A dietitian who helped found a charity dedicated to helping others come to terms with their own mortality has died after a long battle with cancer. Jasen Moniz was 65.

Ms Moniz, a former government nutritionist, was the driving force behind the charity Final Steps, set up to assist people to make sensible end-of-life preparations and reduce stress on their families.

Jeanie Flath, who succeeded Ms Moniz as chairwoman of the group, said it had evolved in 2016 after their book club read Being Mortal by Atul Gawande, which focused on hospice care and the personal stories of people dealing with ageing, illness and death.

Ms Flath said Ms Moniz was “already steps ahead of the rest of us”.

She added: “I think her first encounter with cancer nine-and-a-half years ago made her much more aware of our primary mission to encourage people to make meaningful choices now for the end of life by educating the community to choose, communicate, and document what they want.

“The dedication and focus that she gave to this project became a driving force that made her and all of us truly step outside our individual comfort zones and grow.”

Ms Flath said Ms Moniz was a “natural leader who literally walked the talk”.

She added: “Little did we know at the beginning that we were joining the first wave of change that brings death and end-of-life issues out of the medical world and back to being part of the human experience.

“Jasen had great respect for medical technology, but it was always balanced with the reality that we all have a departure time.

“Her work on the Final Steps initiative in Bermuda over the last four years was extensive and has been key in helping our community begin the process of having difficult conversations on death and end-of-life issues before we are in crisis.”

Ms Flath added: “Jasen died shortly before Christmas. She prepared us well, but still our committee has lost an amazing life coach and friend.

“She has left a lasting legacy and we are committed to making sure these important discussions continue.”

Tyler Moniz, Ms Moniz’s husband and a former assistant financial secretary for the Government, said the couple met in her native Toronto.

He said: “I was studying for a Master of Business Administration at the University of Toronto and Jasen had come to Toronto looking for a job.

“We dated for six years. We didn’t rush in. We were married in 1982.”

Ms Moniz, while still a teenager, was one of only a few women to qualify as a softball umpire and taught cooking to supplement her income while at Kansas State and Iowa State universities.

She qualified as a registered dietitian in 1976, and also studied hotel and restaurant management.

Ms Moniz’s first job when she came to Bermuda, Creative Cuisines, focused on helping businesses to redo their menus.

She worked as a government nutritionist from 1987 to 1991 and lectured at Bermuda College on the subject.

Her government role included oversight of all food service in government-funded residential homes and non-government services such as Meals on Wheels.

She helped redesign the kitchens at the former Casemates prison in 1988.

Ms Moniz was a member of the Bermuda Diabetes Association, worked in private practice as a diet counsellor, and was a clinical dietitian for the Bermuda Hospitals Board, including a stint running the hospital’s kitchen, from 1994 to 2006.

Mr Moniz said his wife was a talented electrician, painter and handyman who designed the kitchen of their Smith’s home when it was built in 1993.

He added: “She was competent with a mattock or a chainsaw, and she loved to garden. She had a passion for growing succulents, some of them from seed, which is no easy feat.

“She would not wait.

“If something had to be done, she figured it out and did it herself, whether it was learning computers or installing valves in pipes.”

Mr Moniz said Ms Moniz, a keen reader, kept a diary of books she was reading and would go through “several at a time”.

She had ovarian cancer diagnosed in 2010.

Mr Moniz thanked his wife’s “wonderful doctor and support team” at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, both in Massachusetts.

• Jasen Moniz’s funeral is planned for 11am on January 11 at the Wesley Methodist Church.