Family members have placed flowers on the side of the Hume Highway for Desmond Stephen May of Wodonga, the truck driver who died after a fiery crash on the thoroughfare near Gunning on April 23.
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Des, as he was known to most, is remembered as an outgoing, popular and hard-working man who loved racing cars and horses, his sister Cheryl Drennan-Watson said.
She and her husband Andrew Watson paid tribute to Des on Monday by visiting the location of the crash.
Des was travelling from Melbourne to Sydney late last month when he hit a broken-down truck and his cabin and engine were engulfed by flames.
The father and uncle, aged 56, died at the scene. He would have celebrated his 57th birthday on July 16.
"He was a good person to be around," Mrs Drennan-Watson said.
Des is survived by his wife Ruth and children Angela and Justin. Des was an uncle to Mrs Drennan-Watson's children and also leaves behind two border collies and two horses.
He will also be missed by his best friends Lee and Paul.
"They stood by him through thick and thin," Mrs Drennan-Watson said.
Des was born in 1962 in Wodonga to Doreen Mary and George Edward May. His love of horses was inspired by his father, who was a jockey.
Des grew up on Beechworth Road, Wodonga with his parents, sister, and brother Johnny.
Des had another brother, Hughie Roy, who passed away aged two months in 1960, and a half-brother, Matthew. Des was the middle child.
As a teenager, he had a kelpie named Jody that he loved, his sister, Mrs Drennan-Watson said.
He went to school at Wodonga Primary and Wodonga South, and later at Wodonga Technical School.
Des did the local paper round while he was at school.
He also survived two major accidents when he was younger and Mrs Drennan-Watson called him "a real fighter".
"When he was 16, he had a diving accident at Hume Dam. He broke his neck and was told he would never walk again, but eventually he did," she said.
"When he was 21, he was in an accident while driving his ute to a car club meeting. He ended up in a coma for six weeks. He had rehabilitation and came back from that."
Mrs Drennan-Watson said Des had always wanted to be a racing driver and that he was a truck driver for most of his life.
He rode a motorbike and had a 1980s turbo car that he was working on and hoping to race one day.
Des had also recently bought a boat.
His employer of 13 years was Lennon Transport Services.
Des' boss told Mrs Drennan-Watson that he was very loyal to his work and always got the job done. His boss also said Des had been talking about his children recently.
The family are in the process of arranging his funeral.
"He deserves a good send-off," Mrs Drennan-Watson said.
