Father Plunkett, 92, was born in Albury and went on to join the priesthood at the age of 27.

He spent more than 50 years serving the church as a priest across the Riverina including more than 30 years at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church at Kooringal before he retired in 2007.

In 2006, he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for his service to the church, especially his role in providing pastoral care in Wagga, and in 2019 he was named a Paul Harris Fellow, Rotary's highest honour for community service.

John Goonan, a parishioner of Father Plunkett's for about 20 years, said the Wagga diocese had lost a "man of the people".

He said he first met Father Plunkett about a week after moving into the suburb in the 1990s.

"There was a knock at the door and he was standing there to say welcome to my parish," Mr Goonan said.

"He just welcomed everyone, it didn't matter who they were, what faith they were, what condition they were in, he was always there for whoever wanted help.

"He mixed with everyone, there were no airs and graces."

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Mr Goonan said Father Plunkett's welcoming nature made him an ideal Catholic priest.

"Pope Francis says he wants his bishops not just to be shepherds of their sheep but to smell like their sheep and I think that sums up Father Plunkett beautifully, he smelt like us, he was one of us and people loved him," he said.

Wagga Catholic Diocese apolostolic administrator Reverend Kevin O'Reilly said Father Plunkett had contributed a great deal to the many parishes he had been involved with across the Riverina over the years.

Father Plunkett was particularly instrumental in the establishment of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church at Kooringal, using his own building skills to transform an old army hut into the parish centre that stands on Lake Albert Road today.

"He built up the Kooringal parish and helped to construct the Kooringal church," Father O'Reilly said.

He is also considered a driving force behind the construction of the Mater Dei Primary School and later the Catholic College, even building a large steel cross himself for the latter.

Father O'Reilly said Father Plunkett would be remembered for his "great care and concern for others."

"I think he'll be remembered as a great pastor ... his love towards not just his people but all people, he was friendly with everybody," he said.