THE family of 87-year-old Milton Breust has remembered him as a down-to-earth, successful, determined and loving husband, father and grandpa who was always prepared to deliver a joke and take on a challenge.
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Milton passed away peacefully on Sunday at Wagga Calvary Hospital.
Milton and his wife Barbara had been preparing to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary in October of next year.
He was a loving father and father-in-law to Darrell, Craig and Fiona, Grant, Angela and Justin and adored grandpa to Aiden, Montana, Kiah, Charli and Tayla.
From carrying the Olympic torch in 1956 to establishing the first drive-in real estate agency in Wagga in the 1980s, Milton was a prominent member of the community.
Eldest son Darrell Breust said his father was a farm boy at heart, having grown up on a farm just outside of Temora before he and his family moved to Collingullie.
"Dad started his football career out at Collingullie then went to the Wagga Tigers and played over 300 games for them," Darrell said.
"He finished his career with East Wagga Hawks and retired when he was 43. He didn't want to give it up."
Darrell said when his father was no longer able to drive, he began taking him to watch the Wagga Tigers play on Father's Day.
The annual outing was a way for Darrell to thank his father for being the best role model a man could have.
"I used to play cricket in Wagga and one day we were short so I called Dad up and he filled in and helped us win," Darrell said.
"He would have been about 67 at the time."
Milton also developed a love for tennis thanks to Barbara and the pair began to play together often - as did the entire family.
"He only stopped playing tennis at about 83," Darrell said.
"He would play twice a week with mum, then he started to lose his balance. A few years ago they diagnosed him with dementia.
"He tried to keep playing but he kept falling over and injuring himself and he got the shits because he couldn't play how he used to and he knew that was it."
Milton had been an accountant before establishing Breust Real Estate, working alongside his two brothers Wal and Baden.
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He was also a member of the local Liberal Party and was heavily involved in the NSW Real Estate Institute.
"He used to like doing all the speeches at functions and he was good at it," Darrell said.
"He always had a few jokes - the dad jokes were quite common, but he had a few good ones that he picked up along his travels, some of them he probably didn't tell Mum.
"He was a true gentleman though and he was a proud man."
Darrell said his father was a perfectionist who had a roaring love for Holden Statesmans, of which he had five over the years.
He said Milton also had many good mates including Browny White from Collingullie, John Bance, John Braid and Graham Gorrel.
Another deep love of Milton's was for his dog, Max.
"Max died about three years ago, but my dad used to always take him for walks, he could never say no," Darrell said.
"He wanted to be buried with Max."
Instead, Milton will be laid to rest in the same cemetery as his brother Wal, sister-in-law, parents and grandson, Aiden.
A service will be held at the chapel at Wagga Lawn Cemetery, Brunskill Road, Lake Albert at 2.30pm on Thursday, April 28, before Milton's burial.
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