Family and friends of Peter Furminger, the chairman of the Market Lavington Community Hall, are trying to come to terms with his sudden death while on holiday in Menorca.

Mr Furminger, who was 78, suffered a massive heart attack while walking and he fell off a coastal footpath on June 18.

Spanish police launched a major sea and air rescue operation involving a helicopter and sniffer dogs and his body was found after 30 hours in trees and scrub.

The alarm was raised by his wife Sally, when he had not returned after a two hour walk on the coastal footpath, which he walked regularly.

He and his wife owned a villa in Menorca and they stayed there during the year.

His eldest daughter Caroline Furminger, 49, who lives in Malta, said: “Our understanding is that dad had finished the walk and suffered a massive heart attack. It was completely out of the blue. He was quite fit and had regular medicals and no problems had been detected.

“Menorca was a place he cherished and we take comfort from the fact that he was on the island that he loved and doing what he enjoyed (walking) and the spot where he fell was beautiful.”

Mr Furminger died eight days before he and Sally, his second wife, would have celebrated their tenth wedding anniversary.

Mr Furminger was cremated at a mass held in the local village church in Na Macaret, in the north of Menorca, attended by his family and friends, on June 23.

A memorial mass will be held at the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Devizes, on July 11 at 11.30am.

Mr Furminger, a retired industrial chemist, was the driving force behind the Market Lavington Community Hall, which opened in October 2007 after a 15 year fight.

He was chairman of the trust for six years and was due to stand down at the agm in September.

Keith Bennett, vice chairman of the community hall, said: “Peter worked tirelessly in chasing the funding for the community hall and when the project was ongoing he liaised with the builders and architects. Peter was hard working, calm and a great guy. He’ll be sadly missed. It was a huge shock to hear he had died.”

Slater Reynolds, a former colleague on the community hall, said villagers could be very proud of the efforts of Mr Furminger and his committee in completing the community hall.

“Our vibrant community building is a tribute to Peter who was a super man and a committed Christian,” he said.