After an overdose of barbiturates, Fleming became the first person in Washington state to die under the Death with Dignity Act.

Most patients want to remain private and the details of their death are never spoken.

Not in this case.

Fleming's daughter, who saw her mother make her final exit, shared the story with KOMO News.

"The day my mother chose to die, I was on my way to work," she said.

It was May 21, a beautiful and sunny Friday morning

"She called me and said, 'I've decided today is the day," said Lisa Osborne.

Instantly, Osborne knew. Before the day's end, her mother would be dead.

"When she said, 'Today is the day,' my heart made a little lurch," Osborne said.

The timing startled Osborne, but her mother's decision to take a fatal overdose was no surprise.

Long before Fleming made her decision, she was a self-described activist for the Death with Dignity Act. She even collected petition signatures to get the measure on the ballot. In November 60 percent of Washington voters approved it.

"I'm sure she never thought she would be using it. I know it gave her a lot of security to know it was there if she needed it," her daughter said.

Osborne says her mother, with a sound mind, fed herself a toxic mix of lethal drugs and pudding.

"She knew exactly what she wanted to do. She knew exactly what she was doing," she said.

Fleming: 'It was only going to get worse'

In April, 66-year-old Fleming learned she was dying and had less than six months to live. Her recent stomach pains had been caused by terminal pancreatic cancer. In a statement released after her death, Fleming wrote, "The pain became unbearable and it was only going to get worse."

"The issue really was about not being in pain, about being able to choose to die when she could still communicate with people," Osborne said. "She didn't want to go out in a medically-induced coma."

Fleming wrote: "The powerful pain meds were making it difficult to maintain the state of mind I wanted to have at my death."

"I think she woke up feeling like, 'This is enough, enough pain meds, enough suffering, enough sleeping all day or throwing up.' She just was ready," said her daughter.

With time literally running out, Osborne and her mother's beloved Chihuahua, Seri, headed to Fleming's Sequim home to say their final goodbyes

"I knew it was the last time I was going to hug my mother, so everything really counted," she said. "I knew it was my last day with my mother, so everything had a great deal of clarity. It was very calm."

All she could do was follow her mother's lead, Osborne said. Her mother was at peace with her decision, and they never spoke of it.

Fleming wanted to feel the sun one last time on her face and gaze out at Puget Sound. Her two final requests -- a play date with Seri at the park, and time with her daughter.

"The last thing she said to me is she gave me a hug and she said, 'You are my first born.' And I hugged her back and said, 'You are my only mom,'" Osborne said. "It was the hug that kind of sticks with me."

That was the how Osborne wanted to remember her mother. It's why she chose not to be with her when she passed.

Lisa Osborne later learned that her mother's passing was "very peaceful." Two doctors and a patient advocate with Compassion & Choices of Washington were with Fleming when she died.

Robb Miller, executive director of Compassion & Choices, says Fleming mixed her lethal meds with pudding and ate it quickly. Seven minutes later, she was unconscious.

"The patient loses consciousness, simply closes his or her eyes, usually leans back and appears that they might be falling asleep. It's not sleep; it's the beginning of the dying process," said Miller.

Three hours later, Fleming's heart stopped.

Opponent: 'That's suicide'

"The very first thing I'd want to say to Linda Fleming's family is to offer my heart felt sympathies," said Eileen Geller.

Geller is an opponent of the Death with Dignity Act. Geller belongs to True Compassion Advocates, a group that campaigned against the law.

Geller worries Fleming's death sends the wrong message.

"If someone ends their own life intentionally, that's suicide. And it's a great tragedy, and it's a cry for help," she said.

As of this writing, 17 Washington patients have requested the life-ending medication. Five of them have used it so far. But Geller fears many will follow suit.

"This person being the first victim of assisted suicide then exploits the fears of other people, and they start to think this is their only choice," she said.

As a result of Fleming's death, Geller said, True Compassion plans to be more vigilant and more vocal. Geller has launched a statewide education campaign to ensure patients that there is an alternative to the Death with Dignity Act. She insists all pain can be controlled and quality of life enhanced, even for terminally-ill patients.

"I'm a hospice nurse and what I've done for 20 years is provide death with dignity, naturally and comfortably," she said.

But Osborne says her mother's choice allowed her to die with dignity as well.

Fleming lived on a fixed income and had financial troubles in 2007. But her choice to end her life had nothing to do with money, her daughter said.

Fleming didn't realize she would be the first person to die under the Death with Dignity Act until moments before she took the fatal overdose.

"I think it's great my mother left a mark in the world," said Osborne. "My mother didn't perceive herself as a victim at all. My mother perceived herself as someone who took control over a situation that was terribly unacceptable to her."

For a patient to use the law, two doctors have to agree the patient is suffering from a terminal illness and has less than six months to live.

The patient has to be mentally competent and make three requests - two oral and one written - to the state Department of Health.

Compassion & Choices of Washington says it has counseled five patients. Three of them took the fatal overdose, and two had the drugs but did not take them before they died.

Linda Fleming and her daughter are seen in this undated photo.