The 74-year-old, who was born and bred in Wagga, was discovered lying next to a ute at his grandson's farm after succumbing to his serious injuries.

Police said they believe Mr Burkinshaw sustained his injuries while trying to stop the vehicle from rolling down a hill.

"He was a friend to everybody," Mrs Lollback-Burkinshaw said.

"Right from the word go, he accepted my family as his.

"He was very conscious of other people's needs. The people who used to live next door used to come in and if something was wrong, he'd be over there to help them."

Mr Burkinshaw was born in 1944 after his two sisters.

He farmed at 'Pine Hill', west of Wagga, for a couple of decades then after the financial hardships of the 1980s, he sold the family farm.

But he could never leave the land onto which he had been born.

He continued to work on his relatives' neighbouring farms, teaching the next generation all he knew about the land, animals and building.

He was an active member of the Collingullie football club for many years, a founding member of the Riverina Cat Club and a well known local often found cutting a move on the dance floor at the Wagga Rules Club.

In April 1912, his grandfather travelled to Wagga by train and camped under the Hampden Bridge.

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He then travelled with an agent in a Talbot car to the Woodlands Station in Brookdale where they selected four blocks to occupy and improve.

For the next decade, Mr Burkinshaw's grandfather, uncles and father travelled back and forth between their farm in Bung Bong, Victoria, and the Riverina property.

Sometimes they took the train from Maryborough to The Rock and other times a six-day buggy ride until finally moving permanently to Brookdale in 1923.

"You can take the man out of the farm, but you can't take the farm out of the man," Mrs Lollback-Burkinshaw said.

The pair met through a friend 27 years ago at the Wagga Leagues Club. Their relationship grew after learning that a common bond was the love of animals.

The widow, 75, said the family supporting each other has been strong.

"I've got the most wonderful family in the world - I cannot put into words how much I appreciate their support," she said.

Mr Burkinshaw's daughter, Maria, said she remembers him fondly as a farmer and his love for the land.

"My dad was a farmer - if I could use only one word to describe him then that would be it," Maria said.

"Him dying on the land was the one thing we all had wanted but not in such a tragic and sudden way.

"Regardless of life's struggles and pains, he got up every day with a plan and worked on things for the future.

"He never gave up, he never stopped moving forward, and he always stayed passionate about the life he loved."

Maria said that while he is no longer in physical pain, she is sure he did not intend to leave the family in such "saddened disbelief".

"He will be missed and I hope he knows that," she said.

Mr Burkinshaw's granddaughter Jessica Rushby remembers him as a role model.

"He was always supportive of us, even when we did the wrong thing," Ms Rushby said.

"He'd say: 'I love you, it doesn't matter, we'll get through this'.

"He was a tough cookie, but on the inside soft as a marshmallow."

Mr Burkinshaw, who would have turned 75 this Sunday, is a dearly loved father and a devoted grandfather.

He was also a loved brother of Beryl McLaughlin and Nancy Broadbent, who both predeceased him.

Funeral arrangements are yet to be finalised.