Mr Vanzwol died on June 9, aged 59. A truck driver, Mr Vanzwol had lymphoma. His condition deteriorated rapidly in recent weeks.

His wife Dianne remembers him as a "fantastic man'' who loved the company of his mates.

She said the last year had been "a shocker'' for the couple. The Vanzwols last year became involved in a dispute with Knox Council over access to a driveway next to their property.

Then they narrowly escaped the fires that hit Quarry Road on Black Saturday.

Once it was discovered Mr Vanzwol did not have long to live, the couple enjoyed day trips, including to the Dandenongs, and visited friends.

The Vanzwols met more than 40 years ago when Mrs Vanzwol was in Adelaide on a school exchange program.

"He said, `What's your name, where do you live, do you want to go out tonight?'.

"That's how he put it, and that's where it started.''

Mrs Vanzwol said her husband was a ``spunk and a half'', who loved Italian food.

Her fondest memory was of a man who loved to enjoy himself when they went out and would put his arm around her. Despite her best attempts to get her husband to dress up when they went out for dinner, he would prefer to loosen his collar, pull down his tie and enjoy a beer. "That's the way I want to remember Rinie.''

She spoke of a trip to Paris, where Mr Vanzwol and his brother-in-law, David Wentworth, shared a 20 euro ($35) beer on the Champs-Elysées, and the good times he shared with his best friend Paul Harding.

Mrs Vanzwol said her husband loved the mateship of the trucking industry. "He would have driven a truck as long as he could drive a truck.''

She said her husband's proudest moment was when their son Renae graduated from Swinburne University.

She thanked all the doctors and nurses who had helped him during his illness.

Mr Vanzwol's funeral was held on Monday at St Peter's Catholic Church in Clayton, where the couple were married in 1970.

Knox councillor Sue McMillan said she was pleased to have met Rinie. "It's unfortunate in the last year of Rinie's life he had to deal with a lot of situations which caused anxiety.''