Mitsuo Aoki

The Rev. Mitsuo Aoki helped countless people, particularly cancer patients and their families, with his compassionate outlook on dying.

"He was sought out a lot for his wisdom," said the Rev. Clarence Liu, chaplain of Hospice Hawaii. "He lived his dying in the very same way that he shared about it and talked about it. There was great integrity and great truthfulness in the way he lived his life."

Aoki, a theologian, minister and college professor who founded the religion department of the University of Hawaii at Manoa and served as an influential figure in the establishment of Hospice Hawaii, died Thursday at his Pohai Nani home in Kaneohe. He was 95.