Jill spoke at the Celebrating Death and Dying talk at Port Macquarie Library on August 11, with presenters Annie Quadroy and Teresa Melody.

Annie said there is ‘no dress rehearsal for death’, and unfortunately people only pay attention to it once imminent. 

This is because, Jill said people have an inherent fear of death. 

“To alleviate that fear, we need to talk about it openly with one another,” she said. 

The presenters said the sooner people start talking about death with their families and children, the better. 

“Death is natural but society has made it seem unnatural,” Teresa said. 

Teresa Melody is an End of Life Doula.

A doula is a relatively new kind of occupation that provides emotional, spiritual and practical support to the dying and their families before and after death.

Annie Quadroy is the NSW convener for the Mid North Coast Dying with Dignity group. 

After witnessing the prolonged, suffering death of her mother in 2012 Annie promised herself that she would do all she could to ensure everyone has the legal choice of assisted dying. 

Jill is passionate about midwifing death. She volunteers to spend time with palliative patients. 

Jill said modern medicine focuses too much on finding a cure for a terminal illness. She believes it needs to shift to focus on the whole person and their wellbeing. 

Port Macquarie resident Diane Leslie, who is also a registered nurse attended the talk at the library. 

She said she was interested in any conversation which will help make death easier for people. 

Port Macquarie resident Beth Anderson said death is something people need to start talking about so the wider community can be educated.