Now a month after his death, the towering figure of the community has been laid to rest.

Known to most around the town, his contributions to various organisations cannot be overstated.

“He was heavily involved in all sorts of things going on,” said wife of 68 years, Fay Quine.

“Above the rest though, he was my best mate.”

Born on April 3, 1928 in Broken Hill, Mr Quine’s life on the railways took him all over the nation.

“His father was on the railway too, so he moved all around the countryside when he was young,” said Mrs Quine.

After serving on the home front in World War II, Mr Quine settled in Goulburn.

“He came out of the army and turned up in Goulburn, and well, that was his downfall,” said Mrs Quine.

“That’s where he met me.”

The couple married on October 28, 1950 at Saviour’s Cathedral in Goulburn.

“Close to 70 years we’ve been together, that’s a whole lifetime,” said Mrs Quine.

Shortly the marriage, Mr Quine stood at his career crossroads.

He had applied for two positions. One was in the railway control room in Broadmeadow, the other on the railways in Junee.

“He worked as all sorts of things throughout our life together,” said Mrs Quine.

“He was a cleaner, a train driver, a fireman, he did everything.” 

Accepting the position in Junee, the couple arrived in the town for Christmas in 1975, and subsequently bought a plot of land.

They lived in a rented flat on Crown Street for roughly nine months, while their home was being built.

A year after their arrival, the pair moved into the home that would serve as their dwelling for the next 43 years together.

“It’s a friendly town, and he always liked it here," said Mrs Quine.

Together, they raised one son, and two daughters in Junee.

During the more than four decades spent in Junee, Mr Quine became a lifetime member of the bowling club, an integral part of the Rotary Club, served on council, spent 11 years as the founding treasurer for Cooinda Court and was instrumental in saving the town’s Athenium Theatre.

Junee Mayor Neil Smith spoke of Mr Quine’s willingness to place his hand to any plow.

“He just seemed to pop up everywhere,” said Mayor Smith.

“He was involved with everything, certainly not the type to fade away into retirment. He kept going strong very much until he died.”

Among his many civic accomplishments, his wife sites two as having topped his goals.

“He was one of the ones who got the theatre heritage listed,” said Mrs Quine.

“In 1975 he joined Rotary and he kept a hundred per cent attendance before he went into hospital, when he was able to.”

Mr Quine was given a final farewell in Junee on December 10, after he passed away in hospital on December 8. 

An unknown illness kept Mr Quine confined to his hospital bed in the last five months of his life. Moving from Calvary Hospital in Wagga to the Junee District Hospital, he eventually came to reside in the centre’s long term care unit.

“The care he received was good, but he left us too soon,” said Mrs Quine, who was able to sit by his side with daughter Colleen during his final moments.

His ashes will be taken to the family plot in Junee’s cemetery.

He is survived by his wife of … years, three children, Bruce, Lorraine and Colleen, eight grandchildren, and “14-and-a-half great grandchildren, the half to be delivered in May,” said Mrs Quine.