Bethe's hobbies included a passion for stamp-collecting. He loved the outdoors and was an enthusiastic hiker all his life, exploring the Alps and the Rockies. He died in his home in Ithaca, New York, on March 6, 2005, of congestive heart failure. He was survived by his wife, Rose Ewald Bethe, and their two children. At the time of his death, he was the John Wendell Anderson Professor of Physics, Emeritus, at Cornell University.