Ronald John Cooper, known to his friends also as Ron, John or Johnny, was born on April 12, 1923, in Gastard, near Corsham, as the middle son of seven siblings – all boys.

He always had a strong work ethic and as a young lad, while still at school in Gastard, he worked for Gales delivering bread and also for Claud Hillier, a local milkman with whom he took up full-time employment upon leaving school at the age of 15.

It was while delivering milk to Simmons Grocery Store in Corsham High Street that he met young shop assistant Lilian Brown, with whom he fell in love.

After the outbreak of the Second World War, Ron joined the RAF in 1941. His enrolment in the military led to him serving overseas with 99 Squadron in the Cocos Islands, and a long separation from Lilian.

At the end of the war, he returned home to find that things were not the same as before. Due to their years apart, Lilian had ended the relationship.

But he would not give up on his dream and he was determined to win her all over again, which he did, and in 1947, Ron and Lilian were married at St Bartholomew’s in Corsham.

Home for the first 15 months of their marriage was with Lilian’s family in Corsham, where their eldest son Gary was born in 1948.

They then moved around between Corsham and Gastard for the next few years and had five more children, Paul, Shelagh, Gloria, Angela and Debbie.

Ron worked hard for his family, always taking on part-time weekend work on top of a full-time job and in 1964 they were able to buy their first home – a detached bungalow in Hilperton.

Ron worked a milk round in the morning for the Co-op and five evening shifts a week at the old Modeluxe Laundry, in Trowbridge, before getting a job at Avon Rubber Company.

After seeing their children grow up, Lilian, who had always wanted to live near the coast, persuaded Ron that it would now be the appropriate time and in 1988 they moved to Cornwall.

During this period, daughter Debbie worked in the purser’s office on board the QE2 and they had several luxury cruises, enjoying holidays on board, including stays in New York.

They also enjoyed other memorable holidays together, visiting the West Coast of USA and seeing the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Hollywood and San Francisco. However, their son Paul, who had moved near to them in Cornwall, died suddenly in 2001 and afterwards they decided to return to Wiltshire in 2002, moving to Warminster.

After celebrating their diamond wedding in 2007, Ron and Lilian were to experience yet more loss when they lost their youngest daughter Debbie and granddaughter Becky through illness in 2009.

For Ron, the loss continued when Lilian died in January 2010 after a stroke.

His mother used to say “Our John won’t make old bones, he works too hard”, but he was the last of her sons to survive and the only one to see his 90th birthday.

Ron died on March 8, due to complications resulting from a fall on New Year’s Day, which broke his hip.

After surgery at Salisbury Hospital, he returned to Warminster Hospital where, despite receiving wonderful care from the staff, he died peacefully with all his surviving children present.

Ron was one of those many unsung heroes: a wonderful father, grandfather, great-grandfather and husband; a loving man who took what life threw at him, worked very hard and “just got on with it”.

His funeral takes places today at Semington Crematorium and donations can be made in aid of Cancer Research by contacting F. Curtis and Son in Warminster.