My aunt, Leone Exton Beale, who has died aged 94, was the restaurant and catering director at the Westminster theatre, London.

She came to the role as the daughter of Leo and Grace Exton, who owned five hotels in Bournemouth. Leone was born and brought up in the town, along with her younger sister, Valerie, and brother, Clive.

The family’s lifestyle changed completely when they came under the influence of Leone’s kindergarten teacher, Gweneth Medwin, who was a member of the Oxford Group, the 1930s Christian movement which was renamed Moral Re-Armament (MRA) in 1938. Leone was brought up under the guiding principle of listening early each morning to the “still, small voice” of God in order to determine the priorities for the day ahead.

After attending boarding school in Felixstowe, Suffolk, Leone trained as a nurse but committed herself full-time to MRA’s work. This took her to London, where plays written by MRA authors, addressing contemporary ethical issues from a faith perspective, were staged at the Westminster.

At first, Leone helped backstage – but she also often found herself dancing and singing on stage, and, as a result of touring internationally with the company, acting in films such as Jotham Valley (1952), shot in the US. The outreach programmes of MRA took her all over the world: to America, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and to countries throughout Europe.

Returning to London, Leone lived at first in Victoria, close to the Westminster theatre in Palace Street (now the site of the St James theatre), before moving into Valerie’s family home nearby.

Leone’s hotel background stood her in good stead as the Westminster’s catering director. The role involved her care for all the restaurant’s customers – among them politicians, company executives and celebrities – and an attention to detail which they greatly appreciated.

On her retirement, at the age of 71, she moved back to Bournemouth. There, in 1992, she was reunited with Frank Beale, a former mayor of Bournemouth and United Reformed Church elder, whom she had not seen in 46 years. They had been sweethearts as teenagers, though their lives had taken separate paths. He was recently widowed and, much to their families’ delight, in 1993 they were married, with 13 of Leone’s great-nephews, nieces and godchildren in attendance. They had seven happy years together before Frank’s death.

Leone wrote two books of memoirs, Bluebird: a Romance Through Life (1996) and My Sister Valerie (2012).

Valerie and Clive predeceased her.