It was no life for him.” She added that Connery “got his final wish to slip away without any fuss.”

“At least he died in his sleep and it was just so peaceful. I was with him all the time and he just slipped away,” she said. “It was what he wanted.”

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In a statement confirming the news on Saturday, a rep for the Oscar winner told PEOPLE: "His wife Micheline and his two sons, Jason and Stephane have confirmed that he died peacefully in his sleep surrounded by family. There will be a private ceremony followed by a memorial yet to be planned once the virus has ended."

The late actor died while staying in the Bahamas. A cause of death was not given. His son, Jason, told the BBC that his father had been "unwell for some time."

"We are all working at understanding this huge event as it only happened so recently, even though my dad has been unwell for some time," he said. "A sad day for all who knew and loved my dad and a sad loss for all people around the world who enjoyed the wonderful gift he had as an actor."

The actor starred in seven James Bond films beginning with 1962’s Dr. No and blazed through a celebrated three-decade streak as 007 that would culminate in 1983’s Never Say Never Again.

In a career that spanned six decades — from his early days in TV to a full-blown run as Hollywood leading man — Connery would showcase his versatility as an actor, moving between prestige fare (TV adaptations of Anna Karenina and Macbeth), retellings of classics (Robin and Marian) and thrillers (Highlander, Rising Sun).

Connery was married twice — first to Australian actress Diane Cilento, whom he divorced in 1973. Cilento, who died of cancer at age 78 in 2011, shared son Jason with Connery. Then in 1975, Connery wed Roquebrune, who had three children from previous marriages, Oliver, Micha, and Stephane, all of whom became Connery's stepchildren.

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