Jenna Bush Hager remembers White House butler Wilson Jerman, who died of coronavirus at 91

Wilson Jerman made the White House feel especially like home, Jenna Bush Hager, 38, explained while reflecting on her relationship with the former White House butler who died at 91 after contracting coronavirus.

“You know, it’s interesting because people will say, ‘Gosh … how was the White House? Did it feel like home?’” the former first daughter said Thursday on "Today with Hoda & Jenna," which she co-hosts with Hoda Kotb. “And the reason why it felt like home was because of people like him."

"Mr. Jerman," as Bush Hager affectionately referred to him, was always smiling when she saw him, she recalled. "He was the loveliest."

“We loved him. He was beloved by my family, and he will be so missed," she said.

Wilson Jerman started working as a cleaner under President Dwight Eisenhower and retired as an elevator operator during the presidency of Barack Obama.

Hager was not the only member of her family to share memories of Jerman. Her parents, former President George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush said Jerman echoed their daughter's recollection Jerman, saying he was "lovely."

“He was the first person we saw in the morning when we left the residence and the last person we saw each night when we returned,” the Bushes said in a statement to NBC News Wednesday.

And the other first families he worked for remembered Jerman, too. 

“With his kindness and care, Wilson Jerman helped make the White House a home for decades of First Families, including ours,” said former first lady Michelle Obama. “His service to others – his willingness to go above and beyond for the country he loved and all those whose lives he touched – is a legacy worthy of his generous spirit."

Jerman became a White House butler under President John F. Kennedy, a role that Mrs. Kennedy was instrumental in landing for him, his oldest granddaughter, Jamila Garrett, told the local Fox News station in Washington.

“Jerman served as a White House butler across 11 presidencies and made generations of first families feel at home, including ours,” tweeted Hillary Clinton. “Our warmest condolences to his loved ones.”

Desiree Barnes, who worked in the Obama administration, said Jerman treated the staff kindly. She recalled that when she worked as an intern, he would get her a meal if she had not eaten and that he even called her during a particularly rough snowstorm to make sure she was okay.

“It did not matter political party, he was there to serve,” Barnes said. “He had been there on some of the hardest days for a lot of presidents. ... Imagine being there when President Kennedy was assassinated and having to receive the first lady at the time. So, he was a really empathetic man. He just was a great listener.”

Former White House butler:Who served 11 presidents, died of COVID-19 remembered as a 'great listener'

Contributing: The Associated Press