Likeable, hard working and dedicated to his family are among the words used to describe Glenn Giltrap by those closest to him.
To his widow Tracey, he was simply her world.
Glenn Simon Giltrap, 33, a forestry worker for Williams Forest Harvesting, was killed in a workplace accident while tree-felling on a site about 5km along Tokomaru West Rd on Wednesday morning.
Glenn is survived by 19-month-old Lachlan and 6-year-old Breana, and four step-children, Dylan, Braydon, Shae and Kennedy.
Speaking to the Chronicle, Tracey, Glenn's wife of two years, burst into tears when she said she didn't know how she was going to live without him.
"He was my world. We were supposed to grow old together."
The pair had been introduced by a workmate of Glenn's three years ago and immediately clicked.
He was the first man out of all her relationships her family had loved, and the kind of man who took on her and her four children - no questions asked.
"There wasn't a bad thing about him, he idolised me and the kids, his family were everything."
When their son Lachlan was born with breathing difficulties, he prayed to his mother, who passed away shortly before their wedding.
"He prayed to his mum not to take our son, and now they've taken him."
Glenn had worked for Williams Forest Harvesting for five years and the team there were like a family, she said.
His crew visited her on the day of the accident and his boss, who had been like a father to him, was devastated. He had tried to resuscitate Glenn for 20 minutes, Tracey said.
Glenn absolutely loved his job and never once complained about getting up at 4am for it.
"He was always happy, everyone liked him."
The youngest of three boys, who spent most of his adult life in Wanganui, Glenn was a knowledgeable sports fan who was a Wanganui football rep as a teen.
Always ready to see the funny side, he had a big laugh and was happy to stay at home after work and watch a DVD and never wanted to go out to the pub.
One of his favourite things was watching the sports news - when it was on, no other channel got a look in, Tracey said.
Tracey's aunt, Jean Watty, said Glenn was an experienced bushman and was very safety-conscious, which made his accident hard for them to understand.
When storms bought a tree down across her driveway earlier this year, he was there the next morning - in full safety gear, with his chainsaw to take care of it.
Glenn's family are now in the process of organising his funeral, and are waiting for the Department of Labour to finish their investigations.
They are hoping to place his chainsaw and boots on top of his coffin and say he will be sadly missed.
Williams Forest Harvesting director Bryan Kilkolly declined to comment.