THE wife of a Ross-on-Wye man, who raised money to fund his bucket list, has paid tribute to her "best friend and soul mate."

Dean Foxwell passed away, aged 41, on September 7 after a 22-month battle with cancer.

His wife, Lynette, started a Go Fund Me website page in April to raise enough money to complete five dreams on his bucket list.

Unfortunately he was only able to complete one, where they travelled Europe in their VW camper van called Toffee, and his family will now endeavour to complete the list in his memory.

Mr and Mrs Foxwell had four children together- John, 24, Sharice, 21, Alicia, 16, and Zac, 14, and also a 15-month-old granddaughter, Anavae.

Mrs Foxwell said: "Dean was a very special man and loved life and made sure we lived a good one- he worked very hard so he could give us the best in life.

"He was a loving father and grandfather, and to me, he wasn't just my husband, he was my best friend and my soul mate.

"I miss him so much now and I know I always will. His last words to me were I love you, and I know I will love him forever."

Mr Foxwell was born in Ross and went to Northside, Ashfield Park and John Kyrle High School.

After leaving school he took an apprenticeship at Hertel Services in Ross (now known as hsl) as an insulation engineer, where he continued to work until just after he was diagnosed with cancer in November 2013.

Mr and Mrs Foxwell got married in the Dominican Republic on September 3, 1998. His bosses and colleagues at hsl raised money to send the couple back there in February 2015.

Mrs Foxwell said: "Dean loved spending time with his family. We used to go abroad every year for our family holiday and also to Ireland to visit our family there. Our plan was to retire in Ireland eventually.

"We started looking after Anavae for Sharice to go back to work and Dean loved taking her down the river to feed the ducks or away for a few days to the seaside. Anavae adored her 'gaggy' as she called him."

Mrs Foxwell and her husband would travel to Liverpool to watch Everton play, so a special day was organised for Mr Foxwell to meet the players and have a tour of the grounds. He met legends Graham Sharp, Ian Snowdin and Kevin Ratcliffe.

Mrs Foxwell thanked everybody who sent their condolences and who attended his funeral. She thanked hsl for their support and all the medical staff who helped him during his illness. She also thanked The Man of Ross pub for holding a quiz in Mr Foxwell's memory.