Everyone thinks that their husband is the best, but Don truly was the very best husband I could ever have dreamed of having. He had the kindest soul and the biggest heart out of anybody I have ever met. When people used to ask me why I married him I would always say: “It was love at first sight. When your heart says you found your soul mate”. I've read about this in novels and seen in films, but I never thought that this could happen in real life and to me! I distinctly remember when I met him. It was May 29, 2009 at Hinckley, where I was staying with my mother and Frank. Don came to visit them. I remember the door opened and Don entered the room. I just looked at him and I realized I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him! When we were dating, we discovered that we had the same values and family ideals. We both wanted the same things in life. Since the day we met, we have been inseparable. Nothing could separate us, neither the huge distance between the countries, nor the lack of knowledge of each other's language. Before I moved to England, we wrote letters to each other several times a day. I loved Don's company and that has never changed. I just really enjoyed being around him. Don's family became my family, Don's grandchildren became my grandchildren, Don's friends became my friends. I shared his passion for trains and visited a lot of Heritage Railways. Wherever we went to a holiday, there was always a railway nearby. Don carried his passion for trains throughout his life. He built a railway in the garden with a bridge over a pond and a tunnel. With the coming of spring, Don cleaned, vacuumed and polished the rails and started the trains. He liked to invite friends to our garden for a cup of tea and cake and enjoy the train going around the garden. Don built a model railway with a city, river, bridges, mountains in our attic. He usually did it in the winter, when it was impossible to spend time outside. Don spent much of his time at Okehampton Station, where many people remember Don as a guard on Dartmoor Railway. He loved to be among people, he talked with all visitors, letting them know that they are welcome here. Don had a lust for life, he loved to get out of the house on a bike, or just walk, or go on mini adventures. He was full of energy and loved to make people happy. He really loved to spoil his family, they meant everything to him, he was completely dedicated to his children in every way. Don organized family holidays at the caravan sites in Weymouth, Sandford, Norfolk Broads Boating Holiday, where we had many unforgettable times together. Don always planned everything in advance and our wall calendar was full of different activities and events. Don bought a Touring Caravan and we traveled a lot, first in England and then in France. Don loved France for its sunny weather and food, especially cakes and sweet pastries. He had a sweet tooth and I love baking and making cakes. So we were a team, I tried out more and more cake recipes, and Don tasted them. I confess that with my hobby I spoiled Don's slender figure a little. Don was my rock. When I got upset, he stayed calm. When I was worried, he said it would be ok. When I wasn’t sure what to do, he figured it out. He gave me the experience of being deeply understood, truly supported and completely and utterly loved – and I will carry that with me always. Don had been diagnosed Acute myeloid leukaemia last December, but we chose to walk this final earthly journey hand in hand – together. I am going to miss Don more than words could possibly describe. But as heartbroken as I am today, I am equally grateful. Even in these last few month the darkest and saddest moments of my life - I know how lucky I have been. If the day I walked down that aisle with Don someone had told me that this would happen - that he would be taken from me in just 12 years - I would still have walked down that aisle. Because 12 years of being Don’s wife, is perhaps more luck and more happiness than I could have ever imagined. I am grateful for every minute we had. Don has left behind wonderful memories of a loving husband, father, and grandfather. We are grateful for each and every day we got to see his glowing smile, and for the lessons learned and all the jokes we shared.