BILL Heaney will be remembered as a lover of languages.
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Mr Heaney, 84, died peacefully on Tuesday.
He is survived by his wife of 59 years Nancy and children and children-in-law Tom and Joanne; Paul and Brigid; Mary and Greg Shearer; Brian and Janine; Sue and Steve; and Peter and Connie; and his 13 grandchildren.
Mr Heaney taught at Wagga High School for many decades and was one of the founders of Wagga's Alliance Francaise.
Fellow teacher Jock Currie remembers Mr Heaney as a "jovial sort of person who had a great love of languages and the classics".
Mr Currie called Mr Heaney an "old-school man" who always referred to the principal as the headmaster.
"He was a popular fellow, he refereed the school boy rugby, and we didn't lose too many games when he did," Mr Currie said.
Mr Heaney was Wagga High's head language teacher, and as well as a love for academia, was known for maintaining an active lifestyle.
"He ran well into his retirement and also cycled," Mr Currie said.
A 2012 feature in the Weekend Advertiser detailed Mr Heaney's contribution to the Alliance Francaise in Wagga for which he received an award from the French President.
"We used to frequently converse in French," Mr Currie said, adding that Mr Heaney put up with his rudimentary ability.
Mr Currie said he would always remember Mr Heaney as an "absent minded professor", recalling a particularly funny experience during a year 12 graduation dinner.
"It was at the Leagues Club, but he went to the RSL club where Kooringal High were holding theirs, he only realised after a few courses," Mr Currie said.
A mass celebrating Mr Heaney's life will be at held Sacred Heart Catholic Church on Tuesday at 1pm.