Alan Bines spent most of his spare time at the RSA or near the sea. Photo/ File
The Bines' had three children; a girl and two boys, and went on to have eight grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
Alan and Joyce moved to Rotorua in 1974 when Alan was transferred here as a salesman for Tip-Top.
He was a cheeky sort and was always "full of humour".
"He was a talker, well he had to be to be a salesman," Joyce laughed.
Alan spent a lot of time at the former Rotorua RSA and he was very generous with his time, Joyce said.
He was acknowledged for the huge number of voluntary hours he had put in over the years when he was given a Rotorua District Council annual community award in 2006 and a Queens Service Medal in 2007 for public services.
Receiving those honours were moments Alan was very proud of, Joyce said.
A scrapbook filled with the letters Alan received from Government House and pictures from the ceremony are kept under the coffee table at the Bines' home and a number of certificates are hung on the wall.
Alan Bines pictured in 2015 with some military plaques that were to be sold. Photo / File
When Alan and Joyce had any spare time they loved to spend time at the beach, either at Pukehina or Mount Maunganui.
But if he was not at the beach, out fishing or at the RSA, Alan would be in the garden.
"He spent a lot of time out there, he loved his garden," Joyce said.
A service was held in Rotorua last Wednesday and Joyce said it was "lovely", with many of his friends and family attending.
Alan and Joyce's son would be fulfilling Alan's last wish in the next couple of weeks, taking his father's ashes out on a boat in the Coromandel and scattering them at sea.
