U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson is opening up about the final hours he spent with his father, Rev. Jesse Jackson, who died at age 84.

Speaking to CBS News, Rep. Jackson said the civil rights leader passed away around 1 a.m. at home, surrounded by family. Present at his bedside were his wife of 64 years, Jacqueline Jackson; his son Jesse Jackson Jr.; other relatives; close family friends; and ministers who prayed with the family.

“Just holding his hand, loving on him, talking to him, giving all of our expressions, being with my mom,” Rep. Jackson said. “My family was around his bedside. It was very intimate and personal, and family friends coming by, and an overwhelming amount of ministers who prayed for us, prayed with us.”

Rev. Jackson had been hospitalized in November due to progressive supranuclear palsy, which Rep. Jackson described as a “very rare form of Parkinson’s.” Doctors had previously given him months to live years ago, but he lived beyond those projections, his son said.

“The doctors said he didn’t have much time, had given him months to live years ago, so he exceeded that in every measure,” Rep. Jackson said.

Rep. Jackson said his last conversation with his father took place about four or five months ago, around the time of that hospitalization, when Rev. Jackson was still able to speak.

He also reflected on how he viewed his father beyond his public image.

“Some people see a political figure, and I just know him as a person that never gave up on me,” he said. “I would tell people, just as a son speaking of a father, never give up on your children.”

Rep. Jackson said his father believed in both personal salvation and social salvation and remained encouraged by what he saw as a rising generation of leadership toward the end of his life.

“Leadership isn’t something that’s passed on,” Rep. Jackson said. “It’s a mantle that people pick up and assume. No one inherits leadership, there’s no one anointed the leader. And there are great people who are being fashioned by the times and now they’re beginning to emerge.”

He also noted that Rev. Jackson was 27 years old when his mentor, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was assassinated in 1968, a moment that shaped how he approached his life and work moving forward.

“He lived each day like it was his last. He had a very short focus because he never saw himself living long, and God gave him a long and healthy life. And so God has been very kind and very great to our family,” Rep. Jackson said.