"It was to be our year," Carol Radnoty told the Otago Daily Times.
Steve Radnoty (51) died in Dunedin Hospital on March 12 after he was punched while he waited for a burger earlier that day in the George St McDonald's Family Restaurant.
The couple, who had booked a removal truck and had boxes packed for their move to Roxburgh the following week, were planning to marry later this year after almost two decades together.
"We just wanted to live that country life ... Now I can't go without him."
But in an effort to honour her partner, she changed her surname to Radnoty by deed poll a month ago, and had his name and the date he died tattooed on her chest.
"It's a way of keeping him close to my heart."
She said he was a pacifist who always tried to defuse situations and "everyone loved him ... he was a good guy".
The pair met 17 years ago in Temuka and it "was like one of those Mills & Boon books when it goes 'electricity and zap'. It does happen".
The night before his death, the couple and "half of Brockville" went to the Provincial Hotel to say their goodbyes, sing karaoke, with the couple singing songs to each other, and sharing what would turn out to be their last dance.
The couple, who were sober, and a friend from Christchurch decided to stop for food at an inner city dairy before heading home, but when they missed the turning lane, the trio opted for McDonald's instead.
Mrs Radnoty said she was waiting in the car thinking "this is just taking forever" when their Christchurch friend walked pale-faced towards her.
"I just thought where is his burger and where is Steve?"
"He just said to me 'Stay calm' - and that is a sign saying you don't stay calm - 'Steve has been hit and he is on the ground,' and the rest is just a blur."
Mr Radnoty was kept on life support at Dunedin Hospital until family members arrived.
He died later that night.
"For someone who hated violence, this ... "
Mrs Radnoty said her partner's death should serve as a call for "society to get smart" when it comes to alcohol.
She said her partner had a wake-up call involving alcohol around five years ago, and it became a choice between "me and the kids or the booze ... and he chose us".
The price of alcohol should be increased at off-licences, as people "pre-loading" before they went out was clearly a factor in alcohol-fuelled violence.
"What happened to Steve could happen to anybody."
Mr Radnoty's death had rocked the family - her four children and grandchildren - as well as the wider community.
"Everything is all gone, the whole lot, all the dreams - everything. It just feels like one big nightmare."
• Matthew Bryce Larson (23), of Christchurch, appeared in the Dunedin District Court last month on a charge of manslaughter. He was remanded on bail to May 13.
