Robert Graham "Tiny" Agnew will be farewelled at a funeral at the Tokomairiro Golf Club tomorrow. He died last Thursday, aged 68.
The Milton butcher was a "magnificent guy" who wholeheartedly supported groups in the Milton-Bruce community and beyond.
He opened his butcher’s shop in Milton in 1983.
He leaves his wife Wendy and three children Craig, James and Laura.
One of Mr Agnew’s three grandchildren was born on the day he died.
Family friend Simon Scott said Mr Agnew was a kind man who wanted to help people and supported the local community.
"He loved his golf, played all the time. Much to his annoyance he never got a hole in one but his wife Wendy got four or five.
"He would nip up and play at Toko in the afternoon and then come back to the shop."
He was born in Lawrence and then moved to Te Anau where he went to school.
He later moved to Beaumont and then ended up in Milton, buying the shop of Kevin Field.
He played rugby — he played prop — and also played cricket.
Kevin Galliven who helped organise the Otago Hospice golf day said Mr Agnew was an unsung hero for the tournament, and was a very generous man.
"With the golf day he would get a group of South Otago farmers he knew to send him some meat, all for free. And he would get us 400 sausages, 400 patties, 50 wrapped meat packs and four rib eyes, which we would auction off at night.
"He would not ask for a cent. He would process all of it. Never asked for anything. ... He did that for 18 years in a row.
"He also put a team in. I always said to him, ‘don’t pay, you’ve done enough’. But he wouldn’t listen. Always paid.
"I reckon every tournament he would have made us between $4000 and $5000.
"He was a magnificent guy. Everyone knew who he was. He didn’t seek the limelight but he was a popular guy."
Mr Galliven was shocked to hear of his death and said he would be a very hard man to replace. — Additional reporting Stephen Hepburn
