Father of eight Glenn Cook, 53, died when his car collided with a truck on the Olympic Highway last Monday.

His son Peter said the last thing his father had said to him before his death was that he loved him.

“I’d only just had dinner with him the night before,” Peter said.

“It was my sister’s birthday the night before and we’re lucky that the last thing we said was that we loved him.

“I guess there’s some sort of satisfaction in that.”

Mr Cook said he had received a phone call notifying him on the death while he was at work.

“I sunk to my knees,” he said.

He said his father, who was six-foot-seven, was a kind man who always put his family first.

Mr Cook had been married to Diane and they remained good friends after they divorced.

He had a long term partner Carolyn Brown, who passed away two years ago.

He has left behind three young children who have lost both their parents in the past two years. 

“Our family asks for everyone to continue giving them the support and love as our father has,” Peter said. 

“He definitely put us children before anything else in life.

“He was big on the community and had just recently started doing a bit of volunteer work at Kaliana.

“He also did a bit of school canteen duty and helped out at the local church.”

The 53-year-old grew up in Seymour and had spent time in Western Australia and Wodonga before settling in Culcairn.

Wednesday's funeral will be held at the Culcairn Football Club at 11am, followed by a wake at the club.

Glenn’s sister, Darlene Koutsoubos, said he was more than a sibling.

“I’ve lost not just a brother, I’ve lost my best mate,” she said.

“He was my rock since my dad passed away.

“He was a great big teddy bear.

“We got along really well, we were really alike.”

Peter said the people in the town had been supportive of the family after the incident.

“We would just like to acknowledge and say thank you to all of our friends, family and the community who have shown their support over the last few days,” he said.