i always viewed don vito as a very warm, generous, and caring man to those he loved as family and friends. however, he did have his darkside. "with that aside".....

i think after he retired, vito could live the life he always wanted, the type of life that was taken away from him when he was 12.

everytime i view the scenes of young vito and mama corleone, i get soft in the heart because of their loving scenes (bringing the pear home to his wife, before eating...holding his wife's hand and giving her a kiss, admiring baby santino, devastated by fredo's pneumonia). anyways, as you can see vito was a loving man by nature, but had to live the mafia life to provide for his family, and simply put, he believed it was his destiny.

in the novel, puzo wrote that vito's favorite thing to do was care for his garden. it is clearly shown in a deleted scene w/ michael in the garden where mike asks vito about avenging sonny and appollonia's deaths, where vito looks at tomato plants and softly says "beautiful...beautiful."

i feel that after his retirement, vito got to enjoy life and thus died a happy man. besides, he was not afraid of death as he escaped don ciccio's men, and told his beloved consigliere genco, "but, don't be afraid of death." besides, vito was a man of confidence, and surely didn't waste his time brooding over things.