Leeanne Clarke pays tribute to husband Stuart Clarke after Orange firefighter's death

Mr Clarke died on July 26 at the age of 53 after a long battle with kidney disease.

Mr and Mrs Clarke first met when they went to high school in Mudgee together in 1983.

But their love story didn't come without some hurdles to overcome.

"He got into a bit of trouble at school and was expelled and wasn't allowed back," Mrs Clarke said.

"We lost close contact with each other, but still saw each other and were talking. It wasn't until April 30, 1988 that we made our relationship official."

They would get married ten years later and remained together more than two decades after that.

Along with their two daughters, Rebecca and Natasha, the family moved to Orange in 2003 where Mr Clarke would immediately join the Orange Rural Fire Service, having spent the previous 11 years with the Mudgee RFS.

"It was his world, he just loved it," Mrs Clarke said of her husband's love of the fire service.

"He's been away to some of the biggest fires around, like the Coonabarabran and Victorian fires. He was always out and about."

Mr Clarke even captained the Orange brigade from 2005 until 2017.

The Canobolas Zone RFS team paid tribute to the former captain.

"Many of our members knew of Stuart, he was the larger than life, always there and do everything volunteer who was at the helm of the Orange Brigade and the Aviation Support crew for much of the past 20 years," the message read.

"Stuart was typically stoic to the end."

It was in 2010 when Mr Clarke's kidneys first started deteriorating.

That same year he started dialysis. He got a gastric sleeve in 2015 and then in 2016 came the moment everyone was hoping for - he got his new kidneys, although that happiness would not last.

"I thought when he got his transplant that things were going to look up and were going to have a nice, bright future together," Mrs Clarke said.

"But he went downhill pretty quick."

Mr Clarke was much more than just a firefighter, something his family can attest to.

"He was an absolutely amazing dad to the girls," Mrs Clarke said.

"They were the apples of his eye. He always tried to do his best to bring them up right."

The funeral for Mr Clarke will be conducted by RFS Canobolas Chaplain Reverend Geoff Langdon at Penhall's Memorial Chapel on William Street, Orange, commencing at 2pm on Wednesday, August 3.

Donations in lieu of flowers may be made at the service to dialysis unit in Orange.