Another from Scott Eyman's John Wayne: The Life and Legend:

No matter how petulant he could be, his employees stayed with him for decades, the same way the public did. The reasons are best conveyed by a story told by Tom Kane, whose wife, Ruth, was in the Motion Picture Home dying of cancer. ...

One morning at 9:15, Kane’s phone rang. It was his wife, sounding like she did before she got sick.

“My God, you sound great,” said Kane.

“Well, how would you feel if you woke up in the morning and John Wayne was standing by your bed?” She went on to explain that Wayne had stayed for more than an hour talking to her. Before he left, he had brushed her hair.