The partner of the 28-year-old man who drowned in the Murrumbidgee River last week has said she will remember him as a loving partner and father.
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Mark Timms grew up in the South Australian city of Mount Gambier and was a butcher by trade.
Together with his partner Meagan Brooks, Mr Timms had five children.
“Our eldest two kids aren’t Mark’s, but they've only ever known Mark as dad – he was like a father to them, and he was such a good father,” Ms Brooks said.
“He really stepped up with my kids – he was only 19 and he took on me and two kids.
“He just loved everybody – for Mark to hate somebody, you'd have to do something pretty bad.”
An avid car-lover, Mr Timms and Ms Brooks moved to Wagga in September.
Ms Brooks said her partner’s love of cars was only rivalled by his love of animals.
“He loved his animals – he would rescue chickens and ducks – he couldn’t stand to see an animal be put down or anything like that,” Ms Brooks said.
“He got a rescue dog just the other day that was about to be put down, and he adopted a horse a couple of weeks ago because that was going to get put down too.
“We've still got his poor dog – they were best mates, they even ate dinner together – and his dog is just beside himself now.”
Another of Mr Timms’ passions was farming.
“He was a real farm boy – he was brought up by his nan and pop and grew up on their farm with his cows,” she said.
“It was our eldest daughter he spent the most time with out on the farm with the cows and taking her four-wheel-driving in the mud.”
Ms Brooks said she wanted to share a message with all of the emergency services personnel, search and rescue volunteers, and members of the community for their ongoing support.
“Thank you so much – they didn't give up on him – every time I was there, the SES was there too, from dusk til dawn,” she said.
“We have a really good circle of people who have helped out, and some people we hardly know too – it's been incredible.”
When asked what kept her going through the search, Ms Brooks said Mr Timms would have done the same for her.
“I just wasn't giving up on him – he never gave up on me in our nine years together, so I wasn't giving up until I got him back,” she said.
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