Rupert Greenwood died on Monday after a life-long battle with cystic fibrosis. He was 40.
He was born with the genetic disorder in Cust, Canterbury, shortly before moving to Dunedin as a boy.
Mr Greenwood received a double lung transplant from a donor in 2016 after flatlining for 90 seconds the year before.
It was because of this operation that he met future wife Genevieve Greenwood in 2018, with whom he shares two children in addition to two of her own.
"We got in touch and we instantly hit it off, as they say, and never looked back," Mrs Greenwood said.
"In 2020, we were married."
The pair had even once contemplated naming one of their children after Mr Greenwood’s donor - the late Michael Boyes, of Wellington, who died at age 25.
Mr Greenwood’s eligibility for another transplant was assessed in January, after he was admitted to hospital months before with chronic lung rejection.
But this was declined in early February and he was "absolutely gutted", Mrs Greenwood said.
"He was not ready for death and he gave it everything he possibly could to be here.
"He was a fighter. He said ‘I’ll go out swinging, but make sure I don’t suffer’."
Based on his rate of decline in lung function, Mrs Greenwood said her husband was given weeks to months left to live.
His heart gave out in the end, and at the time of his death, his lung function had not declined any further from about 16%.
"He kept working as long as he physically could because he wanted to be able to provide for me and the kids.
"He was old-school - his fundamental thing was, ‘I’m your husband, it’s my job to protect and provide’."
Her husband "loved being a dad", Mrs Greenwood said.
He was very playful and could disappear with the children for hours at a time, recounting stories about their "little adventures".
"There was nothing he enjoyed more than taking the kids to the park or swimming.
"He’d just beam from ear to ear smiling ... [a] twinkle in his eyes.
"Our children have his eye colouring, so it’s a bit harder to look at them in the last couple of days," she said.
He enjoyed photography, stargazing, paragliding "and just anything that made him feel free".
He wanted to be a pilot, but could not because of his health.
"He ended up being a pilot on the ground instead, by being a bus driver.
A Givealittle page was set up by Mr Greenwood last week to raise money for his family.
It has received more than $11,000 in donations to date.
Mrs Greenwood said her husband was "really emotional" once the page passed the first $1000.
The money would be used to cover Mr Greenwood’s funeral, make keepsakes for the children and to give them time to "miss their dad", she said.
